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Industrial States of America
| |
|---|---|
| |
| |
| Government |
Elected legislature |
| Leader |
President Robert Taft |
| Formerly |
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin |
| Capital |
Chicago |
| Notable Citizens |
Al Capone |
| Wet/Dry? |
Wet |
Above all else, the ISA is dominated by manufacturing. With more industrial capacity than its two closest North American competitors combined, there seems to be a never-ending stream of airplanes, zeppelins, automobiles, weapons, and more coming out of the region. Moreover, it is fortunate enough to possess a strong agricultural base as well, leaving the ISA with more than enough food for its own people and export surplus besides. While a president and elected legislature rule in theory, both largely answer to the businessmen and financiers who fund both the economy and military of the nation. Always nervous about home-grown union organizers and communist sympathizers from the People's Collective, in 1933 the ISA formally hired the Pinkerton National Detective Agency to provide internal security.
Foreign Relations[]
While the ISA can produce materiel in seemingly endless amounts, where to send its goods is more problematic. The Empire State, jealous of the ISA's factories, has heavy tariffs on any shipping through the Great Lakes (and Ontario puts handling fees on anything the Empire State doesn't catch). Shipping out of French Louisiana would be more affordable, if not for the small cuts taken by every individual state of Dixie (and Appalachia besides) along the way. On the upside, Dixie is a major purchaser of ISA goods. Air freight provides a less regulated alternative, of course, but air piracy continues to be a troublesome plague. While the ISA is known for manufacturing, it seems to lack ingenuity in design - there are rumors of talks with Texas, which of course has numerous designs it would love to test, if it could only get them built.
Magic and Demographics[]
Although known more for technology than magic, the ISA has no special restrictions on magic use. Chicago's undead district has a small Collegium presence, and at least one Collegium lich is known to live in Cleveland. The Banister School also has a small office in Ohio which focuses its work on the mound-building cultures of the region (and often comes into conflict with local Suukya' Taawa representatives over its work). Alongside humans and epesi, dwarf and gnome immigrants are popular factory workers. While some elves were initially attracted to the forests of the Midwest, the smog which is coming to dominate the region has driven many of them to find more attractive land.