United States of Ord Caprica

The United States of Ord Caprica
Motto: Libertate Unanimus "United in Freedom"
Capital	Caprica City
Largest city	Ulysses, C.D.
Official languages	Caprican English
Demonym(s)	Caprican
Government	Federal Republic
• President	Oliver S. Kenway
• Prime Minister	Julianne C. Coin
Legislature	Congress
Formation
• Unification	March 15, 1701
Area
• Total	3,237,500 km2 (1,250,000 sq mi)
• Water (%)	8.1
Population
• 2016 census	250,500,000
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	₮ 13.47 Trillion
• Per capita	₮53,772
HDI (2014)	.90 very high
Currency	Talent (TAL)
Time zone	UTC-2:00
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+10
Internet TLD	.ur

The United States of Caprica (USC), commonly known as the United States (U.S) or Caprica is a constitutional federal republic composed of 31 states, a federal district and a single self-governing territories and numerous possessions. All 31 states and the federal district of Ulysses are continuous and located in Far East Astyria, north of The United Communities of Mesoland and The Federal Republic of Zitru and east of The Kingdom of Aswick.

At 3.23 million square kilometers and with over 250 million people, the United States is Astyria's eighth or ninth most populous, tenth largest country by total area and ninth by land area. Located far away from conflict prone Central and Southcentral Astyria, the United States is one of Astyria's most ethnically and linguistically diverse nations and home to the region's second largest immigrant population. The Capital is Ulysses, C.D and the largest city is Caprica City and eight cities boast more than one million inhabitants.

The United States founded in 1701, embarked on a century long program of unification across the Caprican peninsula ending in the early to mid 19th century. During the second half of the 19th century, the Famine of 1861 devastated the country and brought about major cultural, political and economic changes to the country. By the end of the 19th century, the United States was the indisputed hegamon of the Caprican peninsula with a strong federal government, rapidly expanding economy and a booming population which was put to use during the Great Astyrian War and later as East Astyria's foundry in the postwar period. The United States is a founding member of the Easty Astyrian Treaty Organization, member of the E10 Council of Nations and a major supporter of the World Assembly and International Court of Justice.

In the Post-GAW world; the United States is a emerging global superpower with one of the world's largest economies, second largest economy by PPP and the region's fifth largest military forces. The U.S economy is largely post-industrial with major contributions from the service industry effectively dominating U.S economic activity. In spite of this, the U.S manufacturing sector remains one of the largest in the world, accounting for almost a third of all exports. The United States is a prominent economic, political and cultural force and a leader in many circles across Astyria, particularly in East Astyria.

Etymology

Capricorn (♑) is the tenth astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Capricornus. Capricorn is considered an earth sign, introvert sign, a power sign and one of the four cardinal signs. Capricorn is said to be ruled by the planet Saturn. Its symbol is based on the Sumerians' primordial god of wisdom and waters, Enki with the head and upper body of a mountain goat, and the lower body and tail of a fish.

Ancient Capricans associated their homeland with the constellation of Capricornus and called themselves Capricans or descendants of Capricorn whom they regarded as a god and their ancestral homeland as Caprica, home of Capricornus.

Geography

At 3,237,500 km²(1,250,000 mile²), the U.S is the Astyria's twelfth largest country. It is more than 2 million km2 smaller than it's southern neighbor, The Federal Republic of Zitru and 3,127,500 km2 larger than it's western neighbor The Kingdom of Aswick.The Caprican Isles, an island chain off the northern coast of mainland Caprica, are a combined 31,191 km2 in area. Mount Aeneas(+6,893 m) is the highest mountain peak in Caprica and is the second largest volcano in the world from its base.

The coastal plain of the North Sea seaboard gives way further inland to deciduous forests and the rolling hills of the mainland Caprica. The Aenean Mountains divide the northern seaboard from the Royal Lakes and the plains of central Caprica. The Edwards River, the Astyria's fifth longest river system, runs mainly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the from the south to the Aenean mountains, interrupted by a highland region in the southwest.

Active volcanoes are common throughout Caprican isles island and the island of Anchorhead is formed from the remains of a inactive volcano . The supervolcano underlying Edwards National Park in the southeast is the continent's largest volcanic feature.

Climate

The United States' Mediterranean climate is characterized by dry and warm summers and cool to mild and wet winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, it is dominant on the Caprican Peninsula, particularly the Csb variety. Local climatic categorizations divide this climate into "Standard Mediterranean" of lowland regions and "Continentalized" Mediterranean of the interior, according to altitude and the mildness/harshness of the winter season. The standard Mediterranean covers coastal areas (excluding the northern coastline).

Demographics

Population

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the country's population to be 256,137,50 as of April 30, 2017. The U.S. population more than tripled during the 20th century, from about 56 million in 1900 to almost 200 million in 2000. It is the eighth most populous nation in the world, directly behind The Grand Sidereal Monarchy of Trellin and The Federal Republic of Zitru in terms of population. Since the early 1980s the birth rate has been below the replacement rate of 2.1 with 1.79 children per woman in 2016. It is expected by 2025 that more people will immigrate from abroad than be born in the United States.

The major ethnic minorities are people of Meso, Zitran, Blackhelm Confederate and Aquitaynian descent; comprising 14.3%, 5.6%, 5.2% , and 3.2% of the population respectively.

Language

English is the official language of the United States and the language of the majority, spoken as a first language by more than 80% of the population in 2012. Native Caprican, Meso, and Aquitaynian are recognized languages and are de facto official languages in some parts of rural Caprica where ethnic communities formed by ethnic immigrants are common.

Religion

The Charter of the United States guarantees the free exercise of religion and spirtuality and expressly forbids the federal government from passing or enforcing any laws that would restrict the free expression of faith in any form.

Christianity is the de facto national religion, practiced by the majority of the population with 62% of those who report being religious being adherents of Christianity. Within Christianity, The Reformed Church of Caprica(RCC) is the largest church in the United States and de facto national church having contributed immensely to the cultural and religious character of the country since it's founding.

The second most popular faith is Hinduism followed closely by Buddhism, Judaism and Islam respectively.

As is the trend in developed countries, the US is becoming increasingly less religious. Irreligion is the fastest growing religious demographic in the country with polls indicating that by 2050, more than 40% of the country will identify as irreligious.

Largest Cities

• 1) Caprica City
• 2) Port Edwards
• 3) Queentown
• 4) New Varna City
• 5) Fort Grace

Government

The United States is one of Astyria's oldest surviving federations. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which efficient ruling by a sufficiently small number of people on behalf of the larger number. " The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the U.S. Charter, which serves as the country's supreme legal document.

In the Caprican federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local. The local government's duties are commonly split between district and municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district.

The federal government is composed of three branches:

• Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Commons, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power to tax, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of executive and legislative branches of government.

• Executive: The President is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to Congressional override), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.

• Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the President with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives has 250 voting members, each elected to represent constituencies by first-past-the-post and hold their seats until Congress is dissolved or until the mandate of their government is over(usually after 5 years). House seats are apportioned among the states by population every tenth year.

The Senate has 62 members with each state having two senators, elected at-large to six-year terms; one third of Senate seats are up for election every other year. The President serves a six-year term, elected by popular vote. The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the United States, has twelve members, who serve for life.

Foreign Relations

The United States has since it's creation maintained a large and active foreign mission. It is a member of the World Assembly, it's General Assembly and Security Council. It is also a founding member of the East Astyrian Treaty Alliance(EATA), E10 Council of Nations and the Astyrian Red Cross. Every country in Astyria has been invited to establish a diplomatic mission in the capital Ulysses, C.D and many choose to also maintain consulates in major population and economic centers such as Caprica City and Port Edwards. Likewise, nearly every nation in Astyria host U.S diplomatic missions.

The United States is considered to possess a Special Relationship with The Constitutional Monarchy of Aquitayne in direct contradiction of their competing memberships in the EATA and TARP alliances. The United States also works closely with ATO member The Technocratic Republics of Ionicus. Outside of it's unilateral relations, the United States maintains close relationships with it's fellow EATA members and there is extensive diplomatic, economic and military cooperation between them.

Since 2008, the United States has spent more than ₮80 billion on official development assistance with the lion's share of aid being diverted towards aiding the EATA mission in Kamalbia and Insula Fera.

Military

The President holds the title of commander-in-chief of the nation's armed forces and appoints its leaders, the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The United States Department of Defense administers the armed forces, including the Grand Army of the Republic(U.S Army), U.S Naval Service(Navy & Marine Corps), and Air Force. The Coast Guard is run by the Department of the Interior in peacetime and by the Department of the Navy during times of war. In 2014, the armed forces had 811,000 personnel on active duty. The Reserves and National Guard brought the total number of troops to 1.3 million. The Department of Defense also employed more than 500,000 civilians, not including contractors.

Military service is voluntary, though conscription may occur in wartime through the Selective Service System. U.S forces can be rapidly deployed by the USAF's fleet of transport aircraft, the Navy's 4 active aircraft carriers, and Marine expeditionary units at sea with the Navy's Northern and Southern Astyrian fleets.

The military budget of the United States in 2012 was more than ₮200 billion. Defense's share of U.S. governmental spending has generally declined in recent decades, from Post GAW peaks of 15% of GDP in 1950 to 2.8% of federal outlays in 2013.

The United States military maintains bases or a military presence in a number of friendly nations such as The Constitutional Monarchy of Aquitayne, and The Incorporated States of Blackhelm Confederacy in addition to it's international commitments to it's partners in the East Astyrian Treaty Alliance (EATA) with troops deployed to assist in the EATA mission in Insula Fera and Kamalbia.

Economy

The United States economy is an example of a mixed market economy, with a functioning welfare state highlighted by state ownership in certain key sectors such as defense, transportation and healthcare. Public health care in the United States is free, and both parents are mandated 26 weeks paid paternal leave.

An abundance of natural resources, mainly natural gas, Rare Earth Elements and freshwater have fueled U.S economic activity for several decades now and the federal budget has been supported by a large soverign wealth fund built in the early 1950s during the global post-GAW economic boom.

The United States' egalitarian values have kept income inequality low and average wage high in comparison to most developed nations which is reflected by the country's low Gini coefficient.

Agriculture

We farm stuff that people eat.

Energy

More than 70% of all electricity generated in the United States is provided by renewable resources, spearheaded by hydroelectric, solar , wind, geothermal and nuclear power provided by a combination of state owned corporations and generous energy subsidies to both companies and individual households for responsible energy consumption and innovation.

Despite concerns regarding nuclear energy, the United States is on track to have a quarter of it's energy needs met by nuclear power by the year 2025.

Despite it's status as a major exporter of natural gas and other fossil fuels, support for alternative forms of energy has historically been high and the United States was one of the first countries to make a public commitment towards combating climate change. The federal government is the process of replacing all government vehicles with fuel efficient models or hybrids and beginning a gradual upgrading of energy inefficient buildings and appliances.

Culture

We've got lots of stuff tourists like.

Infrastructure

We keep the streets new