Round 16 is now over. Thanks to everyone who entered but now it's time to choose a winner.
The challenge was:
Design the flag of a USAmerican successor state.
And here are the entries:
1) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, which is composed out of Puerto Rico, the United State's Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
In the late 2010s there is the Second American Civil War, which also awakens a need for revolution in the inhabitants of the British Virgin Islands after Puerto Rico and the United State's Virgin Islands have seceded from the USA.
The flag itself is based on the historical el Grito de Lares flag, showing the revolutionary attitude of the nation. Further reasons the design was chosen are the Christian imagery of the cross, as well as the colours, showing the link to the former United States. However, the originally five-pointed star in the flag's canton got replaced with a eight-pointed star, with each point symbolizing the eight major islands Borinquen (Puerto Rico), Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Tortola, Virgin Goda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke.
2) Nation: American Federal Republic
History: Following the North American Civil War in the mid-21st century the United States was split into five with the American Federal Republic
being the largest, spanning the Mountain West, Mid-West and parts of the Great Lakes region and the South.
Meaning: The Red and White bands represent the nations past as part of the United States while the Circle of Stars represents the original 24
states (three ended up not joining and two seceded) with the central star representing the nation as a whole.
3)
Flag of the Federal Republics of the Mississippi (FRM).
Following the dissolution of the USA due to squabbling between the Northern Coalition and the Southern Confederacy on the East Coast, the Seccession of the West Coast and the failure of the integration of Texas into the Union, the lowlands of the Mississippi Basin formed their own, sparesly settled but vast nation. Their independence has been guaranteed since 1862 by the fine balance of power between their neighbours to the East, neither of which would countenance the other gaining control of the heart of the Continent.
The FRM is officially neutral in the ongoing tensions between the North and South States. As well, the FRM keeps close relations with the British through the Dominion of Canada. The FRM is highly francophile, yet officially an English-speaking nation. Relations with France have always been warm, with the powerful ally in Europe being a staunch economic and political support. The capital at Memphis was deliberately styled after Paris, and the Eiffel Bridge is a marvel of the iron-monger's art to this day.
The flag's nine pointed star is a reference to the nine constituent republics stretching from New Orleans on the Gulf to Hearst on the shores of Lake Michigan.
4) The Republic of Delmarva. After the dissolution of the United States, the governments of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia formed what started as an economic union that steadily became more and more dominated by Virginia that eventually turned into a political union.
5) The Republic of the Californias.
Following the dissolution of the United States in the east following war between the Northern States and the Confederacy, North & South California lead a Secession in the West.
The federal republic is bounded in the north by the Canadian Province of New Albion; in the east by the USA (2nd Republic) and Colorado (Greater Texas); and in the southeast by Mexico (UMS).
It consists of 7 States - Deseret, Lower California, Middle California, Mohave, Nevada, Oregon, and Upper California - and is bilingual in Spanish and English.
The Flag evolved from a variation of the Lone Star Flag used on obtaining independence from Mexico - a red star on white with a red bar in the base - which became the State Flag of North California, South California used just a red fimbriated white star on white
During Seccession this 2 flags were combined.
On Independence from the US a second red bar was added to show this second Independence and the white star on blue (from the neighbouring allied former US states) replaced the red star. Green stars were then added for each new State in the federation as they joined.
6) After the great asteroid strike of 2065, most of America was devastated, either by direct strikes as the asteroid broke up, or by the tsunamis unleashed, or then the Asteroid Winter that followed. Eventually, successor states to the legend of the USA began to arise. On the eastern coast of the United States, the United States of the Atlantic sought to revive the ancient heritage of lost America:
Flag of the United States of the Atlantic:
7) Among the new nations brought forth upon this North American Continent in the decades following the 2065 asteroid strike is the United Federation of the Pacific. Industrious and creative, the Pacifican people have built a vibrant and successful nation. Stretching from the Alaskan and Yukon Arctic to the tropics of the Baja, and from the Great Continental Divide to the ocean from which the nation's name comes, the UFP, one of several successor states to the old USA, is a bright beacon of hope and light for a devestated continent.
8) Following the peaceful solving of all the planet’s political problems during President Obama’s fifth term (The 28th Amendment to the US Constitution, repealing the 22nd Amendment, having come into force in 2015) the world entered what is known to historians as ‘The Age of Fragmentation’. Lasting about 150 years (depending on which historian you prefer), this Age saw the peaceful breaking up of most medium to large size nations. In the case of the USA and Canada, where there were two there became, at its height, 81 nations. The Age of Fragmentation was followed by the ‘Rumble Years’, also known as the ‘Hundred Years Miniwars’. The latter decade of that period saw a coalescing of nations, sometimes forcibly, sometimes peacefully. The former USA & Canada came out of the period comprising the following 10 nations (in alphabetical order) –
Alaskan Republic
Commonwealth of American States
Greater Texas
Hochelaga
Kingdom of Hawaii
League of Latter Day States
Newfoundland
Republic of Quebec
Southern Federation
Union of the West.
Following a half-century of peaceful consolidation and reconstruction there arose in certain areas a yearning for ‘the good old days’ of the United States of America. This could be said to reach its zenith during the release of a series of romantic comedy films starring Steve Martin XV as a wise-cracking, fun-loving, illiterate, peripatetic George W Bush.
After prolonged debate and negotiation, five of the nations came together to form the North American Democratic Association. While each nation retained significant autonomy, there was inter alia an elected NADA Representative Assembly (which in turn elected a NADA President), a customs union, the free movement of labour, a central bank and currency, a co-ordination of military forces and a NADA wide television service covering news, sports and re-runs of ‘I Love Lucy’. The five nations were (in alphabetical order) –
Commonwealth of American States
Greater Texas
League of Latter Day States
Southern Federation
Union of the West.
The NADA Representative Assembly appointed a committee to propose a flag. While NADA claimed to be the spiritual successor to the old USA, it eventually decided not to have a flag modelled too closely on ‘Old Glory’ to emphasise that NADA was in fact something new and different. Two symbols were selected – the Phoenix to indicate renewal and the 13 stars from the old ‘Betsy Ross’ flag to show that NADA was a new beginning like the union of the old 13 colonies was in its time.
The challenge was:
Design the flag of a USAmerican successor state.
And here are the entries:
1) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, which is composed out of Puerto Rico, the United State's Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
In the late 2010s there is the Second American Civil War, which also awakens a need for revolution in the inhabitants of the British Virgin Islands after Puerto Rico and the United State's Virgin Islands have seceded from the USA.
The flag itself is based on the historical el Grito de Lares flag, showing the revolutionary attitude of the nation. Further reasons the design was chosen are the Christian imagery of the cross, as well as the colours, showing the link to the former United States. However, the originally five-pointed star in the flag's canton got replaced with a eight-pointed star, with each point symbolizing the eight major islands Borinquen (Puerto Rico), Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Tortola, Virgin Goda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke.
2) Nation: American Federal Republic
History: Following the North American Civil War in the mid-21st century the United States was split into five with the American Federal Republic
being the largest, spanning the Mountain West, Mid-West and parts of the Great Lakes region and the South.
Meaning: The Red and White bands represent the nations past as part of the United States while the Circle of Stars represents the original 24
states (three ended up not joining and two seceded) with the central star representing the nation as a whole.
3)
Flag of the Federal Republics of the Mississippi (FRM).
Following the dissolution of the USA due to squabbling between the Northern Coalition and the Southern Confederacy on the East Coast, the Seccession of the West Coast and the failure of the integration of Texas into the Union, the lowlands of the Mississippi Basin formed their own, sparesly settled but vast nation. Their independence has been guaranteed since 1862 by the fine balance of power between their neighbours to the East, neither of which would countenance the other gaining control of the heart of the Continent.
The FRM is officially neutral in the ongoing tensions between the North and South States. As well, the FRM keeps close relations with the British through the Dominion of Canada. The FRM is highly francophile, yet officially an English-speaking nation. Relations with France have always been warm, with the powerful ally in Europe being a staunch economic and political support. The capital at Memphis was deliberately styled after Paris, and the Eiffel Bridge is a marvel of the iron-monger's art to this day.
The flag's nine pointed star is a reference to the nine constituent republics stretching from New Orleans on the Gulf to Hearst on the shores of Lake Michigan.
4) The Republic of Delmarva. After the dissolution of the United States, the governments of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia formed what started as an economic union that steadily became more and more dominated by Virginia that eventually turned into a political union.
5) The Republic of the Californias.
Following the dissolution of the United States in the east following war between the Northern States and the Confederacy, North & South California lead a Secession in the West.
The federal republic is bounded in the north by the Canadian Province of New Albion; in the east by the USA (2nd Republic) and Colorado (Greater Texas); and in the southeast by Mexico (UMS).
It consists of 7 States - Deseret, Lower California, Middle California, Mohave, Nevada, Oregon, and Upper California - and is bilingual in Spanish and English.
The Flag evolved from a variation of the Lone Star Flag used on obtaining independence from Mexico - a red star on white with a red bar in the base - which became the State Flag of North California, South California used just a red fimbriated white star on white
During Seccession this 2 flags were combined.
On Independence from the US a second red bar was added to show this second Independence and the white star on blue (from the neighbouring allied former US states) replaced the red star. Green stars were then added for each new State in the federation as they joined.
6) After the great asteroid strike of 2065, most of America was devastated, either by direct strikes as the asteroid broke up, or by the tsunamis unleashed, or then the Asteroid Winter that followed. Eventually, successor states to the legend of the USA began to arise. On the eastern coast of the United States, the United States of the Atlantic sought to revive the ancient heritage of lost America:
Flag of the United States of the Atlantic:
7) Among the new nations brought forth upon this North American Continent in the decades following the 2065 asteroid strike is the United Federation of the Pacific. Industrious and creative, the Pacifican people have built a vibrant and successful nation. Stretching from the Alaskan and Yukon Arctic to the tropics of the Baja, and from the Great Continental Divide to the ocean from which the nation's name comes, the UFP, one of several successor states to the old USA, is a bright beacon of hope and light for a devestated continent.
8) Following the peaceful solving of all the planet’s political problems during President Obama’s fifth term (The 28th Amendment to the US Constitution, repealing the 22nd Amendment, having come into force in 2015) the world entered what is known to historians as ‘The Age of Fragmentation’. Lasting about 150 years (depending on which historian you prefer), this Age saw the peaceful breaking up of most medium to large size nations. In the case of the USA and Canada, where there were two there became, at its height, 81 nations. The Age of Fragmentation was followed by the ‘Rumble Years’, also known as the ‘Hundred Years Miniwars’. The latter decade of that period saw a coalescing of nations, sometimes forcibly, sometimes peacefully. The former USA & Canada came out of the period comprising the following 10 nations (in alphabetical order) –
Alaskan Republic
Commonwealth of American States
Greater Texas
Hochelaga
Kingdom of Hawaii
League of Latter Day States
Newfoundland
Republic of Quebec
Southern Federation
Union of the West.
Following a half-century of peaceful consolidation and reconstruction there arose in certain areas a yearning for ‘the good old days’ of the United States of America. This could be said to reach its zenith during the release of a series of romantic comedy films starring Steve Martin XV as a wise-cracking, fun-loving, illiterate, peripatetic George W Bush.
After prolonged debate and negotiation, five of the nations came together to form the North American Democratic Association. While each nation retained significant autonomy, there was inter alia an elected NADA Representative Assembly (which in turn elected a NADA President), a customs union, the free movement of labour, a central bank and currency, a co-ordination of military forces and a NADA wide television service covering news, sports and re-runs of ‘I Love Lucy’. The five nations were (in alphabetical order) –
Commonwealth of American States
Greater Texas
League of Latter Day States
Southern Federation
Union of the West.
The NADA Representative Assembly appointed a committee to propose a flag. While NADA claimed to be the spiritual successor to the old USA, it eventually decided not to have a flag modelled too closely on ‘Old Glory’ to emphasise that NADA was in fact something new and different. Two symbols were selected – the Phoenix to indicate renewal and the 13 stars from the old ‘Betsy Ross’ flag to show that NADA was a new beginning like the union of the old 13 colonies was in its time.