Second American Civil War (Porvenir)

The Second American Civil War was a war fought in the United States from 2061-2065 between the USA and the MWFA. Fought mostly over the enslavement of sentient androids, conflict began after the seceded American Midwest bombed an American blockade in Lake Erie. The war is considered to be a major part of the Resource Wars, as the U.S was supported by its GSCG allies while the MWFA was backed up by China and the SCO who sought to destabilize America while gaining access to Midwest resources.

History
When the first androids considered to truly be sentient were introduced in 2045, controversy arose over the use of advanced artificial intelligence in labor and war. The American Midwest, revived by the robotics industry, profited off of both building the androids and employing them in factories. When the issue of android rights cropped up in the 2050s, the Midwest voted strictly TEA Party, as the party expressed the most vocal support for business owners vs. androids. TEA Party President Franklin Smithfield carried the entire Midwest save for Illinois in his 2052 election, and every Midwestern state in his 2056 reelection. Smithfield ran and governed on automatonophobic positions, signing the Fugitive Android Act in 2057, requiring U.S citizens to return any lost or escaping androids found on their property to their owners or turn them into the proper authorities.

With Smithfield and TEA Party popularity at a low, it became increasingly apparent the Libertarian Party, the more pro-android party, would win the 2060 U.S presidential election. By Spring 2060, a young Senator from Pennsylvania named Nick Goldberg had cinched the Libertarian Party nomination. A particular hardliner on the issue of civil rights, Goldberg promised to sign meaningful legislation benefiting androids during his presidency. Angered, Wisconsin Governor Sam Ryan threatened to succeed his state upon Goldberg's election. When Goldberg did win, Ryan kept to his word the following year. Wisconsin was soon followed by its fellow Midwestern States outside of Illinois, and the Midwestern Workers' Federation of America was born. Unrecognized by the U.S, the MWFA increased autonomy for business owners, firmly leaving androids in the country as property.

Battleship
President Goldberg faced a conundrum: while the secession of the Midwest affected the U.S economically, and he sought to free the androids of the region, public opinion towards the prospect of war was mixed to negative. With the U.S growing increasingly involved in the Africa Wars and the Resource Wars as a whole, many Americans were reticent to embrace the idea of a secondary, concurrent conflict. Goldberg knew that if he was to liberate the Midwest and keep U.S morale and support high, he couldn't be the aggressor.

In 2061, Canada was neutral. Despite their close alliance with D.C, a bulk of their trading came from lake freighter shipments across Lake Eire from Ontario to the MWF. Unable to convince Canadian Prime Minister Ella Trudeau to embargo the MWF, Goldberg devised a plan. In late March 2061, a group of U.S cruisers deployed in Lake Erie to blockade trade routes. In turn, the MWF Navy sent out a single aircraft carrier to stare down the U.S. President Ryan soon issued an ultimatum: the U.S was to end this blockade or suffer the consequences. On the morning of 10 April, Goldberg's trap snapped shut, as MWF fighter jets emerged from the carrier, and bombarded the blockade. Every U.S ship was destroyed without a single casualty. Unfortunately for Ryan, he had played right into Goldberg's hand; the U.S was now at war with the MWF, without having fired a single shot. Pressured by the rest of GSCG, Canada finally embargoed the MWF, and voiced their support for the U.S.

A Union Shattered
Despite public support for American reunification, Americans still sought a quick and clean end to the war. President Goldberg was later recorded as having believed the war would not end so simply. Finally however in July, the President ordered 5,000 troops to begin an offensive across West Virginia and eventually into Milwaukee.

Due to the ongoing Resource Wars, the U.S military was exceptionally trained at the time. The MWF, while having many former U.S soldiers in their military, had been forced to draft the bulk of rest of their forces from inexperienced civilians. General and chief of U.S forces, Michael Birdstone, remarked that the ill-equipped MWF would be "push-overs" in ground war. When Army Rangers arrived at Union, West Virginia, they were shell shocked not only by the resolve of the MWF, but by the realization that the People's Republic of China had sent troops and androids to reinforce their enemies. The Rangers did their best to recover, but were quickly overrun by an ostensibly endless wave of MWF-Sino forces. Just two days into the assault, the U.S ordered a full retreat back into Virginia.

3,000 Army Rangers died in the Battle of Union as opposed to 2,000 MWF-Sino troops. This was the first major battle of the war, and not only a resounding MWF victory, but also a crushing defeat for the U.S.

State Sovereignty, National Union
The U.S defeat at Union was a global embarrassment for Washington D.C, but a strong bolster for Milwaukee. With momentum on their side, the MWF was pressured by China to launch their own offensive. The MWF, angered over Illinois' narrow vote to remain with the United States, decided a retaliatory invasion of the final, U.S bastion in the Midwest would benefit them in more ways than one. On 3 September, the MWF spilled across the borders of Illinois from all sides; Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, and Lake Michigan. Having anticipated a potential invasion of the state, President Goldberg had ordered the reinforcement of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The troops were not however prepared for the mass of the MWF invasion, or the five-pronged attack they had actually launched. Nevertheless, their resolve remained and they made the MWF pay for every meter of ground gained. Chicago fell within two weeks of fighting, and the U.S was forced all the way to Elizabethtown on the Ohio River. The MWF, however, suffered several thousand casualties, losing precious troops that could have proven valuable in future campaigns

The MWF tried to capture Elizabethtown in a month-long siege, but eventually gave up, and allowed the U.S to maintain a presence on the other side of the Ohio. U.S troops managed to hold Elizabethtown for three years before the arrival of reinforcements from the east, occasionally engaging in minor skirmishes with the MWF.

The Tide Turns
Humiliated by the defeat at Union and the fall of Illinois, Goldberg's approval rating took a nosedive, particularly in regards to his handling of the war. By Spring 2062, just 20% of Americans supported his actions in the war, with 65% supporting some sort of armistice with the MWF. With daily protests outside of the White House, Goldberg knew something had to be done to raise U.S morale before another civil conflict broke out in the remaining U.S.

Goldberg's clashes with General Birdstone were no secret. While the President sought national unification after the war, Birdstone was much more bombastic, seeking aggressive reparations from the MWF. By 2062, there were two major factions of American thought: Goldberg's Reconstructionists vs. Birdstone's Radicals. The rivalry eventually came to a head, with Goldberg relieving Birdstone from his command as General and chief. Many expected Goldberg to choose another seasoned General as Birdstone's replacement. It caused a great deal of controversy therefore when Mason Braun, nephew of former President Diego Braun, and U.S Marine Corps Colonel, was chosen by the President. Only in his 40s at the time, Braun was widely considered untested and a gamble on Goldberg's part. Immediately after his appointment, Braun promised a major change in U.S strategy.

In Summer 2062, Braun launched an aggressive, no holes-barred invasion of Ohio. Despite resulting in heavier U.S casualties than before, the offensive proved successful, as most of eastern Ohio was under U.S jurisdiction. By the end of the year, the entire state had been recaptured, and the MWF withdrew to Indiana.

Most Americans seemingly viewed the liberation of Ohio with cautious optimism. Nevertheless, the victory restored U.S morale, and turned the tide of the war in the U.S' favor at least for the time being.

That's My Port!
As early as the exchange that sparked the war, the United States sought to take control of the water surrounding the MWF. Sitting on Lake Superior, was the MWF's greatest port city of Duluth, Minnesota. Capturing Duluth would also mean virtually capturing Superior, and thus the city became Washington's next major target.

Duluth itself was protected by Duluth Air Base and Duluth-Superior Port which had been hastily transformed into a naval harbor in 2061. Despite the rushed transition of the Port, the MWF's naval presence was substantantial, with the Port being the largest navy base in the Federation. The MWFS Minneapolis St. Paul, one of the MWF's flagships, was even anchored at Duluth on a permenant basis. U.S strategy revolved around taking out the air base via cruise missile strikes while bombarding the carriers at Duluth-Superior.

On 2nd September, 2062, the invasion of Duluth started. U.S bomber planes took to the skies, and unloaded their armament on Duluth-Superior. In response, MWF fighter jets were scrambled. To prevent reinforcement from the air base, submarines submerged around the port hit the base with precision strikes. One submarine ended up being hit by a MWF drone, killing 100 of the 140 sailor crew in the only U.S casualties of the battle.

Just 5 days later on 7th September, the U.S landed at Duluth and assumed control of the city with no resistance whatsoever. The capture of Duluth was without question the U.S' greatest naval battle of the war, and also resulted in the destruction of the MWFS Minneapolis St. Paul.