Woodward -11 Nations of USA and Canada -THE REAL MAP



Excellent 5-part-er from Bloomberg

excerpted from Colin Woodward's new book,

“American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America,” published Sept. 29

From #5 - Summary of Future possibilities

..."Another outside possibility is that, faced with a major crisis, the federation’s leaders will betray their oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, the primary adhesive holding the Union together. In the midst of, say, a deadly pandemic or the simultaneous destruction of several cities by terrorists, a fearful public might condone the suspension of civil rights, or the dissolution of Congress. Some regional nations would be happy with the new order and others, deeply opposed. With the Constitution abandoned, the federation could well disintegrate, forming one or more confederations of like-minded regions."

...."Cross-Border Coalitions

"The situation might be more complicated within the often- divided Greater Appalachia or the nationally mixed states of Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Arizona. It isn’t impossible to imagine some of the resulting coalitions extending into Canada or, in the case of El Norte, into Mexico.

Or perhaps the federation would simply reach accommodation over time as its component nations came to realize that the only issue on which they could find common ground was the need to free themselves from one another’s veto power. Perhaps they’d join together enough to pass laws and constitutional amendments granting more powers to the states and liquidating many of the functions of the central government. The U.S. might continue to exist, but its powers would be limited to national defense, foreign policy and the negotiation of interstate trade agreements. It would, in other words, resemble the European Union or the original... Articles of Confederation of 1781 (see Clause XI re Canada).

"If that were to happen, the states could be counted on to behave in accordance with their respective national heritages. The 11-nation format would be useful as a predictor of behavior. Yankee New Englanders might cooperate closely with one another, much as the Scandinavian countries do within Europe. Texans might finally assert their constitutional right (under the terms of their annexation to the U.S.) to split into as many as five individual states. Illinoisans might agree to divide downstate from Chicagoland. California might split into southern, northern and interior states.

The external borders of this retooled U.S. might remain in place, or perhaps some Canadian or Mexican provinces might apply for membership in the looser federation. Far stranger things have happened in history."

1
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-29/real-u-s-map-a-country-of-regions-part-1-commentary-by-colin-woodard.html

2
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-30/the-real-u-s-map-a-country-of-regions-part-2-colin-woodard.html

3
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-03/the-real-u-s-map-a-country-of-regions-part-3-colin-woodard.html

4
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-04/the-real-u-s-map-a-country-of-regions-part-4-colin-woodard.html

5
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-05/the-real-u-s-map-a-country-of-regions-part-5-colin-woodard.html