The Federal Union of Maryland is a transcontinental federal nation, occupying land in Africa and North America. Although it was founded as a union of the seceding US states of Delaware and Maryland in North America, it occupies more land in Africa than it does in North America. Although Washington, DC, the former capital of the United States of America, serves as the official capital, most administrative functions are centred in Abidjan, in the state of Ivory Coast.
After the triumph of the Confederate States of America in the First Civil War, the US state of Maryland suffered a brief period of tension between forces loyal to the Union against slaveholders. In the end, forces loyal to the United States prevailed. However, disputes over slavery led to increasing tension between Maryland and the United States, which in the aftermath of the First Civil War began to delegate larger powers to the states. This culminated in the Secession Crisis of 1880, in which Maryland attempted to reintroduce slavery under the States Act 1880, which gave it wide-ranging powers over internal affairs. The federal government condemned this, leading to a declaration of independence by Maryland and Delaware as the Federal Union of Maryland. The United States sent an expeditionary force into Maryland to depose the Maryland government, but was forced to back down by widespread popular opposition. The first President of Maryland, William T. Hamilton, was sworn in on January 1, 1883.
Even before the Confederacy collapsed, and the Union shortly thereafter, the large numbers of slaves escaping into Maryland and thus ostensably into freedom became a bone of contension. Maryland refused to take them, and enacted a series of draconian race laws in hopes of driving them out or at least regulating their activities. However, continued civil strife in the state following the secession, and the machinations of serveral factions allied with various players hoping to profit from the quicking dissintergration of North America made their efforts largely unsuccessful. The freemen population of Maryland exploded, antagonizing both the CSA - which was losing its slaves - and the United States, whose state governments proved capable of more successful action against this 'great migration'.
By the 1880s order had been restored in Maryland, although by this time it had suffered large amounts of internal conflict due to the Secession Crisis. Moreover, certain political practices had been adopted that would have reprocussions for the future, namely the establish of certain 'Freemen Zones' along the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Large areas of the State had been labeled 'White Only', and while the personal ownership of slaves had become illegal under the Emancipation Act of 1889, private ownership of slaves had been replaced with a form of state 'guardianship'. Although theoretically allowed self-government, these Freemen Zones were recquired to pay taxes to the state in the form of money and a certain ammount of Labor each year.
During the 1890s, its relationship with these balkanized Freemen continued to evolve, becoming more complicated. Every wary of continued influx of Freemen from the South, a number of white Marylanders had enthusiastically embrassed the idea of resettlement of blacks in Africa. But with the invention of vulcanization, and increasing importance of rubber, which could easily be grown in Liberia - the principle destination of resettlement - it had become a buisness. Slowly but surely the Resettlement program became more about controlling Liberia's rubber plantations than resettling the black population. By 1898, Maryland Negroes had become the majority in Liberia, leading to the success of a referendum in 1907 establishing Liberia as a protectorate of Maryland. Ironically, due to the annexation of Liberia, Maryland now controlled more land in Africa than it did in America.
In order to protect and exploit Liberia's resources, the Maryland government, under the rule of the Constitutional Union Party after the collapse of the Democrats in the 1898 election, began to invest in a navy capable of confronting any threats to Maryland's increasingly profitable seaborne trade. The state began supplementing investment in heavy industry and technology, mostly in areas having to do with naval affairs, although secondary and supporting industries were supported as well. This prompted massive economic growth, as well as growing independence from foreign powers.
In 1914, Maryland allied with the German Empire in World War I, in order to expand its African territories. The stalemate in 1917, however, prevented any further territorial expansion. In 1931, during the collapse of the United States, Maryland invaded Washington, DC, in order to overthrow the government of Herbert Hoover and implement a puppet administration to restore order. Although Maryland troops managed to seize the capital, executing Hoover, the resulting puppet administration of Henry Stimson failed to control the situation, due to the collapse of government across most of North America. Stimson was killed by troops loyal to the former administration after less than a week in power. Washington was then annexed and made the capital of Maryland. This has led Maryland to declare themselves the successor state to the United States; however, this is not recognised by any nation, with the USNK regarded as a more plausible successor.
In the Second World War, Maryland once again allied with Germany, and annexed the British colony of Sierra Leone and the French colony of Cote d'Ivoire, vastly expanding both its population and territory. This new expansion meant that more of the population of Maryland lived in Africa than North America. However, the white-dominated government continued to deny voting and property rights to the black population. This led to the formation of the Maryland African Congress in 1946, in order to gain rights for Negroes in Maryland. It began a terrorist campaign against the government, which was to persist for the next 36 years.
After the war, Maryland boomed economically. The Constitutional Union Party, which changed its name to the Constitution Party in 1928, gerrymandered the electoral system in order to discourage the divided, weak opposition. The Vridi Canal was completed in Abidjan in 1951, allowing the city to become an important sea port and boosting greater industrial development in the African states.
In 1980, the Maryland African Congress' ongoing terrorist campaign gained new strength with the Liberian Revolt, in which Samuel Doe, an African soldier in Liberia, seized control of the African states of Maryland, and declared independence as the Democratic Republic of Liberia. The revolt was quickly crushed due to the African states' lack of industrial or military development, with Doe quickly tried and executed. However, attacks on civilian populations during the revolt created tension within Maryland, with terrorist attacks by the MAC occuring almost daily. The next two governors of Liberia were assassinated by militants. Finally, in 1982, to end the ongoing civil war, the President of Liberia, Marvin Mandel, gave the African population voting rights. In the 1982 presidential election, Joseph Momoh of the MAC defeated Mandel, becoming the first black president of Maryland, and first non-Constitutional Union president since 1886.
During the North American War, Maryland attacked both Virginia and Pennsylvania. The war was both long and costly, with the landing on Virginia Beach by Maryland soldiers regarded as one of the bloodiest incidents of the war. In the end, Maryland occupied northern Virginia and southern Pennsylvania, which it still holds as of 2006.
Maryland is a federation of five states and one federal district. Each state has an elected legislature and governor, and retains a wide degree of internal control. Under the Constitutional Party administration, African states were led by appointed governors who effectively wielded autocratic power; however, this was changed under the reforms following 1982.
The President of Maryland serves as head of the national executive, who appoints a cabinet to administer federal affairs, such as defence and foreign affairs. The legislature, the Maryland Congress, is a bicameral parliament consisting of the House of Representatives, containing 200 representatives elected based on population, and the Maryland Senate, containing 25 Senators elected by the state legislatures. The legislature previously met in the United States Capitol in Washington; however, there is present discussion about moving the legislature to Abidjan, the largest city in Maryland.
Maryland politics are generally based along racial lines; the white population largely votes for the Constitution Party, while the black population largely votes for the Maryland African Congress. Since 1982, the Maryland African Congress has only lost power between 1998 to 2002, after the previous government lost much credibility following the Watergate scandal, in which it was alleged that the Maryland African Congress had conspired to blow up the hotel room of William Donald Schaefer, a popular Constitution Party candidate for the upcoming election. Schaefer was defeated in 2002, returning the nation to Maryland African Congress control.