American Splinter

American Splinter
2031–2037
JD Vance giving the 2031 State of the Union address.
Location	United States, Reformed States
Leader(s)	JD Vance Ron DeSantis Tim Scott Mike Johnson
Key events	Term Limit riots Second American Civil War 2031 American Refugee Crisis Assassination of JD Vance The Reformation 2032 presidential election Treaty of Carson City
← Preceded by Trumpist Era Followed by → Reformed Era

The American Splinter was a period in American history that ran from 2031 to 2037. A period of significant political, social, and military upheaval in the United States, it was marked by the passage of the United States Term Limits Act, widespread civil unrest, the Second American Civil War, The Reformation, and the eventual recognition of the seceding Free States. This era began with the controversial constitutional amendment that allowed a president to serve more than two terms under specific conditions, passed in March of 2031, and concluded with the Treaty of Carson City in September of 2037. The events of this era fundamentally reshaped the nation, leading to the division of the Reformed States and the rise of a new political order.

The roots of the American Splinter can be traced back to the late 2020s, during a time of increasing political polarization and authoritarian legislation. In 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14319, commonly known as the Fake News Ban, an executive order aimed at suppressing what the administration deemed misinformation. Critics argued it was a blatant attack on freedom of the press, sparking nationwide protests. Later that year, Trump’s sudden death left a leadership vacuum that his successors exploited to consolidate power. President JD Vance and Ron DeSantis emerged victorious in the highly-contentious 2028 election, running on a platform of "reviving American greatness" through strong executive control and economic revitalization. In 2029, the administration passed the OPEN Act, a controversial act of Congress that allowed foreign-born naturalized American citizens to hold the office of the president, which critics viewed as a way to allow individuals such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel to become president. Seeing as Vance's second term was coming to an end, Republicans in Congress spearheaded the United States Term Limits Act in 2031, which amended the 22nd Amendment to allow presidents to serve beyond two terms under certain conditions. This law set off the Term Limit riots, fueled by already-growing distrust in the country's governance.

What were originally intended to be peaceful demonstrations escalated into violent clashes between protestors and police (and later the National Guard), as accusations of electoral manipulation and voter suppression fueled public outrage. The situation deteriorated further when California declared its intent to secede from the United States in 2031. This unprecedented move was followed shortly by New England, Oregon and Washington, and Hawaii. The federal government's immediate deployment of military forces to prevent these secessions escalated the crisis into a full-scale conflict, marking the beginning of the Second American Civil War. The war caused a large-scale refugee crisis in which hundreds of thousands of American refugees fled to Mexico and Canada to escape the war.

Amidst the war, political stability within the Union deteriorated. In March 2032, Vance was assassinated during a rally in Columbus, Ohio, by Anthony Schafer, an anarcho-communist and California nationalist. The shocking event plunged the federal government into deeper disarray as Vice President Ron DeSantis assumed the presidency and struggled to maintain control, eventually culminating in the United States Reformation Act, giving way to The Reformation. Battles raged across the country, with insurgent forces capturing key cities and critical supply lines. In response, the federal government unleashed a scorched earth policy, targeting rebel strongholds with devastating force. International actors began intervening covertly, with some supporting the Reformed States and others aiding the Free States. Skirmishes erupted along new fault lines, including naval blockades around Hawaii and cyber-offensives targeting financial systems. Despite initial successes, federal forces found themselves stretched thin as the Free States leveraged local support and advanced guerrilla tactics to their advantage.

By 2037, both the Union and the Free States were severely weakened, and the war's toll forced both sides to seek a ceasefire. Mediated by international organizations and neutral nations, the Treaty of Carson City was signed, recognizing the Free States and ending all hostilities. The conflict's end marked a pause in open fighting, but the scars of war continued to define and radicalize the fractured nation. The seceded states being independent gave rise to the Reunification Movement, an international movement most notably in the Reformed States and New California that sought to reunify the nations with some degree of autonomy for Free States. The ever-growing influence of the Republican Party in Congress and across the nation gave way to the Reformed Era, a period marked by political division as the Trumpist and national conservative Republicans faced off against the democratic socialist and populist Democrats. The Forward Party, focused on electoral reform and centrism, also gained significant traction during this time among independents who saw the two major parties as radical.