United States of Midwestern America (Wastelands: No More)

The United States of Midwestern America, also known as the USMA, the US, the United States, or the Midwest, is a nation in North America. Spanning much of the Mississippi River Basin and Great Plains, the USMA is the largest nation on Earth as of 2139. It is a leading world power, and one of the few countries of Earth that projects its power and influence globally. It claims to be the successor of the anteapocalyptic United States of America, and is a founding member of the American Union.

Iowa Provisional Government
After the initial nuclear strikes of 2038, the United States Government enacted all Continuity-of-Government measures possible in the early years, attempting to maintain power. However, it found it severely weakened to the point that it was practically impossible, and chaos between differing factions on the Eastern Seaboard forced the U.S government, now led by former Speaker of the House and then President Marcus B. Kelly, to evacuate to the Midwest in 2040, as an interim measure to decide plans for re-establishing control over the US. After months of deliberation, the decision was eventually made for the federal government to withdraw to Hawaii, one of the least-affected portions of post-Apocalypse America. However, a small portion of the government, mainly composed of President Kelly’s political opponents, refused to relocate to Hawaii with the rest of the US government, and later would join up with surviving members of the Iowa State Legislature to form the Iowa Provisional Government. The Iowa Provisional Government would maintain some form of contact with the larger US Federal Government in Hawaii, and during the initial stages of the American War (2067-2086), would cooperate with the Federal Government (also known as the Pacific States) in reclaiming America under the old US Government.

However, this Iowa Provisional Government was far too weak to exert much control for a long time, and as such, its power gradually dwindled until it controlled only central Iowa. By the early 2060s, however, it had controlled much of Iowa and Illinois, and had exerted control over much of its territory. This continued, with Iowa's agriculture growing exponentially, its corn production far outstripping even the other midwestern states, and the country slowly began to grow. At the same time, the country began to loosen relations with the old US government, and they ultimately cut communications at the end of the 2070s.

Declaration of the Restoration of the Union (2078)
The Republic of Nebraska was one of North America's largest republics by the 2070s. However, the Iowa Provisional Government (IPG) controlled much of the only stable trade routes from Nebraska to Indiana, where much of Nebraska's imports came from. As such, Nebraska was eager to sign a favorable deal with Iowa regarding trade, and this lead to the Lincoln Accords, a series of trade talks between the two nations. Eventually, this morphed into a unification agreement, and by 2078, the "Declaration of the Restoration of the Union" was signed by both parties, forming the USMA. While this would effectively absorb Nebraska into Iowa, the capital was shifted to Lincoln as a sign of goodwill, and Nebraska would retain great amounts of autonomy. Many ridiculed this nation at the time, and the dual nature of the USMA saw it compared to the 19th century Austro-Hungarian Empire, which fell due to ethnic conflicts and a dysfunctional governmental system.

The Resurgence (2080-2114)
The Resurgence was a time period from 2080-2115, when nations around the world appeared to be "resurging". The USMA was one of the many nations to be positively affected by this, and many assumed life would return to its pre-war status, which was venerated by millions of post-war Americans, as quality of life rapidly increased. However, by 2114, the rapid quality of life increase was held back due to a combination of the inability for industry to keep up with the rapidly exploding economy, as well as World War IV, and the devastation that was caused because of it.

The American Securities Exchange Index was created around this time, along with an experimental CEINet, used by the military. However, like most post war internets, it could not be expanded, as many nations did not have the capabilities to mass produce the optic cables and computer parts needed in creating and expanding the Internet. It continues to be accessible only for the military, the USMA government, and the very rich. The American Securities Exchange Index was a floor trading stock exchange, however a terrorist incident in 2103 severly damaged most of the record keeping, sending much of the nation's upper class into chaos. However, in 2107, with the introduction of the Omaha Stock Exchange, the economy somewhat recovered. The formation of the American Union in 2104 also boosted the USMA economy, as it allowed greater access to natural resources, as well as stable trading partners.

Despite this, the Western Pioneers Coalition won elections in the General Assembly in the years immediately leading to World War IV led to the USMA pursuing an attempted isolationist system. Rising electoral participation allowed for them to be defeated in 2112, just in time for the USMA to join the Fourth World War as part of the New Allied Powers. While the USMA had not maintained any aggressive stance between it and the eventual Axis of World War IV, spurred on by Swiss and Japanese urging, the US entered the war as an allied power.

World War IV (2114-2119)
Although the shock of World War IV, and the breakdown of burgeoning global trade resulting from it, caused many countries’ economies to go into shock, with some countries outright collapsing, the USMA was one of the few countries to benefit from it and its aftermath. World War IV allowed the USMA to assert its dominance as one of the major superpowers of the world. Later wars and treaties with their smaller and economically-unstable neighbors allowed the USMA to take advantage of those countries and turn them into little more than client states, and these treaties, supplemented with the American Union, allowed the USMA near-unimpeded access to most of the natural resources of North America.

Economy
The USMA is the economic powerhouse of the Western Hemisphere. Housing the largest and one of the most stable economies on Earth, it is one of six countries with working stock exchanges. Much of the Midwestern economy is based around agriculture and manufacturing, with a small mining industry centered around the eastern portions of the nation, as well as a small but growing tourism industry.

The USMA primarily exports agricultural products, and provides the primary food source to many nations across the Americas.

Mercenaries
The USMA is famous for its lax policies on foreign mercenaries, as long as the nation in question has not been in direct conflict with the USMA for the past 30 years (2099 Foreign Mercenaries Act). In fact, it has been estimated that nearly 60% of all North American mercenaries hail from the USMA. The majority of these "mercs" come from Ohio or Michigan, where infrastructure is extremely dilapidated and poverty and crime is rampant.

American Silk Road
The USMA controls most of the bulk of the American Silk Road. While the American Silk Road originates in San Francisco and Los Angeles, it winds through southern Nevada and Deseret before ending in Lincoln. While much of the trail is technically "controlled" by functioning governments, much of it is a lawless anarchy, in particular the area of the trail in between the USMA and Deseret.

However, the trail is where the USMA exports much of its food too, and a report conducted by the Omaha Trade Institute found that trade comprises ~40% of the Midwestern economy. The trail generates nearly $30,000 Midwestern dollars in trade per year (approx. $500,000 pre-war USD).

Politics
The USMA consists of a General Assembly as its main legislature, which is comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate can only approve or disprove bills, while the HoR can only create and introduce bills. The bills are then signed by the President.

Voting participation in the USMA is abysmal, and as of 2136 is 22%, with much of the voters being younger. Corruption is also sometimes present, with politicians sometimes being paid off by mafia groups and sometimes paramilitary organizations. As such, "corruption" is punishable by death, and the corruption rate has been slowly declining.

The two main parties are the Republican Party and the Western Pioneers Coalition. The Republican Party is made up mostly of the former Iowan Republican Party, and represents much of the central and east of the country (excluding Ohio), while the WPC controls everything west of Nebraska (including Ohio). The Republican Party has a center-left to center stance, while the WPC has a right to far-right stance.

Culture
The main newspapers in the USMA are the Lincoln Times, Des Moines Register, and the National Daily. The most popular radios are Radio America and Boxed News Radio.

"Poster art" has been extremely popular in the USMA, with many Midwestern artists drawing posters, or artwork that is a mix of drawings and words. While somewhat popular before the war, posters are hung up nearly everywhere in major cities. The most famous of these posters is "The Reset" (Anonymous, 2105), a poster depicting how the apocalypse was beneficial to humanity. It reached as far away as Japan and Western Europe.

Technology
The Swiss Reconstruction Agency lists the USMA as the second most technologically advanced nation in the world, after Switzerland, holding a steady 44.5 on the Hoffsman Advancement Index as of 2138.

"Recon stations" are popular in the USMA, where for a fee, engineers will fix certain pre-war items, such as digital cameras or even drones. As such, the USMA is the world's largest exporter of pre-war electronics. However, larger electronics are nearly impossible to fix, due to their complexity.

The USMA is one of three nations to have a functioning internet (KAI, a Japanese internet, is privately owned). CEINet was created by the USMA for easy communication, however the lack of optic cables has limited this internet to only be accessible in Lincoln and the surrounding areas, and the lack of servers has dampened the growth. Project: Reconnection attempted to connect CEINet to GulfNet in 2106, however the lack of server capacity nearly destroyed both internets, forcing both CEINet and Gulfnet to be scaled down.

The USMA was one of the first nations to experience the Communication Revolution, when easy to use printing presses, as well as better radio technology allowed people to easily communicate with each other, as well as the reinvention of books and newspapers. Originally invented in France, the Bordeaux Press was much easier to use than earlier presses, and its introduction to America in 2095 made the Bordeaux Press even easier to use, as well as reducing the ink wasted. Two more printing presses were created, the Sierra Press from California and the Econ Press from Cascadia. The Bordeaux Press is mostly used in the eastern and central parts of the USMA, and used by the National Daily, while the Sierra Press is mostly used west of the Mississippi, and used by the Des Moines Register and the Lincoln Times.