I decided to make another 'XY Countries' map to get something out. By the way, some of these are clearly meant to be jokes and unrealistic if anyone is asking.
A1: Republic of New Jersey: Several states would block the passing of the new constitution and thus the Articles of Confederation are still kept. The United States would grow increasingly unstable, especially after the 1800 election which saw a dispute between Jefferson and Adams. Due to these disagreements over the election results, the New England states seceded from the union sparking a brief civil war. Following this war, New Jersey, fed up with the dysfunctional federal government, declared independence on September 14, 1805. Following the United States' collapse in 1806, New Jersey and New York would fight against each other for their disputed borders (primarily for control of Staten Island). Even after New York retained control over Staten Island, New Jersey remains politically relevant in the post-United States nations.
A2: Federal Republic of New Sweden: The Swedes were victorious in the Little Northern War in 1657 and with the Dutch never entering the war in the first place, they could retain their colonies in North America. The Colony of New Sweden would continue to expand as more Swedish and Finnish settlers established more forts across the Potomac and Delaware rivers. Conflicts with the Susquehannock and the Lenape would slow down colonization but by the mid-18th century, New Sweden reached its modern-day border. By the turn of the 19th century, the Swedish Empire had considerably declined and the First Continental War erupted forcing Sweden's attention away from the colony. New Sweden would take advantage of this by declaring Independence from Sweden in 1814. Following the Continental War, Sweden was forced to recognize their independence. New Sweden would build the new capital of Ahlgren (near OTL Atlantic City) in honour of the first president of New Sweden. For the first couple of years, New Sweden remained largely stable, albeit under the control of an oligarchy of merchants and plantation owners. In the 1840s New Sweden faced a severe economic crisis, coinciding with the debate on slavery. This would ultimately see the collapse of the merchant and planter class and the abolishment of slavery. New Sweden moving forward remains a middle power in North America, often coming under the influence of New England and New Netherlands.
A3: State of South Jersey: In 1980, a Mount Holly newspaper made a joke article calling for the southern counties of New Jersey to secede and form their state. This idea however would gain traction across Southern Jersey counties, which would attract lawmakers to this movement. This led to the counties of South Jersey holding a referendum, with all six counties voting yes (In OTL, Ocean County voted no defeating the referendum). Months following the referendum would see constant political negotiations between the counties, New Jersey, and the federal government. Ultimately the federal government voted to allow the counties to form their own state, and thus on September 14, 1981, South Jersey was officially formed as the 51st state. Camden would be declared as the capital city of South Jersey. Politically speaking, South Jersey is a swing state primarily divided between the rural Republicans and urban Democrats.
A4: Free State of Nova Scotia: In 1674, the colony of New Jersey would be split into two. East Jersey would be given to the Scottish settlers by Charles II. Scottish emigration would spread across East Jersey alongside many Quaker groups. However, with the failure of the union between England and Scotland in 1707 coinciding with the French victory in the Spanish Succession War, the status of East Jersey came into question. Surprisingly the English allowed the Scottish to keep East Jersey as their colony. The Scottish would change the name of East Jersey to Nova Scotia, named after the failed Scottish attempt to colonize Acadia. Nova Scotia would see an increase of Scottish and Ulster Scots emigrating to the colony. However, by the 19th century, Scottish control over Nova Scotia weakened and nationalism over an independent Nova Scotia grew. In 1842 Scotland sent troops to Nova Scotia to keep the peace there, however, it accidentally ballooned into a full-blown rebellion. The Nova Scotians declared independence as a free state and the Scottish after a year of fighting recognized this. Nova Scotia would become a very libertarian state inspired by the revolutions in Atlantica and Canada.
B1: Republic of South Batavia: The Dutch were able to fend off the English invasion of New Netherlands during the Anglo-Dutch Wars, thereby retaining New Netherlands. Over the years, the people of New Netherlands would grow their own identity, especially as the Dutch in Europe grew less interested in their colonies in North America. Eventually, the New Netherlanders had enough and declared independence in 1785. For the next few decades, New Netherlands remained a strong economic power in North America, but by the mid-19th century, the country began to be torn apart. The south (mainly OTL New Jersey) has grown tired of New Amsterdam and the wealthy north mistreating South Batavia (ATL name for New Jersey and Maryland). This coincides with the rise of the labour movements with most people in South Batavia being working class. This culminated with the rise of the South Batavian independence movement, which would go on to dominate South Batavia politics. In 1893, the South Batavians voted overwhelmingly for independence. Thus in 1894, South Batavia gained independence from New Netherlands. South Batavia still holds a large working-class movement with the government dominated by social democrats and sometimes even democratic socialists.
B2: Kingdom of Lenapehoking: Thanks to the Indigenous people of the Americas domesticating more animals, cultivating more land for farming and horses never being overhunted into extinction in North America, North and South America would begin to develop similarly to Eurasia. In the eastern seaboard, the Lenape would develop city-states across the Delaware River. By 370 BC, these city-states would come under a single confederation. This confederation wouldn’t last for long as in 192 AD, the Susquehannock would expand into the region conquering parts of the confederation and the remaining city-states would fight against each other. By 275 AD the Susquehannock would have been driven off Lenapehoking by several Lenape kingdoms, and for the next few centuries, different petty kingdoms would come to dominate the Delaware River. The kingdoms would finally come to unite in 722, and the Kingdom of Lenapehoking was born. Lenapehoking would go on to expand into OTL New York, Pennsylvania and parts of Maryland and Delaware. Following the European discovery of the Americas in 1492, various explorers began to sail across the coastlines looking to establish trade deals and spread Christianity with the various local kingdoms. Lenapehoking would first encounter the French in 1524 when Giovanni da Verrazzano arrived in OTL New York Bay, which was already home to Lenapehoking's largest city. Giovanni would meet with the king of the Lenape and the two would agree to establish relations with both countries. Lenapehoking continues to be an important power, both locally and internationally.
B3: Empire of N’Jersi: (Based on the CK2/3 mod,
After the End) In the 2050s, a global resources crisis emerged, plunging nations into chaos and wars. Eventually, the great powers like the United States, China and Russia would go to war with one another, ending with them launching their nuclear arsenal and annihilating civilization in the process. Thanks to the usage of nukes at high altitudes and electromagnetic bombs, EMP blasts occur across the world, making most industrial technology useless. In North America, the survivors would begin to rebuild society as neo-medieval kingdoms. In New Jersey, survivors would establish small city-states and petty kingdoms, most of whom would be located near the Delaware River. In 2419, one of these city-states would see the rise of King Emmanuel I. Emmanuel, using his superior military tactics, would go on to conquer the other petty kingdoms and unite N’Jersi. His successors would go on to conquer the city of Manhat, Delwere, Sylvania and Mariland. By 2776, The Empire of N’Jersi is the most powerful kingdom on the East Coast and often fought wars against the Kingdom of Pitt and the Empire of Ontaro.
B4: State of New Guernsey: During the English Civil War, instead of Jersey, Guernsey became home to Charles II and other English Royalists. When the area was claimed by England, it became known as New Guernsey instead of New Jersey. This would somehow benefit the state for the next 300 years. New Guernsey would go on to successfully gain its claimed territory in New York as well as some counties in Pennsylvania. Though never able to compete with New York, New Guernsey still grew to be one of the wealthiest and most important states in the union.
C1: Free State of Jersey Shores: (Based on
1983: Doomsday by the Alternate History Wiki) In 1983, nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union erupted across the world. During the exchange, the area around Atlantic City miraculously survived without any nuclear strikes. Following the war, the local government of Atlantic City as well as the surviving members of the New Jersey government would form the Free State of Jersey Shores in order to keep the peace and order in the region. Around this time refugees from Northern Jersey began to flee to the shore, causing a migrant crisis. Luckily, Jersey Shore was able to deal with this crisis effectively and would begin to expand across New Jersey, aiding other small towns and communities. By the 2000s Jersey Shore gained contact with various other states including the United States government which still exists in the Midwest. As of the 2020s, though relatively stable, Jersey Shores still faces a multitude of issues caused by the rise of organized crime which runs rampant across the state. Despite these setbacks, Jersey Shores remains a decent place to live and continues to help rebuild the old state.
C2: Province of New Jersey: Philadelphia would be built on the eastern side of the Delaware River instead of the west. With New Jersey having Philadelphia, this allowed them to become much more powerful compared to Pennsylvania. New Jersey would successfully gain Delaware and see several Pennsylvania counties joining them. Meanwhile, the American Revolution would still occur however the patriots were much weaker in this timeline and eventually by 1778 would be defeated. Following the war the British launched political reforms across the thirteen colonies, giving them autonomy. Having gained autonomy, New Jersey formed its own parliament and eventually helped form the Continental Parliament. In 1824, the British parliament voted to allow the colonies in North America to become a dominion (referred to as a province in this timeline.) which New Jersey would officially become a one in 1827.
C3: United States of Atlantist: (Based on the map “
What if New Jersey was an island” by Reddit user
u/ajw20_YT) New Jerseyites were tired of being a part of the United States, yearning to achieve something even more. Many Jerseyite scientists thought of Atlantists and decided to cut off New Jersey from the mainland and push it towards the center of the Atlantic. The New Jersey senate would approve this action and over the next couple of years, the state borders would be drilled entirely. It was also decided to extend this drilling to Long Island and Delmarva despite neither states/area approving this. By 2014 the drilling was completed and New Jersey would be detached from the United States and using propellers, would move to the mid-Atlantic, where they seceded from the union and formed the United States of Atlantist. Atlantis would become a trading empire thanks to being located at the centre of the Atlantic Ocean. However, eventually, a civil war would erupt on Atlantis due to Long Island and Delmarva never even wanting to leave the US. Eventually, Long Island and Delmarva would be victorious and swim back to the United States, though Atlantist still stands as the shining island in the middle of the Atlantic.
C4: New New Jersey Station: The Soviets successfully landed on the moon before the Americans, leading the space race to continue beyond the 70s. In 1974, the US would successfully land the first man on Mars and by the 1980s, both the United States and Soviet Union would establish moon bases. By the 1990s the US began plans on establishing a space station to act as a port between the Moon and Earth. In 1992, construction began on this new spaceport, named New New Jersey as most of the construction was in New Jersey. By 1998 construction finally finished and New New Jersey was launched into space. By the 2010s, New New Jersey became the most populated space station in the solar system, as well as the most popular spaceport. By 2034, New New Jersey is considered an unofficial state, having its own governor and senate and there is even support for becoming the 53rd state in the US.
D1: United Commonwealth of Freedonia: Despite the failure of the American Revolution (Known as the Washington Rebellion in this timeline), revolutionary ideas still exist in the Thirteen Colonies. New Jersey, having been the last state to surrender, was still home to various patriot leaders who avoided getting hung after the war. Britain's control over the Thirteen Colonies remained strenuous at best and constant protests would occur in several major cities over disputed policies. In 1828, after a series of controversial acts, the government of New Jersey declared open rebellion against the British, and soon after, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland joined the rebellion. On August 14, 1829, the United Commonwealth of Freedonia was officially formed, and thanks to French support would go on to win the war. Freedonia would go on to help other colonies in the Americas to achieve independence from European powers. Though never able to unite the former Thirteen Colonies as they hoped, they remained a middle power in the Americas and a bastion of Jeffersonian Liberalism.
D2: World Empire of New Jersey: With Jersey Island joining the rest of New Jersey during the American Revolution, New Jersey's power would double, to the point where it overpowers every other state in the US. Using this to their advantage, New Jersey invaded and conquered the entire United States, and renamed it to the Empire of New Jersey. New Jersey would go on to conquer all of North America and by the mid-19th century, New Jersey conquered the entirety of the Americas. Over the next century, New Jersey would engage in several brutal wars against the Europeans, Asians and Africans for control over their continents. By the mid-20th century, New Jersey finally conquered and united the entire planet, renaming themselves the World Empire. Over the next few centuries, the World Empire of New Jersey would go on to colonize the entire solar system and would soon become an interstellar power.
D3: New Jersey Socialist State: William McKinley was never assassinated and thus Theodore Roosevelt never became president. Standard Oil is also never broken up leading to monopolies growing even more powerful and the Gilden Age continuing. This led to the rise of the Socialist Party of America which became popular with many Americans. Communism would also become a popular ideology amongst Americans, now disaffected by an increasingly unstable federal government, which would also lead to American society becoming more polarized. The 1908 election would be disputed in the Electoral College with no clear winner. The Socialists and Communists now tied would team up in a coalition, but this wasn’t recognized by the government or other parties. In response several armed troops under the leadership of Eugene V. Debs staged a coup in D.C., leading to the Socialist Coalition seizing power, forming the Socialist States of America and sparking the Second American Civil War. New Jersey was already home to many influential Leftists and thus the state was already controlled by the SSA. New Jersey troops would move into Northern Pennsylvania and largely occupy the until the end of the war. With the SSA being victorious, New Jersey officially reformed into a Socialist State (Similar to a republic in the Soviet Union) and would see a bit of border change near the north. New Jersey would become a major manufacturing site in the SSA and is where many SSA leaders and ministers are from.
D4: State of West Jersey: During the late 17th and early 18th century, the British government would repeatedly change the borders of New New Jersey, giving more and more land to New York or Pennsylvania. In 1731, New Jersey would be officially split between East and West Jersey. West Jersey wouldn’t last for long and would eventually join up with Pennsylvania. Following the American Revolution and the formation of the US, New York and West Jersey would be engaged in multiple land disputes, ultimately ending with New York winning. West Jersey in the modern era is mostly confined to the shoreline and is more known for its shipping industry and beaches.
