#alternate USA history

[theussa]

Elias Petrova’s Presidency

2004: Elias is Boris's son, who followed in his footsteps becomes vice-president. Educated in both Soviet and American institutions, Elias was known for his strategic mind and political acumen. As President, he continued his father's legacy of centralization and state control, accelerating both.

Elias Petrova’s presidency built upon his father’s legacy by advancing the nation’s socialist framework while introducing his own reforms to address new challenges and opportunities. His administration was characterized by a focus on environmental sustainability, technological advancement, and international cooperation. Elias navigated complex geopolitical landscapes, responded effectively to natural disasters, and promoted cultural and educational reforms that reflected both socialist values and modern American identity. His leadership ensured the continued prominence and stability of the Soviet States of America on the global stage.

2009: Rising tensions with China over trade and territorial disputes lead to a brief military standoff. Elias’s diplomatic skills prevent escalation, resulting in the "Pacific Peace Accord" which fosters cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

2010: Elias signs the "Pan-American Socialist Defense Treaty" strengthening military and economic ties with Latin American socialist countries, ensuring mutual defense and cooperation.

2011: A severe tornado outbreak in the Midwest causes widespread destruction. Elias oversees the implementation of advanced early warning systems and improved infrastructure resilience programs.

That same year, Elias expands the "Unified Education System" to include vocational training and higher education programs focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), aligning the workforce with the nation’s technological and economic goals.

2012: Elias Petrova's policies lead to economic growth but at the cost of individual freedoms. The Petrova family cements its control over the political landscape through a combination of popular support and political manipulation.

Deployment of peacekeeping forces in the Middle East to stabilize the region and protect socialist-aligned governments from insurgencies. This move underscores Elias’ commitment to supporting global socialism and maintaining international stability.

2015: Establishment of the "Global Health Alliance" with several nations to address global health issues, such as manageable diseases and access to healthcare. This initiative emphasizes collaboration in medical research, vaccine development, and healthcare infrastructure.

2016: The discovery of vast untapped oil and natural gas reserves in the Arctic region around Alaska sparks intense international interest. With global energy demands rising, Canada lays competing claims over parts of the Arctic seabed, citing international maritime boundaries and historic exploration rights.Elias orders the deployment of the USSA’s Northern Fleet to secure the Alaskan coastline and assert control over the disputed waters. A standoff ensues between SSA and Russian naval forces.

2017: Facing the prospect of a prolonged and potentially devastating effects of the “Alaska Conflict”, international pressure mounts for a ceasefire. The United Nations intervenes, and a temporary truce is brokered.

2019: Elias Petrova announces his surprise retirement after his term is over. It would later be revealed to the public that Elias had become terminally ill, resulting in his death in 2022. His niece Elena Petrova, a young, charismatic woman is groomed to take over. The election is carefully orchestrated to ensure her victory in the coming year.

[wealmostaneckbeard]

The politics in Lancer the mech pilot TTRPG seems center left to me. A good way to explain what's going on in that game's universe is with this overly long metaphor:

Imagine an alternate history where Nixon somehow beat JFK Jr to the white house, and once in office he lets Kissinger go nuts setting fascists up on an accelerated schedule. That's what Union's Second Committee was like. Then Tricky Dick procedes to nuke Vietnam a couple times. That's the Hercynia Crisis and that FTL Piston weapon launch. JFK and company ride the shock and horror of approaching nuclear war into office on the promise of de-escalation and enforcing civil rights, and they deliver. That's the coup that formed Union's Third Committee. Kissinger, Nixon, and the entire pentagon/raytheon corp take over NASA in Cape Canaveral, Florida where they form a tolerated corporatocracy in exile. That's basically Harrison Armory on the planet Ras Shamra. Now a United liberal-leftist front of America is actively trying to tear down dictatorships around the world that Kissinger set up (he got assassinated at some point in this time line) and replace them with socialist democracies. That is Union's Justice/Human-Rights Department and a few other government branches. So far they've had some success although people are pointing out that it's a bit hypocritical that the liberators are using weapons from corporate conservative states where civil rights are discretely curtailed. That's what's driving political discourse in 5016u in Union's legislative body, the Central Committee and it's myriad political parties.

So yeah Lancer's political intergalactic landscape is a bit like modern day? Except also cthulhu is giving out reality-breaking tech to militant civil rights advocates and random civilians? That's what HORUS basically is, btw.

Now that I've written this out, it would make for a good american alt-history with mechs campaign in Lancer...

[i-am-trans-gwender]

If Tumblr existed in the 1880's Abraham Lincoln would have been a Tumblr Sexy Man.

[gabe-pilgrim-vs-the-world]

ALL of us need to educate ourselves...fast

Trump won. As much as I would like to say we will all get through this, not all of us will. As a matter of fact, the Trever Project has reported a 700% increase in suicides since the election. I'm scared, yes, but right now we have an opportunity to set up protections(VPNs, grassroots organizations, learning what we need to do to keep ourselves and others safe) that will be harder to access under Trump. I'm going to leave some videos/websites/books that I can think of off the top of my head. I don't agree with everything said(far from it), so put your critical thinking cap on ;). If ya'll have anything like this send it to me, please. I'm deleting this on December 31. Good luck to everyone.

!!GET A FRICKING VPN THAT IS NOT INSIDE THE 14 EYES & DOES NOT LOG!!

Websites:

ACLU // Amnesty International // CODEPINK // EFF // The Trever Project // justicemap.org

Video Essays:

What Did We Learn? by Signified B Sides // Solidarity is Supposed to be Hard. by Elliot Sang // The Alt-Right Playbook by Innuendo Studios(series) // Andrewism // First Thought // Second Thought // What is Project 2025 What is Project 2025? | what you should probably know about it by Dasia Sade // Mutual Aid is Radical! by COLORMIND. // Media Literacy Can't Save Us by Dummy // How Mutual Aid Works (and Why You Should Care) by Lucretia McEvil // Donald Trump is Not A Fascist Pt. 2 by The Morbid Zoo // Shanspeare // Hamilton and the Death of the Obama Era by Alexander Avila

Read:

The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice Hardcover by Shon Faye // Searching for Savanna: The Murder of One Native American Woman and the Violence Against the Many Hardcover by Mona Gable // The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government by David Talbot // To Banish Forever: A Secret Society, the Ho-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota by Cathy Coats // The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins // Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho // Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer //

Socialism & Communism:

I beg you to learn what both are because we are going to hear a lot about them in the next 4 years. Learn from sites like socialism101, NPR, or hell even Reddit. Just learn a bit more so the term "Marxist" doesn't catch you off guard when arguing with your MAGA grandpop.

This is all I have on hand right now. Stay safe loves <3

[danemarysmith1]

[altaaraatla]

XXX Files: Orb of Sorrow

[resplendentmackerelsky]

"average man thinks about the Roman Empire everyday" factoid actualy just statistical error. average man thinks about the Roman Empire 0 times per day. Francis Ford Coppola, who lives in cave & has thought about the Roman Empire over 10,000 times each second for the past 40 years, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

[arthurdrakoni]

Flag of the United Provinces of Markland

This is the flag of the United Provinces of Markland. It comes from a world in which the Norse colonization of North America was more successful. The Norse expanded into mainland North America. Most of the settlements were founded by Christians. However, some pagans also established colonies in hopes of escaping persecution in the Old World. Unfortunately, Christians had a numeric advantage, and forced the Pagans further into the interior of North America. Still, the Pagans made the best of things, and there was some trade between pagan and Christian settlements. Christian settlements tended to be based around agriculture and fishing, while Pagan settlements placed emphasis on fur trapping and hunting. 

Knowledge of the Americas eventually spread to the rest of Europe, and other nations began to send their own expeditions. The indigenous peoples were exposed Old World diseases, but managed to recover their numbers by the time Europeans arrived in earnest. There are several independent indigenous nations, such as the Haudenosaunee and Lenape nations. Both nations are close allies of Markland. Christian Marklanders traditionally had a tense relationship with the indigenous peoples. By contrast, Pagan Marklanders were generally on more amicable terms with the Native Marklanders, and intermarriage wasn’t uncommon. This lead to a creation of a new culture of mixed race Marklanders. We might consider them akin to the Métis of our world.  In time, Markland began to view itself as separate from Scandinavia. This ultimately culminated in a war of independence. The Markland War of Independence saw Christians and Pagans fighting side-by-side to defend their homeland. This caused Christians and Pagans to view each other not as separate cultures, but as a single people sharing in a common destiny. The United Provinces of Markland includes most of what would have been the eastern provinces of Canada, as well as the New England states, Long Island, and New York City.   The United Province of Markland is governed by a bicameral legislature known as the Althing. The head of state known as the Speaker of the Althing. The Speaker is voted on by the people and serves a term of six years, and can be re-elected for only one more term afterward.  The Constitution of Markland places emphasis on protecting the rights of minorities, such a pagans. All provinces can declare an official religion, but they cannot penalize other religions, or lack there of. However, Pagan majority provinces are granted more leeway with what they are allowed to do, in accordance with the Constitution. Some conservative Marklanders grumble about this. They feel that pagans wield a disproportionate amount of influence in the Althing; especially given that Pagans only comprise about twenty percent of Markland’s population. However, most Christian Marklanders are perfectly willing to give small concessions to the Pagans.   Marklander Christianity is highly syncretic. Pagan Marklanders might bless a field by pulling a wagon with a statue of Freyr or Thor around it. Christian Marklanders would preform pretty much the exact same ritual, but with a statue of St. Olaf instead. The raven, rather than the dove, is consider the symbol of the Holy Spirit in Marklander Christianity. This symbolism extends to the flag. The flag is based upon the famous Raven Banner. It is a grey triangle pennon with two ravens. The ravens represent both Christians and Pagans, and symbolize how Markland is the product of both cultures. Some conservative Christians, however, note that two raven could also symbolize Huginn and Muninn, the ravens of Odin. Conservative Christians have tried, unsuccessfully, to get the flag changed to include only a single raven. However, most Christin Marklanders are perfectly happy with the flag just the way it is, and think it look very nice.

Link to the original flag on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2022/05/flag-of-united-provinces-of-markland.html?m=1

[la-cosmonauta-extraterrestre]

I recently found out that American schools taught languages at the same rate at European schools up until 1917, when it entered WW1. That was a time of ultra-nationalism for all participant countries, and in the United States that took the form of 23 states making German illegal: it was forbidden to speak German in public, broadcast in German on the radio, or teach German to a child under the age of 10. That might not seem significant to modern Americans, but in those days German was the second most spoken language in the USA, something like Spanish today.

In 1923 the states that banned German repealed those laws, but by then the damage was done. Americans expected to only speak English, expected immigrants to only speak English, and saw no reason for schools to require kids to learn a new language. It also so happened that WWI was the beginning of the end for the use of German as an international language in science (and probably some other things but I'm apparently a STEM chauvinist).

It didn't have to be this way. What if American schools continued to teach languages at the same rate as European schools? All countries in the EU require students to learn at least one additional language in school, with many requiring two languages, and some more multilingual EU countries (like Andorra) require students to learn three additional languages in school. Because lots of languages are spoken in the United States, I imagine that if American schools still taught languages at the same rates as European schools, it might be more like one of Andorra. For example, perhaps all English-medium American schools would have mandatory Spanish classes for all K-12 students, add mandatory ASL classes in fourth grade, and then students would add an additional language in seventh grade, let's say choice of Hindi, Arabic, Russian, or Korean. This does cause issues because there's only so much time in the school day and kids also need to learn mathematics, science, history, art, coding (yes, coding is an essential skill today, but that's another topic). There's also the issue that even in the EU, school language classes can be "learn and forget". Still, it sure is nice to imagine what if Americans weren't notoriously monolingual and ignorant.

By the way, I assume WWI is also the reason why Britons are notoriously monolingual, too. They were rabidly nationalistic during WWI and rejected anything to do with "the enemy". I read that during WWI one British school was asked to justify why they still taught German and they justified it as "know the enemy".

[captainblazkowicz]

🚇A dingy old subway station, walls chipped to pieces, while waiting for a ride home / w/ grey!

Eerie Atmospheric Settings: Plot Starters / accepting / @coveitous

An announcement echoed off the crumbling walls, spoken in German and through a speaker that was too far away to make out the words. BJ looked like he could have been German... well, maybe. Tall, blond, blue-eyed, muscular. Probably like any old soldier around these parts. He stood over the bench— must've walked three miles from where he'd been staked out all day to this here subway station— and sighed quietly as it wasn't totally empty. That meant he had to speak. In German. And in the words of his compatriot, Wesley, 'your German? Frankly, it's atrocious. So no talking.' But how in the fuck was he supposed to get any better at it if he wasn't supposed to go usin' it? Didn't make any goddamn sense. If he busted out English, that'd blow his cover.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked the only other man around this whole damn station— the one on the bench, "Can I please sit here next to you?"

Felt and probably sounded pretty damn stupid to say. Even when speaking in German, the Texas twang snuck through.

[theussa]

Boris Petrova’s Presidency

1996: The influential Petrova family, with roots in both America and the Soviet Union, rises to prominence. Boris Petrova, a charismatic, but no-nonsense politician, wins the presidential election, promising stability and a new era of prosperity under a socialist framework.

“Today, we embrace a new dawn where the power of the people transcends the chains of capitalism, forging an America where collective effort and shared prosperity will guide us to a brighter, socialist future.”

– Boris Petrova, from his first inauguration speech.

Boris Petrova was a former US diplomat who served in Soviet Russia. He was born in the United States, his father a Russian diplomat living in the US. Boris moved back to the U.S. in the late 1980s and quickly rose through the political ranks due to his charisma and connections. He became President in 1996, leading the country with a vision of socialist transformation.

During Boris Petrova's presidency, the United States underwent significant transformations. His administration dealt with major natural disasters, initiated substantial military reforms, and navigated complex international relations. Domestically, his policies focused on centralizing economic control, expanding social welfare, and promoting cultural and educational reforms aligned with socialist ideals. These efforts aimed to stabilize the nation, improve living standards, and align the U.S. with its new identity as a socialist state under the influence of Soviet principles.

1997: Introduction of the "People’s Welfare Act" which expands social welfare programs, including universal healthcare and free education, funded by the nationalized industries.

1998: A massive earthquake strikes California, causing widespread devastation in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Boris Petrova’s administration mobilizes federal resources for reconstruction and introduces the "National Disaster Response and Recovery Act" centralizing disaster management under federal control.

1999: Tensions escalate with NATO over Eastern Europe. Boris Petrova adopts a stance of military readiness, increasing defense spending and modernizing the military to ensure the U.S. remains a formidable force despite Soviet influence.

In that same year, the establishment of the "National Economic Planning Act" which sets up a centralized economic planning committee to oversee industrial production, agricultural output, and technological development, ensuring alignment with socialist goals.

2000: Boris Petrova consolidates power, aligning the U.S. more closely with Soviet principles. Nationalization of key industries and increased state control over media and education ensue.

Hurricane Allison wreaks havoc along the Gulf Coast, leading to significant flooding in Texas and Louisiana. The Petrova administration deploys federal troops for rescue and recovery operations and establishes a comprehensive flood defense program.

2001: The "Great American Military Reform" is enacted, integrating military forces into a single, streamlined command structure to improve efficiency and control.

In the same year, the U.S. and Soviet Union sign the "New Harmony Treaty" aimed at reducing nuclear arsenals and promoting peace. This treaty marks a significant thaw in U.S.-Soviet relations and establishes joint space exploration initiatives.

2002: Launch of the "Five-Year Plan for Technological Advancement" focusing on state-funded research and development in technology and infrastructure.

This went hand in hand with the Implementation of the "Unified Education System" standardizing curricula across the nation to emphasize socialist principles, Soviet history, and collective values alongside American history and civic responsibility.

2003: Boris Petrova plays a key role in the formation of the "Global Socialist Coalition" a political and economic alliance with other socialist-leaning countries, aimed at counterbalancing the influence of NATO and capitalist nations.

2004: Boris Petrova's Son Elias Petrova, becomes Vice President, signaling the beginning of a political dynasty. The Petrova family manipulates elections and uses their influence to maintain control through the media, educational institutions and financial compensation.

Elias is Boris's son, who followed in his footsteps. He becomes vice-president. Educated in both Soviet and American institutions, Elias was known for his strategic mind and political acumen. As President, he continued his father's legacy of centralization and state control, accelerating both.

2005: Boris pushes for and ultimately begins a “centralization” of the states. Borders are altered to create four districts to help consolidate power and reduce citizen autonomy.

The Atlantic District:

- Consolidated into a single administrative unit, the Atlantic District, this region would focus on education, technology, and maritime industries.

- Major cities like Boston and Hartford would serve as distribution centers for this district

- [Former] New York still acts as the entertainment capital of the country. However, it is a far cry from what it used to be in the days of the Republic.

The Great Plains District:

- Former states like North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas merged into the Great Plains Collective District, emphasizing agricultural production and food distribution.

- Large state-run farms would dominate the landscape.

The Pacific District:

- Former states California, Oregon, and Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Arizona form the Pacific District The region as a whole dedicated to technological innovation, research, and development as well as the home to many federal agencies.

- Silicon Valley would be a hub of state-controlled tech enterprises.

- The Federal capitol moves from Washington D.C. to Las Vegas. It’s desert surroundings and existing infrastructure made it the ideal location.

The Industrial District:

- Former states in the South, including Texas, Louisiana,South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama, would be grouped into an industrial zone focusing on energy production, petrochemicals, and manufacturing.

- Key cities like Houston and New Orleans would be central to these activities.

- Miami serves as the capitol of this district given it’s location to allied Cuba.

2006: Boris Petrova negotiates the "Pan-American Socialist Agreement" with several Latin American countries, fostering economic cooperation, mutual defense pacts, and cultural exchange programs to expand socialist influence in the Western Hemisphere.

2007: Boris Petrova negotiates the "Trans-Atlantic Socialist Partnership" with European socialist countries, enhancing economic and political collaboration across the Atlantic. This partnership aims to create a powerful bloc counterbalancing NATO and capitalist countries.

2008: Boris Petrova retires and Elias Petrova is elected President in a landslide victory. The country sees further centralization of power, and dissent is increasingly suppressed.

[stillunusual]

Who knew that America created Poland to prevent a German-Russian coalition? First of all, I think it's pertinent to remember that last time there was a German-Russian coalition, it started the Second World War in which 80 million people were killed - so maybe it's not such a good idea. And then there's the fact that Poland not only existed for hundreds of years before Europeans discovered the American continent, it's also older than Germany and Russia. However - using tankie "logic" - maybe the CIA discovered time travel and went back to the 10th century to get the Polish state up and running (probably with some sort of colour revolution), knowing that it would eventually become a thorn in the side of its future neighbours. Or something….

[i-am-trans-gwender]

I'd like to point out Ronald Reagan was originally a liberal activist. He became conservative due to a mixture of pressure from his sponsors, being rejected from the Hollywood Communist Party (for being too talkative and patriotic) and the Red Scare.

I'm just saying if one of you has a time machine it wouldn't take much to stop him from forever fucking up everything.

[morphineandblow]

Thoughts????!!!

[therainingkiwi]

I am a Jew.

I did not know that civilians lived in Palestine until i was probably sixteen. SIXTEEN. You know when I first learned that Palestine existed? Oh, probably when I was three or four, in Hebrew school.

I was literally taught that Palestine is a nation of terrorists. I thought it was basically one giant army base where Hamas planned attacks, rather than a real country with hospitals and cities and schools. Again: I did not know that civilians and everyday non-terrorists lived in Palestine until I was a fucking TEENAGER (and even then, it was despite my synagogue's best efforts, not because they changed the shul curriculum or anything).

I'm not saying this because I'm proud. I am DEEPLY ashamed to have once believed this. It's why I focus my anti-Israel activism around the Jewish community in particular: I do not trust myself around Palestinians because I fear I haven't rooted out my prejudices enough for them to be safe in my company. I'm not sure I ever will.

But you need to know how intense Israeli propaganda is. You need to know WHY so many people can't distinguish between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Israel has spent lots of time and money on its international image. They've spent possibly even MORE time and money to smear Palestine into the mud. Israel relies on the world seeing their colonization as valiant Jews holding steadfast against evil Islamic terrorists. Without their indoctrination, they don't have power.

I hope Palestine rises higher and freer than Netanyahu's worst fucking nightmares.

I was asked why there's a zionist claim that the Palestininian identity is not legitimate. And I think it's important to understand why Palestinians as a whole are seen as a threat by Israel. To understand why it's not about Hamas.

The claim is that the Palestininian identity was made up in order to push us out. Palestinian existence is a threat to the legitimacy of Israel as a country.

I was taught in school that Palestine was empty when we got here. They used a Mark Twain quote. It was a barren land full of swamps and some nomadic people (Beduins) but as soon as we wanted to come here, the awful antisemitic Arabs sent people to settle here before we could to take up the space. I was in school in the settlements though. I was taught the most extreme version of this.

Another version of this is that Palestine was never its own thing, they're just Arabs the same as all Arabs from the surrounding countries. So they could just... scooch over and give us the space, please and thank you. In Israel no one uses the term Palestinian. If I do, people roll their eyes and dismissively go "Arab." An Arab is an Arab. It's a way to strip away their unique identity and blend them in with the rest to say they could always move to Jordan, or Syria, or Lebanon, and it's all the same to them.

It's a way to make Palestinian existence by itself into a malicious plot to deny us a homeland.

Because if Palestinians exist as a distinct group of people, we aren't the only ones with a connection to this land. And you don't create an ethnostate by sharing.

You still hear echoes of this mentality. Why won't all these Muslim countries take the people of Gaza as refugees? That's asking why they won't let Israel make its ethnic cleansing more neat and convenient. Yes, refugees should be taken in and given shelter. But this question shifts responsibility away from Israel. Palestinians shouldn't be forced suffer either ethnic cleansing that leaves them as refugees, or a genocide.

[arthurdrakoni]

Flag of the Commonwealth of New England

This is the flag of the Commonwealth of New England. It comes from a world where the Huron won the Huron-Iroquois War of 1648-1650. This resulted in the complete destruction of the Iroquois Confederacy. Some Iroquois were absorbed into other tribes, including the Huron themselves. The Huron’s victory meant that their vast trading network was never disrupted. This meant that Europeans weapons were able to make their way towards the interior tribes of North America. This made Native American tribes better able to resist European colonialism. New England remained involved in the fur trade longer than it did in our world. Meanwhile, the Huron largely cut France out of the fur trade. 

Another result of all this was that King Philip's War never happened. There were still armed conflicts between the English colonists and Native Americans, but they were part of the larger English-French rivalry. New England never got drained economically by King Philip's War and remained financially self-sufficient. Before long, many in New England began to question if they needed to remain part of England. The Commonwealth of New England formally declared its independence in the early 1700s. It initially included the New England Colonies plus New York and New Jersey, but later expanded to include Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. The Middle Colonies faced competition and raids from tribes allied with the Hurons.  By the present day, North America is a patchwork of nations. There are several Native American tribes who were able to maintain their independence and carve out nationstates. Canada has remained largely French, while to the south, the Republic of Grand Florida also includes what would have been the Carolinas. Towards the west lies the nation of Caddo, a result of English and French settlement in Texas.  The New England government takes inspiration from the Roman Republic. It is a bicameral legislature composed of a People’s Council and a Senate. The Council is directly voted on by citizens of New England, and serves as the lower house. The citizens also elect the two praetors, who serve as the co-heads of the executive branch. The Senate is the upper house, and is composed of experts in various fields, as well as former governors and praetors. Praetors serve a single term of six years, while members of the Senate serve for life. Elections for the Council happen every four years. All political parties receive proportional representation within the Council. Praetors are not required to share the same political party. In fact, many people feel it is better when they don’t, as they will keep each other in check.  New England isn’t a major world power like the United States in our world. It is more comparable to Japan or the United Kingdom of our world in terms of international influence. However, New England is quite wealthy, and quite involved in international trade and commerce. This is reflected in the design of the flag. A golden New England clipper ship is proudly emblazoned in the center of the flag. The green references the forests of New England, and the white recalls snowy New England winters.

Link to the original flag on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2023/04/flag-of-commonwealth-of-new-england.html?m=1