Draft flag for my TL (in the signature below) where the Kingdom of Hawai`i becomes a British protectorate and part of the Dominion rather than a US state. As such, I felt a desire to alter the flag, since I feel like with the more pro-British sentiment would mean Hawaiians wouldn't like a flag that has stripes like the American flag. So I modeled this flag after that of Australia and New Zealand. I put eight stars on the flag to represent each of the eight main Hawaiian islands. I debated putting a stylized pineapple in the center of this field of stars, but figured that would be too silly. Not sure how plausible this idea is in general; it's perhaps more plausible that the Hawaiian people would stick with the "original" flag even in this scenario, seeing as that flag was used by the British, but I wanted to explore this possibility at least for a brief exercise in procrastination.

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the idea sounds reasonable though you've made the ring too big
 
Draft flag for my TL (in the signature below) where the Kingdom of Hawai`i becomes a British protectorate and part of the Dominion rather than a US state. As such, I felt a desire to alter the flag, since I feel like with the more pro-British sentiment would mean Hawaiians wouldn't like a flag that has stripes like the American flag. So I modeled this flag after that of Australia and New Zealand. I put eight stars on the flag to represent each of the eight main Hawaiian islands. I debated putting a stylized pineapple in the center of this field of stars, but figured that would be too silly. Not sure how plausible this idea is in general; it's perhaps more plausible that the Hawaiian people would stick with the "original" flag even in this scenario, seeing as that flag was used by the British, but I wanted to explore this possibility at least for a brief exercise in procrastination.

I hope you don't mind, I remade. 2 versions, also British colonies should be 1:2 proportions.

FVXw2RE.png


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2nd version is more proper according to flag design rules

svg is attached if you want it
 

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I hope you don't mind, I remade. 2 versions, also British colonies should be 1:2 proportions.

FVXw2RE.png


Ww4GIpt.png

2nd version is more proper according to flag design rules

svg is attached if you want it
Thank you very much, I appreciate you taking a whack at this! Mind if I use the second one in my TL, crediting you of course?
 
I have returned from working at summer camp! It was a lot of hard work and I will be returning in two weeks and will be working for the rest of the summer. In the meantime, I will be making plenty of flags and alternate history!

Cambodia's flag is one of my personal favorites for a very simple reason--it has a building on it: a representation of the mighty and massive temple of Angkor Wat. Only four other national flags in the world contain a building: Spain, Portugal, and San Marino all feature Castles, while Afghanistan's (old) flag features a design of a Mosque. Very few buildings in the world make you think: "this country:" but Angkor Wat simultaneously represents the religion, cultural heritage and history of the Khmer people.

However, even if not all buildings are as ubiquitous as Angkor, I would say that they should be included more often on flags, as they are a great way to represent both the heritage and the greatness of the people who built them, along with potentially several other aspects. I admire Afghanistan for their Mosque. However, I will give one ancedote: the design of the buildings on these flags can be overly complicated: My one issue with both Cambodia and Afghanistan is that they simply are not easy to draw, and thus not always easy to recognize. From a flag design perspective, some of the earlier flags of Cambodia (think Khmer Rouge and the State of Cambodia), and the 1928 flag of Afghanistan are wayy simpler while still being recognizable. While the detailing on the side of the towers of Angkor is very, very cool in real life, the only thing people need to recognize the ruined temple is the shape of it's iconic towers.

Nevertheless, I believe the idea that Cambodia has is brilliant, and should be applied to other flags, some that are currently just dull, indistinct arrangements of colors: like Laos. Laos's flag is neither extremely recognizable nor extremely distinctive--the colors are just a reverse arrangement of Cambodia's flag with the distinctive mark, the white sun, in the center. Ask anyone to pick out Laos's flag and you will see the problem. It's also rather boring to look at. Laos's flag is new, established by a communist regime, and doesn't have a huge amount of history behind it. So I wanted to redesign it along the lines of the Cambodian Flag, using a recognizable building on it's flag to make it more dist

The most distinctive building in all of Laos is Pha That Luang, a golden temple that stretches high into the air over the capital, Vientiane. It appears on their national emblem, and appears in many of the tourist photos of Laos. It was built in the 3rd century, a full nine centuries earlier than Angkor, and it is regarded by Laotians as their national symbol. Laos is a country that doesn't get much attention when it comes to history, so it's important that the flag have a building that not only shows the artistic ability of the Laotian people, but also their long and storied past. The blue represents peace, red represents the land and people, and white represents the religion of most Laotians, Buddhism. A white sun on the state flag represents the government and hope.

Feel free to use for whatever your Laotian or Southeast Asian alternate histories might be!

Overall, I think there should be more buildings on flags:

Laos (2).png

Variant 1, Civil Ensign

Laos (3).png

Variant 2, State Flag

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Pha That Luang, Laos's National Symbol and their finest temple.
 
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In the early years, the Taliban's goal was to gain international recognition from neighboring countries like China and Pakistan. However, as time wore on and the year 2027 struck, it's leadership became more pragmatic about the situation: all of Afghanistan, not just the government, was on the verge of collapse:

A major refugee crisis, along with a nasty water dispute with Iran had provoked an iron silence and tension with the Islamic Republic. To the east, the Taliban had been unable to control the Tehreek-e-Taliban, and it's Pakistani section developed into a splinter faction. As a result, terrorist attacks continued to aggravate relations with Pakistan, one of it's main trading partners. To the North, Tajikistan and the other central Asian countries continued to designate the Taliban as an illegitimate government. Only China remained to support them, and if they stopped, Afghanistan would fall apart like a house of cards in a tornado.

Central and South-Central Asia over the course of the 2020's experienced an unforeseen rise in nationalism. Former communist-party leaders in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan had been overthrown in violent revolutions, and though the primary goal of these revolutions were to renew the state, many wanted to expand into ethnically-similar lands in Afghanistan and other nations: For example, a good portion of eastern Afghanistan, including up to the capital, Kabul, is inhabited by the Tajiks, while Uzbeks dominate the north.

This wave of nationalism had also struck Pakistan with especial brutality. After years of political turmoil after the fall of Imran Khan, the Punjabi and Balochi sections of the country began to experience constant terrorist attacks and even guerrilla warfare from separatist groups (some of whom were based in Afghanistan, worsening relations further). At this point, China was at a loss. Pakistan was completely washed up. Their Gwadar Corridor plan had almost worked, but in the end, Pakistan had proven to be an unstable ally, with Prime Ministers that rotated in and out of office rapidly. China needed a new economic plan to circumvent India.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was at the end of it's luck. Pakistan was on the brink of civil war, Iran was hostile and now eyeing some of it's southern, Balochi-majority lands along with Persian-speaking Herat , and China was just about done with the Gwadar plan, of which the economic runoff and surplus trade would have undoubtedly benefited Afghanistan. After the revolutions in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, anti-Taliban separatist forces began to wreak havoc in the North through Guerilla warfare.

The Taliban, who had banned Opium production in 2023, were also out of money to control such a large and ethnically diverse state. They maintained a strong grip over most of the cities, but were unable to fully vanquish the rebels, just as the U.S. was unable to fully vanquish the Taliban in the War in Afghanistan. While China brainstormed for another plan to connect a trade corridor to the West Indian Ocean, time ate away at Afghanistan.

But in 2031, the status quo was irreversibly changed. As a result of a disputed election of Pakistan's prime minister between a Pashtun and a Sindhi, civil war erupted, with the insurgent armies of Balochistan and Punjabistan quickly declaring independence. The Pashtun sections of the country sought unity with Afghanistan's Pashtuns as a result of nationalistic influence. Secretly given the go-ahead by China, Iran invaded Pakistani Balochistan, defeating both Pakistani and Balochi forces in a matter of weeks, though guerrilla conflicts and skirmishes continued. Meanwhile, India sent troops to Indian Punjab. At the same time, oddly well-armed rebels attacked in multiple areas in Afghanistan with uncanny precision and organization.

As it turned out, China had betrayed both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and had given arms and training to rebels of both countries. Their new economic plan saw a Plan A and a Plan B--Plan A was to work with the various successor states of Afghanistan and Pakistan that would undoubtedly need China's immense monetary resources. If this failed, Plan B was to use a strengthened Iran and Tajikistan to connect Gwadar in Balochistan with Eastern Afghanistan, and thus to China. Either way, Afghanistan as we know it would bite the dust.

Plan B was only for emergencies--China still wasn't quite sure how to deal with nationalism in Central Asia, whether to encourage it or to stamp it out. In the end, it didn't in a surprise attack, Tajikistan invaded Tajik-majority areas in northern Afghanistan in early 2031. A week later, Uzbekistan followed suit. The Islamic Emirate's armies were overstretched, and were pushed back a significant distance. Meanwhile, this time without China's consent, Iran invaded Balochi-majority areas in southern Afghanistan. The U.N. and NATO, as expected, condemned everything, but the U.S. was in no position (nor did it want to be) to interfere with Afghanistan ever again, especially distracted as they were by the Paracel Islands Standoff.

Over the next few years, wars and skirmishes without end would be fought in the region, but in the end, the forces at the end of 2033 would be:

- Iran, who had gotten everything they wanted, but were suffering from internal conflicts and had trouble controlling Balochistan. They cooperated with China's economic plan after the war.

- Herat, which Iran made an independent (yet also, dependent) state after invading the region, officially the "Republic of West Tajikistan" (since most Heratians were Tajiks).

- Tajikistan. They found initial success in the invasion of Afghanistan, but were eventually pushed back by the Pashtuns to a small area in the North, invalidating China's Plan B.

- Sindhudesh and Punjab, who had gained independence from Pakistan, but remained quite poor and depended on China, just as China had forseen in Plan A.

- Uzbekistan, who got most of what they wanted, taking a lot of ethnic land in the northwest of Afghanistan.

- And, finally, the...Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Or at least that was it's official name. For all intents and purposes, Afghanistan was gone, and what replaced it was a nation of mostly Pashtuns. The rulers of the Islamic Emirate had taken great care to intertwine their brand of radical Islam with the social and life code of the Pashtuns, the Pashtunwali. This, in turn, developed into a kind of Pashtun-Islamic nationalism. Though the Islamic Emirate lost it's southern and much of it's northern provinces, it managed to unite with the Pashtuns of former Pakistan to form a new nation.

In the end, the borders were shifted to more properly reflect ethnic makeup. And in the process of this shifting, millions died. And, in the end, it was still China who held all the cards. And they never even fired a shot. All anyone outside of the region could do was watch, either in grim satisfaction or uninterested horror. In the future, Pashtunistan would become more successful than the Islamic Emirate. Deobandi Islam and the Pashtunwali code held the country together. As the country became more compact, more pragmatic leaders of the country recognized Opium as a principal resource for the Pashtun economy, and a religious tax on the plant created huge profits for the government.

It is worth mentioning the Hazaras, a Persian-speaking ethnic group in Central Afghanistan, who had suffered the most during the war. Out of fears that the Hazaras might rebel, the Pashtun warriors of Afghanistan massacred many in what has become known as the Hazara Genocide. Along with casualties caused by wars with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, it is estimated that as many as 250,000 Hazaras were killed, many systematically by Islamic Emirate forces. In the end, many were forced into slave labor on the Opium farms of Pashtunistan.

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One can refer to this ethnic map to discern the new nations of South-Central Asia: Pashtunistan managed to conquer most of the Pashtun-majority areas as well as the Hazaras. Iran conquered most of Balochistan in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, while the rest went to Sindistan. The tribal areas of northern former Pakistan became a battleground between Pashtunistan and Punjab, who conquered all of Pakistan's Punjab-majority land. Meanwhile, most of the yellow areas were conquered by Uzbekistan. Tajikistan was unable to conquer Afghanistan's ethnically-Tajik land and only got a small area in the north of the country, while Pashtunistan got the rest.

The Flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Pashtunistan)

The flag of Pashtunistan reflects the attitudes of Pashtunistan towards the outside world: in the center lies a white, almost glowing stylized Mosque that stands for Islam, the holy fight against the infidel, and the purity of the Pashtun people before god. This image of cleanliness stands in defiance of the black, murky background that symbolizes the dark past that the Pashtuns are leaving behind and Pashtunistan's various enemies. In a sense, the Mosque is an open invitation to all who wish to build a new and hopeful future for Afghanistan. A separate variant of this flag exists that carries the colors of the Taliban, a majority of white and a Mosque of black; this flag is co-official with the first variant, but is used less often.

As for the symbolism, the Mosque has long been used as a symbol of Afghanistan, and thus it's historically Pashtun rulers. Afghanistan is well known for their heavy use of black on their flags, while the Taliban is known for it's heavy use of white. I wanted to create a flag that wouldn't use any writing and that would be simple to draw, and thus simple to remember. All other Afghanistan flags' Mosques are very complex, and I didn't want to continue this trend.

(by the way, this mosque is not a vector, but is actually created solely out of geometric shapes).

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1).png

State Flag of Pashtunistan (2034-present)

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (2).png

"Taliban" Variant Flag of Pashtunistan (2034-present)
 
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53.png

A flag I came up back when I started getting into flags, not the best quality, as you can see.

I also came up with this other flag just recently, that being an alternate Antilia:
Antilian flag.png
 
In our timeline, Communism in British India was heavily suppressed throughout the country, making organization of a political party difficult, let alone nationwide cooperation among underground leftist and communist organizations. Nevertheless, many prominent leaders in Indian society adopted the ideology and hoped that it would bring an end to British colonial rule. However, this never came to pass. Instead, it was through (mostly) nonviolence that British India gained it's independence, but also split in two between Pakistan and India.

In India, communism remained mostly legal but nevertheless a relatively small force in Indian politics--it didn't really jive with the strict caste system interpretation of Hindus (as well as some members of other religions) in the nation, who made up a majority of the country. However, in Pakistan, leftists were radicalized by the dictatorship of General Zia, and those who had fled for fear of political repression began to return, eventually forming The Struggle and IMF, two important parties, via a merger of myriad Marxist organizations.

However, the oppressive nature of the Pakistani regimes forced the leftist groups in Pakistan to moderate to survive. The Soviet Union refused the Pakistani leftists significant support because they were significantly Leninist, and thus did not toe the CPSU party line. Along with this, the main force that Pakistani leftists were fighting against was the dictator of the country, General Zia; however, once Zia died, a democracy replaced him. This, along with the collapse of the Soviet Union, caused a significant shift towards moderation in the Pakistani left.

In modern times, Pakistan's Leftist political parties have been in significant conflict with the parties of the Right. Communism is still a large force within the country, though it is no longer adopted by the PPP, the main leftist party in Pakistan (and is the third-largest party in the country) . However, in an alternate timeline, instead of moderating, about 3/4ths of the Pakistani left goes farther left towards communism as a result of General Zia living longer. This creates a split in the left between more moderate Socialists and Social-Democracy supporters and outright Leninists, who over time merge with several workers parties and unions (many of whom have different interpretations of Communism) to form the United Communist Party of Pakistan, a big tent party that attempts to see the basic components common to all forms of Communism integrated into Pakistani society through protesting and election by the people. Or, at least, that is it's goal today. Before the fall of Zia and the collapse of the Soviet Union, it's goal was a violent overthrow of the government by the people. The collapse of the Soviet Union greatly disillusioned some of the more extreme members of the party and as a result, many more extreme communist elements died off, moderating the party significantly.

This split in the left of Pakistan's leftist political parties causes the conservative factions in Pakistan to be far stronger as they are actually united. One of the greatest goals of the party is to reintegrate the moderate socialists and social-democracy supporters into their fold, so that they might have a chance in the Pakistani elections. The UCPP has a good relationship with the Japanese Communist Party (JCP).

The Flag(s): The flags of the United Communist Party of Pakistan (UCPP) consists of three variants. The first was drawn up by a Leninist art school student, Alyesh "Ali" Junejo, in 1988, the year the UCPP was formed. It consists of a hammer and sickle, with a star in the middle and the handle of the sickle being replaced by a small gear on a red field. Together, these symbolize the revolution (red), the industrial workers (gear and hammer), the agricultural workers (sickle), and the five main branches of communism united under a single communist party (star). The sickle-and-star is designed to resemble the crescent-and-star of the Pakistani Flag.

This design went unchanged until 1990, when in commemoration for the party joining several worldwide communist organizations, the central symbol was surrounded by a globe. This represents the friendship with other Communist parties around the world, as well as symbolizing the mission of all communist parties--to spread communism to all corners of the earth.

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, many members of the party began criticizing the red-and-yellow color scheme of the party flag, which they felt made the flag too similar to the Soviet Union's flag. By 1992, most party members wanted to distance themselves from a failed communist regime, and thus voted to change the Hammer-Sickle-Globe symbol in the middle to white. They also decided to remove some of the complexity of the globe symbol to make the design more minimalistic. The flag has remained the same until the present day, 2022.

CPP (7).png

First flag of the UCPP (1986-1990)
CPP (10).png

Second flag of the UCPP (1990-1992)

CPP (13).png

Third flag of the UCPP (1992-present day)
 
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This is a flag of China if it was designed around a building rather than a set of stars. Specifically, this building is the Great Wall of China. The central structure is one of the Great Wall's watchtowers, while the other 4 structures highlight crenelations in the Wall. This symbolism echoes that of the original--the 4 structures surround a much larger 5th one, just as 4 stars in the Flag of China surround a larger 5th one. The two large golden bars represent the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, the land between which was the birthplace of Chinese Civilization. I also made a variant of the flag without the golden bars.

China-Taiyuan (North China) (3).png


China-Taiyuan (North China) (2).png
 
This is a flag of China if it was designed around a building rather than a set of stars. Specifically, this building is the Great Wall of China. The central structure is one of the Great Wall's watchtowers, while the other 4 structures highlight crenelations in the Wall. This symbolism echoes that of the original--the 4 structures surround a much larger 5th one, just as 4 stars in the Flag of China surround a larger 5th one. The two large golden bars represent the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, the land between which was the birthplace of Chinese Civilization. I also made a variant of the flag without the golden bars.

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Tiananmen would have been more fitting, to be honest.

708px-National_Emblem_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China_%282%29.svg.png
 
Tiananmen would have been more fitting, to be honest.
You are probably right. I'm going to be honest: I repurposed this flag from a flag I made for a timeline where Beijing is destroyed by the first Atomic Bomb, and thus Tienanmen no longer exists. I just thought this flag would be cooler as just a flag for China in general.That's why the Great Wall of China is on there instead of Tienanmen.
 
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You are probably right. I'm going to be honest: I repurposed this flag from a flag I made for a timeline where Beijing is destroyed by the first Atomic Bomb, and thus Tienanmen no longer exists. I just thought this flag would be cooler as just a flag for China in general.That's why the Great Wall of China is on there instead of Tienanmen.
Your design gives me "China in the style of Cambodia" vibes but I love it because the Great Wall is so timeless.
IOTL, Mao rejected flag designs with horizontal stripes dividing the red field, because he felt they suggested a "division" of China. Your second variant is thus more plausible. Your first variant could work if you move the golden bands to the edge so the layout is more like a colour-reversed Spain.
 
Your design gives me "China in the style of Cambodia" vibes but I love it because the Great Wall is so timeless.
IOTL, Mao rejected flag designs with horizontal stripes dividing the red field, because he felt they suggested a "division" of China. Your second variant is thus more plausible. Your first variant could work if you move the golden bands to the edge so the layout is more like a colour-reversed Spain.
Unfortunately, the program I'm using decided to randomly get rid of the flag...and I don't really want to make it again. But that does sound like an awesome idea.

And your assessment is correct--I was very much inspired by the Cambodian flag, which I discussed in an earlier post as a pinnacle of design. I actually just tried some Cambodian food on my vacation and it was really good! Sadly, I am not in Cambodia. Maybe someday.
 
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Did you try any deep fried tarantula?
No, I had Chok Krao chhnang, which is like a soup, but on a plate, with broth poured over it. A lot of fresh vegetables and beef (my family all got fish instead) with rice. I'm not actually in Cambodia (though I wish I was). I probably wouldn't be on my computer if I was in Cambodia.
 
These are a few of the flags I have made for @Historyman 14 's amazing post-nuclear war world. They are for some of the countries he has made for the United States: the Midwestern Federation, the Charleston Alliance, and the Imperial State of New York. None of the ideas concerning these flags are my ideas: they all came from Historyman's specifications. I really feel like he had some awesome ideas, so I want to share the results with you guys! Below each flag is an explanation of what each state is and what their flag represents:

State Flag.png

State Flag

The
Midwestern Federation: The Midwestern Federation is a state created by Historyman 14, with it's core lands in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains. Despite the post-nuclear, apocalyptic nature of the world, society, especially in Chicago, has become Neo-fuedal, with Lords, ladies, and atomic-truck joyriding Knights. Most of the population works in the agricultural field under the watchful eye of members of several great families that have their origins from before the nearly-world-ending nuclear war. Chivalry figures big down in these parts.

The State Flag of the Midwestern Federation incorporates three main colors--red, white, and blue--in a tricolor format so as to evoke images of the flags of U.S. central states like Missouri and Iowa. The male and female lion symbolize the family and family values of the people of the Federation, while the fact that they are supporting the MWF Coat of Arms symbolizes the state's necessary dependence on it's people. The Coat of Arms carry the colors of the republic. The five stars in the middle signify the main five values of Chivalry: Honor, Valour, Courtesy, Purity, and Loyalty. The fact that they are 6-pointed represents the capital, Chicago. The bottom blue part of the COA is intersected by a wave, symbolizing the waters of the Great Lakes, which the MWF claims. The top part of the COA is a blue gear and a blue star--symbolizing Industry and Chicago respectively.


Charleston Alliance--National Flag.png

Civil Ensign

The
Charleston Alliance: The Charleston Alliance is not actually a nation, but rather an organization of like-minded Southern States. Like the Midwestern Federation, agriculture and serf labor figure big in this new society. However, one of the biggest pushes of these states is to increase the manufacturing capability of all of the separate states so as to be able to compete with larger surrounding nations, like the Imperial State of New York.

The blue is taken from the Blue of South Carolina's flag, where the alliance was born (specifically, in Charleston, SC). The silver stands for purity, and the gold stands for wealth, prosperity, and agriculture. The structure of the flag itself calls back to both the old Confederate battle flag, and the state flags that feature St. Andrew's cross. In the center is a stylized compass, containing a needle (arrow) pointing south instead of north, symbolizing the Southerner's desire to shift power permanently into the Southern former U.S., and to find a new direction after the great atomic war.

Imperial State of Neyyork.png

State Flag

The
Imperial State of New York: The most powerful state in all of North America is the Imperial State of New York. From the ruins of the great atomic war, a good amount of manufacturing equipment could be salvaged, but in order to impose civility and concord amongst these salvagers a strict Empire was formed under an Empress. Over time, the Empire was able to conquer the entire Northeastern United states and then expand outwards into the Mid-Atlantic States. It is one of the only states in the world that has significantly industrialized. While old new York is destroyed, the New...New York has risen from the ashes with a vengeance. It shares poor relations with the Midwestern Federation and the Charleston Alliance.

The flag contains a similar structure to the United States flag, with 9 stripes of the colors of the New York City (symbolizing the rich history of the area), and an eagle with the Empire's coat of arms in it's grasp in the canton. In The Imperial State of New York State's coat of arms, it features an eagle grasping a globe. I wanted to feature this kind of national imagery in the flag, so I added it in. The double-headedness of the eagle symbolizes the strength of the Empire. The globe carries a star/explosion in approximately the area New York is , which symbolizes both the greatness and significance of the city and also the great disaster (Nuclear War) that occurred, and the desire that it may never happen again.

...
I created other flags for these nations (such as very different Civil/Battle/State Flags) too. I will not post them right now because of the image limit, but maybe some other time. You can find them from pgs. 192-194 on the Requests page if you so wish...

A very hearty thanks, of course, to Historyman 14, who provided all the ideas for these flags and all of the history behind the states. I did nothing besides create the flags based on the detailed instructions he gave. I encourage you all to check his work out!
 
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