Kinda vague. I would guess that it's be kinda backwaterish, and something like an American switzerland foreign policy wise. We'dve never made it past the Mississippi. either Mexico or some kind of uber-canada would be the domainant power on the continent. For that matter, the Federal government would have about as much power as the European parliament. One might expect to find something like a "New England Independence Party" (NEIP) or some other kind of "Ameriskeptic" party as a force in Congress. Mind you, Thomas Paine lived in the late 18th century and therefore was liberal by the standards of his time. Have him born another century later with a similar background and I wouldn't be surprised to find him as the editor of a socialist periodical, later in the century becoming a perennial candidate for Labour (or the Socialist Party if he lived in the US) Repeat the experiment in the 20th Century and he'd likely be either a labour MP (or Democratic congressman if he lives in the US) or a perennial candidate for either country's Green Party. Actually sounds kinda nice Congressman Tom Paine (D, PA)