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**North American League and Solemn League and Covenant**

Languages
Official	English, Brithenig, Dutch, Riksmål, Ladino, Scots, Pennsylfaanisch, Castilian, Algonquian, Cherokee, Inuttitut
Other	Gaelic, Greek, Kerno, Wenedyk,
Capital	Philadelphia
Important Cities	Balafor, Chicago, New Amsterdam, St. Louis, Victoria City, Atlanta, Toronto
General Moderator	Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. (Whig)
First Viceroy	Matthew Cuomo
Area	...
Population
Independence	from various
(declared)	1803
(recognized)
Currency	SLC pound
Organizations	Commonwealth of Nations, Scandinavian Realm
National Song	"They Come!" (til 1814); "Wafts Still the Old Blue Sheet" (since 1814)

The NAL/SLC is a federation of former British colonies, Native state-like bodies and two Scandinavian colonies in North America, capital at Philadelphia. Due to economic and political conditions in the 17th and 18th centuries, citizens of several British North American colonies moved to gain more independence; and so issued the Solemn League and Covenant on 2 July 1803, under which the former colonies secured independence of commerce and defense yet remained subjects of the Crowns of England, Scotland and Kemr. The French colony of New Francy was invited to join, but opted instead to pursue full independence, forming the independent Intendancy of New Francy which is surrounded by the NAL. The chief non British colony, New Sweden, hesitated but eventually joined two decades after the initial membership.

General

The North American League and Solemn League and Covenant is the largest country in the North American continent. It comprises most of the territory east of the Mississippi basin (in the south) and east of the Stony Mountains (in the north). Politically, it is a democratic republic that owes allegience to the Federated Kingdoms and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Short History

See History of the NAL.

Some notes on America

Basic Functioning

In practice the NAL has always functioned as rather more than a commonwealth or alliance but just a little less than a unitary state. Had the different provinces not in some sense needed each other and been more-or-less well-bordered on all sides this might not have worked out. However, though Louisianne has improved itself in recent years as an essentially stable neighbor in terms of the not-threatening-the-NAL; this was not always the case. It has never been fully trusted and even into the XX century, it was looked upon with mistrust due to the 1828 War. The proximity of Deseret, Oregon and Alyaska have proven to be of little impact upon the actual life of most Americans. This happy state of affairs is of course not always the case with Florida, though that situation qualified more as an inconvenience rather than much of a threat. It came as a great blow to the young country's constitution when imperial Castile and Leon seized the territory, and the NAL found itself unable to retake it by force or diplomacy. It is only in the early XXI century that Florida and Tejas have been dealt with to satisfaction.

As a result, the extremely diverse nature of the NAL has become a strength rather than a weakness. For this reason it played a subtle but important part in both the First and Second Great Wars--a huge resevoir of manpower and resources far from the center of conflict, with a correspondingly safe industrial infrastructure.

The simple process of keeping such a diverse nation functioning, plus the existence of what continues to be a large frontier, has also helped in making the NAL something all its neighbors should be grateful for--not very expansionist at all.

Possibly the single greatest threat to the NAL is also its internal diversity, which sometimes flares up into feuds and intense argument. Different religions are often at the epicenter of such, especially with regards to such "moral" issues as abortion, the status of established religions, the definition of marriage and gay rights. The matter of teaching evolution and other controversial (to some) scientific principles have also been a point of argument, though rarely prolonged violence. Yet some claim--and not without justification--that such is merely to be expected in a large, diverse country and that the League's very stability makes such tensions possible but also manageable.

An example of this might be found in the tension between Jante's Law and the Pioneering Spirit as well as the concept of Top Nation, and has resulted in--among other things--a new cultural ideal dubbed "Less Is More."

The Government

Essentially, the NAL-SLC is governed according to the Solemn League and Covenant drafted by the Founders in 1803. It establishes a Convention (usually called Parliament) of two houses--the House of Delegates and the Senate. Parliament elects a General Moderator for a ten-year term, who then chooses a Cabinet from the members of Parliament. The GM nominates and the Senate either confirms or denies magistrates for the Supreme Court.

As a counter-point to the power of the GM, there is also a Viceregal College.

Legally, the NAL's head of state depends on which province one is in: English provinces owe royal allegience to the English crown, Scottish provinces to the Scottish, Scandinavian provinces to the Scandinavian crown and Kemrese provinces to the Kemrese crown. Native provinces find the concept odd, but are willing to allow the Whites their odd manner. The head of government is the General Moderator, who is elected for a single ten year term of office by the members of the Parliament. MPs address each other as "Brother Sessions" or "Sister Cowan". MPs from any of the Native provinces are referred to "Elder Brother" or "Elder Sister".

Parties

The known national political parties in the NAL are the right-wing Progressive Conservative Party (PCP), the left wing Whig Party (W) and the centrist Covenant Loyalist Party (CL). Together these three make up the bulk of the Convention.

There is also the Labour Party (L); the Conservative Party (C) and the Adullamite Republicans Party (ARP). The Conservative Party is a splinter off of the PCP. Other parties include the Democratic Socialist Party (AS) and Green Carnation Party (GC).

Territorial Expansion

The NAL has always maintained a policy of denying it the possibility of territorial expansion by means of war. It has been speculated that America could encompass every territory from Alta California to Alyaska and over to the Mississippi River, had there existed the desire to conquer those lands. Given its resources, the outcome would probably not have been in doubt. Throughout its history, the NAL has been content to "live and let live".

All territorial expansion is accomplished via a well defined progression of local referrenda and proto-provincial work sessions (attended and counseled by an American embassy); the presenting of formal credentials and desire for admittance to the Council Fire of the Natives in Aquonishuonigy; upon acceptance by the Elders, formal submittal of proposals to the Parliament and acceptance or denial by same.

Provinces

Most provinces are governed by an officer styled Lord (or Lady) Governor who is elected for a term set by the province's constitution. Most serve for five year terms, some may run multiple times other provinces limit the number of terms a governor may serve.

Furthermore, each province seats its own legislature and holds its own courts of law, based on the legal system of its home country in the case of the original provinces. In the case of newer provinces, their justice systems are taken from the provinces that in turn colonised them. The several Aboriginal Provinces (Cherokee Nation, Nunavik, Aquanishuonigy, etc) each have legal and legislative systems that mix European and Native tradition to some degree.

The Name

That's a ruddy mouthful, and is usually called "North American League" or simply "America", to the satisfaction of Americans from Carolina to New Iceland, from the mighty Mississippi to the frigid waters of Baffin's Bay, and to the chagrin of all those other Americans from Tejas, Mejico, Guiana, etc. "Solemn League And Covenant Of North America" is the formal name of the North American League, and also of the agreement which created it.

According to W. Cowan's History of the American Nations, the "The name 'Solemn League and Covenant' refers firstly to the documents that form the basis and foundation of the country called the 'North American League'; and secondarily to that country itself when it is seen as a League of independent States. When the League is seen as a unitary State, showing a single face to the world, the name 'North American League' is more often used."

People of the NAL refer to themselves as "Americans" and that usage has spread to their European motherlands as well. The flag of the NAL is the Plough in white stars on a dark blue background and is called the "Old Blue Sheet".

Languages

Many languages are spoken in the SLC/NAL: Lallans, Scots Gaelic and English are all spoken in New Scotland; Brithenig, Batavian and several native Algonquian languages are spoken in New Castreleon; Pennsylvaanisch is spoken in Pennsylvania; Kerno and Brithenig are spoken in Ter Mair, along with a large Irish Gaelic minority in the southern part of the province; Swedish and English are spoken in New Sweden; French and English are spoken in Mobile and Illinoise; while English predominates in the south, with sprinklings of German and Lallans.

The name

In the various Official Languages of its Provinces

Brithenig:

Castillian:

English: the Solemn League and Covenant of North America

Ladino: la Liga i el Kontrato Solemnes de Norteamerika

Riksmål: Det Nordamericanske Høgtideligt Forbund og Pacht

Scots: The Solemnit Leagge and Covenant o North America

Francien: La Ligue et le Concordat Solonnel Nord-Américain

Positive References in Foreign Languages

Corean: Puñmi Doñmaiñ (popular)

Japanese: Hocubei Catai Dòmei to Seiyacuxa (official); Hocubei Dòmei (popular); Beimei (abbreviation)

Wenedyk: Liga i Askrodamię Soleń Amerycze Miódnocali (LiASAM; official); Liga Miódnocałoamerykana (LMA; popular)

Elbic: La Llega Norteamericanna i la Cconcorzà Solenne (LNCS, official)

Bohemian: Té Nórta Amérika To Hóchpuntnis (NAH; official), Ten Hóchpunt (popular)

Less flattering term sometime used to address NAL citizens:

English: Covee, Covey (as in "Covee go home!").

Riksmål: Forpachtere (probably).

French: nalien (sounding like n'a rien, meaning has nothing)

Neutral terms

Corean: Puñmi Saram

English: American, North American

French: Élènien (taken from LNA, the initials of the country in francien)

Japanese: Hocubeidjin (literally "North American")

Culture

Melting Pot, Land of Fusion

(will need expansion)

Cultural Imperialism

Interestingly, a few sociologists claim that the NAL is an example of a new form of Imperialism, which is not at all military in nature but rather cultural. They point out to the pervasive nature of NAL's media and its economic ties worldwide. "The position of the NAL, particularly in the post war period, has been one of rampant cultural imperialism. In every aspect of culture, be it music or the visual arts, the NAL is a rapacious exporter and imposer of its own cultural artifacts. [...] Take the mass popularity of Jass and the moving picture series War in the Heavens as fine exemplars." (Craven & Ross, 2003) Most academics are not so quick to aggrandize the NAL's effects on world culture, citing the relative parity of cultural influences in the world as a whole. In other words, "Proponents of the claim that America is culturally imperialistic have at every moment failed to take into account the influence of many exporters of cultural artifacts (moving pictures, music, literature, works of plastic arts, foodways, etc.) Even relatively small countries like Montrei, Jervaine and Madagascar have been able to impress something of their own cultures upon the American experience. [...] It can not be sustained the notion that the NAL is a net exporter and imposer of culture upon the world." (Larson, Jones and Smith, 2004)

National Symbols

National Songs

The NAL's first national song, "They Come!", was composed in 1803 to honour Richard Whittington and Georges Clinton, two of the chief "Fathers of America", upon their triumphal entrance to New Amsterdam after the ratification of the Solemn League and Covenant and subsequent Royal Accession to the same. It is sung to the tune "He Comes, the Hero Comes!":

1.THey comes! þey comes! The heroes comes!
Securd the Peace for all our homes,
THeir rankes advance in bright array,
THe heroes of Americay.

2.He comes! tis mighty Whittington!
Word failes to telle all he has done;
Our hero, guardian, father, friend!
His fame can neuer, neuer end:

3.He comes! he comes! tis Clinton comes!
Justice her ancient seat resumes.
From shoar to shoar let shoutes resounde,
For Justice comes with freedom crownd.

4.O word! o word! o mighty pen!
Neuer to dulle like swords wrought by men,
From south til north let all folk say,
THe Sol'mn League of Americay!

5.Now Freedom has our wishes crownd,
Let flowing goblets passe around;
We'll drinke to freedoms fav'rite Son,
Health, peace, and joy to Whittington.

(Henrhig Car, from the New London Gazette, 12 December 1803)

In 1814, after the death of Governor Clinton and after several victories at sea over pirates in both the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas, "They Come!" was retired the new National Song, "Wafts Still the Old Blue Sheet", written by Ter Mair native Ffrensisc S. Keyes, a prisoner rescued from Caribbean pirates, who witnessed the Seige of Kingestown, Jamaica. This anthem has been set to a couple different tunes over the years, one being To Anacreon in Heaven. Most Americans are familiar with the setting to the old hymn tune Near the Cross

1.O, say can ye see, by þe dawns early light,
What so proudly we haild at the twilights last gleaming?
Whose deep blue and bright stars, þro the perilous fight,
O'er þe ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And þe rockets red glare, þe bombes bursting in air,
Gave proof thro þe night þat our flag was still þere.
Wafts still þe Old Blue Sheet, o'er þe sea and o'er þe wave,
O'er the land of þe free and þe home of þe brave?

2.On þe shoar, dimly seen þro þe mists of þe deep,
Where þe foes haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is þat which þe breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blowes, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches þe gleam of þe mornings first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on þe stream:
Tis þe humble brave Blue Sheet! O long may it wave
O'er the land of þe free and þe home of þe brave.

3.O! þus be it euer, when freemen shall stand
Between þeir loved homes and þe wars desolatioun!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may þe heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power þat hath made and preservd us a nation.
Then stand bold we must, when our cause it is just,
And þis be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And þe determind Blue Sheet in triumph shall wave
O'er þe land of þe free and þe home of þe brave!

Catherine Lee Bates's "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies", written in 1904 to the tune "Materna", is often thought of as the NAL's "unofficial" National Song, on account of its instant, intense and deep seated popularity. It was written in a time when the natural wonder of America was being opened to the masses through the Royal Geographic Society's magazine "American Geography" and the moving pictures of Thomas Edison and others. The Great War, which would break over Europe within the decade brought out a resurgence of patriotism and military spirit, which secured the position of "Wafts Still the Old Blue Sheet".

1.O beautiful for spacious skies,
For ample woodland spyres;
For lofty mountain majesties
Above þe farms and byres!
America! America!
God shed His grace on þee,
And crown þy good with brotherhood,
From plain to crag to sea.

2.O beautiful for heroes provd
In liberatand strife,
Who more þan self þeir country lovd,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God þy gold refine,
Til all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine.

3.O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond þe yeares
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend þine every flaw,
Confirm þy soul in self control,
Thy liberty in law.

The national holiday

2 July is called Convention Day or Diwrn ill Testafent, and marks the formal declaration of independence from the British homelands.

The Old Blue Sheet

The flag of the NAL is called the Old Blue Sheet, and dates to the early 19th century rebellion that led the British colonies in North America to declare their constitutional independence from England, Scotland and Kemr. When Richard Whittington began casting tea into Baltimore Harbour, in protest to various Kemrese stamp taxes, a Philadelphian seamstress, Bettina Rosen, wife of Pennsylvaanish statesman Heinrich Rosen, made a flag to commemorate the cause. Locals noted that Rosen cut up white napkins into stars and stitched them onto a blue sheet from the local Oxhead Inn; and it was popular decree that named the new flag the Old Blue Sheet. Of course, Richard Whittington later went on to become the first General Moderator of the new North Americal League, and proposed Rosen's flag as the banner of the new country.

Coat of Arms

See American Coats of Arms

Folk Traditions

A common folk song in Britain, Aiken Drum has his American counterpart too:

1. There was a man lived in the Moon, in the Moon, in the Moon;
there was a man lived in the Moon, and his name was Aiken Drum;
2. he wore a kilt of rushes green, rushes green, rushes green;
he wore a kilt of rushes green, with a tick tock took tack tum;
3. his hair and beard knew never comb, knew never comb, knew never comb;
his hair and beard knew never comb, for his name was Aiken Drum;
4. some say he was a soldier, a soldier, a soldier;
some say he was a soldier, and his name was Aiken Drum;
5. but the bairns played harmless round his knee, round his knee, round his knee;
but the bairns played harmless round his knee, with a tick tock took tack tum;
6. and he played on a ladle, a ladle, a ladle;
and he played on a ladle, with a tick tock took tack tum;
7. and he rode on a horse of white, a horse of white, a horse of white;
and he rode on a horse of white, with a clip clop whackalally dum;
8. and with him rode a lady, a lady, a lady;
and with him rode a lady, with a clip clop whackalally tum;
9. and she played on a ladle, a ladle, a ladle;
and she played on a ladle, with a tick tock took tack tum;
10. and they two rode all in to town, all in to town, all in to town;
and they two rode all in to town, with a tick tock took tack tum;
11. and in the town their troth they plought, troth they plought, troth they plought;
and in the town their troth they plought, with a ring ring whackalally tum;
12. and they played on two ladles, two ladles, two ladles;
and they playon on two ladles, with a tick tock took tack tum;
13. in time they had a bairnocky, a bairnocky, a bairnocky;
in time they had a bairnocky, and his name was Johnock Drum;
14. and he played on a ladle, a ladle, a ladle;
and he played on a ladle, with a tick tock took tack tum;
15. one day they went to the parish fair, parish fair, parish fair;
one day they went to the parish fair, with a hog dog whackallaly tum;
16. and they played on three ladles, three ladles, three ladles,
and they played on three ladles, with a tick tock took tack tum;
17. and all the parish laughed and sang, laughed and sang, laughed and sang;
and all the parish laughed and sang, with a hey and a hoe and a tum;
18. the prester came down from the church, from the church, from the church;
the prester came down from the church, with a bell and a book and a drum;
19. he blessed them by the Trinity, the Trinity, the Trinity;
he blessed them by the Trinity, with his bell and his book and his drum;
20. at eveningtide they all rode home, all rode home, all rode home;
at eveningtide they all rode home, with a clip clop whackalally tum;
21. and they played on three ladles, three ladles, three ladles;
and they played on three ladles; wife and son and Aiken Drum.

Economy

see NAL Currency

Transport

Roads

The road system of the NAL is a hodgepodge of provincial roads, roadway Trails and League subsidised Post Roads, such as PR-1 or PR-66. Numbered roads are assigned a distinctive shield depending on which authority is responsible for it. The signs above are all found in Ter Mair, a way north of Georgetown, except for the yellow sign which is in Baltimore. The rectangular shield indicates Ter Mair provincial road; the fancy shield indicates Post Road. The NAL has no system of limited access highways, such as Louisiana's autoroutes, though many stretches of the Post Road system are limited access throughways. The old system of Trails -- roads that are given quaint and descriptive names like "Adirondack Trail" or "The Old Coastal Highway" -- is slowly disapearing as these roads are imporved to meet the guidelines governing the Post Roads. Some of the names linger, however: PR-1 is called "America's Main Street"; PR-40 is called "Old West Pike" and the "Old National Road"; PR-66 is called the "Mother Road" and is famous in song and popular culture. Some veritably ancient portions of pavement from these older roads have been removed and preserved in museums in different parts of the country. See an article on roads for more detail.

A portion of the Transcontinental Highway runs through the NAL on its way from north to south. The NAL's portion begins in Rousses Point, in New Castreleon, which is a major Customs node between the NAL and New France, as it lies along the route that major roads and railways follow between New Amsterdam and Montreal. From Rousses Point, the TCH heads south along Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, along the Adirondack Trail (pending status as a future PR-9) until it reaches New Amsterdam; then it turns to the southwest and follows PR-1 and passes through Philadelphia, Balafor (Baltimore) and Castregeory (Georgetown). At Georgetown, the TCH heads west following the PR-66 through Charleston, Louisville and ends at St. Louis City, on the east bank of the Mississippi. From there, it passes into the Republic of Louisianne and heads to the southwest, passing into Tejas and ultimately into Mejico and the rest of Iberian America. A new alternate route sticks to PR-1 out of Georgetown and at St. Augustines City in East Florida turns west to follow the PR-90 into New Orleans.

Rail

See Railways of the NAL.

NAL-SLC