Counterculture/The Lone Star Republic
The Lone Star Republic, also referred to as the Lone Star, LSR, LS, or Texian States, is a federal republic in south-western central North America, stretching from the Sabine River in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares large land borders with the Free American Republic in the north, Mexico in the south and the Confederate States of America in the east. It also shares a small land border with the United States of America in the northeast. The country has four states: Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. It also has a group of 37 territories collectively referred to as the Lone Star Indian Territories. A Lone Star citizen from any of the states is usually identified as a Texian. A citizen from the territories is usually identified as an Indian.
The Lone Star Republic traces its national origin to the declaration by Texas in 1866 that it was a free and independent nation from the Confederate States of America.
The Lone Star Republic was founded under a tradition of having the rule come from the people under the representative democracy model.
History
Following the end of the Confederate Revolution Texas, which did not have the number of slave owners that the rest of the Confederate States did, balked at the quantity and degree of abuses the black slaves faced between 1864 and 1866.
Sam Houston, a venerable Texas politican, began the work of secession from the the Confederate States by forging an alliance with the United States president George McClellan who assured political and economic support for the would be nation in return for the guarantee that it would be a slave-free nation. Sam Houston also forged an alliance with many of the Indian nations throughout the region, assuring the defense of the northern borders in return for semi-autonomous territories where the Indians could govern themselves.
Sam Houston became the first President of the Lone Star Republic when it declared itself a sovereign nation in February of 1866. The Western American War began with the Northwest Confederacy invasion of the Lone Star Republic in April of 1866 and ended the following year in May of 1867, during which the alliances Sam Houston had formed kept the Lone Star intact.
The Constitution of the Lone Star Republic, a mixture of the Constitutions of the Republic of Texas and the Constitution of the the United States of America was ratified in June of 1867 by the citizens of the state of Texas and the Council of Chiefs of the Lone Star Indian Territories.
There were a number of border skirmishes with Mexico during the later half of the 1860's which lead to California joining with the Lone Star Republic in February of 1870. In March of 1870 both Arizona and New Mexico were also admitted into the Republic.
Politics
The Lone Star Republic consists of four states and a set of 37 territories which have extensive but limited autonomy. What federal law there is takes precedence over laws within the states and territories. In general, matters that lie entirely within state or territory borders are the exclusive concern of state or territory governments. These include internal communications; regulations relating to property, industry, business, and public utilities; the state or territory criminal code; and working conditions within the state.
The federal government itself consists of three branches: the executive branch (headed by the President), the legislative branch (the Congress), and the judicial branch (headed by the High Court). The President is elected by the process of a nation-wide popular vote. The various legislators are chosen by popular vote within the states and the territories. All members of the executive and legislative branches are elected for terms of five years and can not succeed themselves. Justices of the High Court are appointed by the President and, if ratified by the Congress, serve for life. This tripartite model of government is duplicated for the states governments. Models of government are much more varied in the territories. Local governments both within the states and territories take various forms.
The federal and state governments are dominated by two political parties, the Free Soil Party and Labor Party. Given their complex support bases it is difficult to specifically categorize the two major parties' appeal. Within the Lone Star's political culture, the Free Soil Party is described as socially moderate-permissive and economically permissive whereas the Labor Party is described as socially moderate and economically restrictive. Minor party and independent candidates are occasionally elected, usually to local or state office, but the Lone Star's political system has historically supported "catch-all parties" rather than coalition governments. The ideology and policies of the sitting President of the Lone Star do not tend to play as large a role in determining the direction of his political party as in the United States or Confederate States.
Political parties in the Lone Star do not have formal "leaders," although there are complex hierarchies within the political parties that form various executive committees. Party ideology remains very individually-driven, with a diverse spectrum of moderates, centrists, and radicals within each party.
The two parties exist on the federal, state, and local levels, although the parties' organization, platform, and ideologies are not necessarily uniform across all levels of government.
Both major parties draw some support from across the diverse socio-economic classes which compose the multi-ethnic capitalist society which makes up the Lone Star Republic. Business interests provide the bulk of financial support to both parties, favoring the Free Soil party heavily. The Labor party receives more support from labor unions and minority ethnic groups. Because federal elections in the Lone Star are not nearly as expensive as they are in the United States, access to funds is not as vital in the political system. Thus corporations, unions, and other organized groups that provide funds and political support to parties and politicians play a smaller role in determining political agendas and government decision-making.
Political divisions
At the time of the birth of the Lone Star Republic, Texas became the first state, initially connected in a loose confederation with the Indian Territories. In 1870, the number of states grew to four with the addition of California, New Mexico, and Arizona. All of the states are divided into smaller administrative regions: counties, cities and townships.
The Lone Star Indian Territories are a collection of 37 seperate territories, which are united under a Council of Chiefs. The Indian Territories take up most of the northern border of the Lone Star Republic with some pockets inside of each of the states.
Geography
Texas
Central Texas is an area in Texas, also referred to as the Texas Hill Country. The area is roughly bordered by a line running from Austin to San Antonio to Uvalde to Junction to Lampasas and back to Austin.
Central Texas, along with many other parts of Texas, busts the western movie stereotype of Texas being all plains and prairie. The rolling hills of Central Texas are full of huge Bur oak trees along with plenty of Ashe Juniper and Mesquite. The clear, cool spring fed rivers and creeks are lined with towering Baldcypress trees and are a welcome relief in the hot Texas summer as are the many lakes.
In the summer, one of the favorite activities is floating down a creek or river in an inner tube. In spring, it's time to drive the winding backroads and take in the rainbow of colors produced by the blooming wildflowers including Bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush. In fall and winter, the hunters visit in hopes of taking home a white-tail deer.
A couple of the favorite local cuisines are barbecue and a cheesier, greasier version of traditional Mexican food lovingly referred to as Tex-Mex.
According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone County and then southeastward to Galveston Bay", though some separate the Gulf Coast area into a separate region. This area includes all or parts of 49 counties, totalling almost 40,000 square miles and a population of almost 6 million.
The geography is composed mainly of the Piney Woods, a mixed forest of deciduous and conifer flora. The Piney woods cover 23,500 square miles of gently rolling or hilly forested land. These woods are part of a much larger region of pine-hardwood forest that extends into the Confederate States of America. The Piney Woods thin out as it nears the Gulf of Mexico. East Texas lies within the Gulf Coastal Plain and receives more rainfall, 35 to 50 inches, than the rest of Texas. The climate is mild and ranges from temperate to sub-tropical. In Houston the average January temperature is 50.4ºF (10.2ºC) and the average July temperature is 82.6ºF (28.1ºC), however Houston has slightly warmer winters than most of East Texas.
The Sabine River and Trinity River are the major rivers in East Texas, but the Brazos River and Red River also flow through the region. The Brazos cuts through the southwest portion of the region while the Red River forms its northern border with the heart of the Indian Territories. In East Texas and the rest of the South, small rivers and creeks collect into swamps called "Bayous" and merge with the surrounding forest. Bald cypress and Spanish moss are the dominate plants in Bayous. The most famous of these bayous are Cypress Bayou and Buffalo Bayou. Cypress Bayou surrounds the Big, Little, and Black Cypress rivers around Jefferson. They flow east into Caddo Lake and the adjoing wetlands cover the rim and islands of the lake. Most of Buffalo Bayou was cleared to create the Houston Ship Channel, the remaining portions of Buffalo Bayou are in Downtown Houston.
North Texas is a distinct cultural and geographic area. North Texas is generally considered to include the area south of the Indian Territories, east of Abilene, Texas, and north of Waco, Texas. North Texas does not include the Panhandle of Texas, despite the fact that it extends farther north.
North Texas is centered upon the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the largest metropolitan area in Texas. People in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas sometimes use the terms "Metroplex" and "North Texas" interchangeably. However, North Texas actually refers to a much larger area that includes many rural counties.
New Mexico
New Mexico has a southern border with Mexico, an eastern border with Texas (103°), and a western border with Arizona (109°). The landscape ranges from rose-colored deserts to mountains that are snow-capped most of the year. Despite New Mexico's arid image, forests cover a significant portion of the state.
Llano Estacado is a region in the northern LSR that encompasses parts of northeastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. It is a large mesa, or tableland, and relatively flat over most of its terrain. It is bounded on the north by the Canadian River and on the east by the Caprock Escarpment and on the west by the Mescalero Escarpment.
Llano Estacado is Spanish for "staked plains." It is the southern end of the Great Plains and is part of what was once called the Great American Desert. The term staked plain arose after Spanish conquistador Francisco Coronado and his troops encountered this "sea of grass". Most authorities believe that the term originates from the stockade-like appearance of the geologic formations which form its boundaries, while some believe that Coronado and his men drove wooden stakes into the ground so that they could find their way out of the tall prairie grass. However, later explorers found markers of stones, buffalo bones, and dung, not wooden stakes.
It should be noted that the horses of the conquistadors were the first to return to the Great Plains since their extinction in North America eons earlier, and that some horses would escape, thus giving horses to some of the Indian tribes in the succeeding centuries. Before this, the dog was their largest domesticated animal.
Llano Estacado is also the name of an award-winning winery in Lubbock, Texas.
Indian Territories
The West Texas Indian Territory is a region in Texas which has more in common geographically with New Mexico than it does with East Texas and North Texas.
This Indian Territory has a much lower population density than the rest of the region and is mostly inhabited by tribes such as the Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa. Many of the people who currently populate West Texas are migrants from other parts of Texas.
West Texas receives much less rainfall than the rest of Texas and has an arid or semi-arid climate, requiring most of its agriculture to be dependent on irrigation. Much of West Texas has rugged terrain including several small mountain ranges while there are none in other parts of the state. West Texas contains part of the Chihuahuan desert and also the Southern Great Plains, known as the Llano Estacado. Due to their smaller numbers, many West Texans feel politically isolated from the rest of the state. Major industries include livestock production, petroleum and natural gas production, cotton and grain farming.
Arizona
The Colorado Plateau: The Colorado Plateau covers the northern 2/5 of the state of Arizona. This area is characterized by a broad, mostly flat, level land interrupted by occasional soaring mountains and deep canyons. The Colorado River runs through the Colorado Plateau carving the deepest canyon in the area, the Grand Canyon. Other notable canyons, cut by tributaries of the Colorado River, are the Canyon de Chelly and Oak Creek Canyon. The highest point in Colorado is also located in the Colorado Plateau area. Humphreys Peak climbs 12,633 feet above sea level near Flagstaff. Some of the mountains are forested but the area is also marked by dry desert areas.
Monument Valley lies in the northeast Colorado Plateau Region along the Utah border. Monument Valley is an area of steep buttes, mesas and pinnacles standing defiantly above a flat plain. 10,000,000 years of erosion have created a breathtaking landscape. Black Mesa, one of the largest geological formations in Arizona is found on the Colorado Plateau along with the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.
The southern edge of the Colorado Plateau is bordered by the Mogollon Rim, a steep wall almost 2,000 feet high in some places, that runs from central Arizona to the Mogollon Mountains in New Mexico.
The Transition Zone: Just south of the Colorado Plateau and north of the Arizona Basin and Ridge Region lies the aptly named Transition Zone. This narrow strip of land is characterized by a rugged series of mountain ranges and valleys. The Mazatzal, Santa Maria, Sierra Ancha, and White mountain ranges are found in the Transition Zone along with the Salt River Canyon.
The Basin and Ridge Region: South of the Transition Zone, and occupying a small strip of land along the western border with California, the Basin and Ridge Region of Arizona is characterized by mountain ranges running from the northwest in a southeasterly direction. These mountain ranges, with names like Chiricahua, Gila, Huachuca, Hualapai, Pinaleno, Santa Catalina, Santa Rita, and Superstition are separated by low fertile valleys. When there is enough water, these valleys are capable of sustaining crops such as lettuce, cotton, citrus and melons.
California
California borders the Pacific Ocean, Arizona, the Free American Republic, the Canadian province of Oregon, and the Mexican State of Baja California. The state has striking natural features, including a huge fertile central valley, high mountains, and hot dry deserts. With an area of 370,000 km² it is the second largest state in the Lone Star Republic. Most major cities cling to the cool, pleasant seacoast along the Pacific, notably San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego. The capital, however, is Sacramento in the Central Valley.
California has many types of geography. Down the center of the state lies the Central Valley, a huge, fertile valley bounded by the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the Sierra Nevada to the east, the Cascade Range in the north and the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. Mountain-fed rivers naturally irrigate the Central Valley. With dredging, several of these rivers have become sufficiently large and deep that several inland cities, notably Stockton, California, are seaports.
In the center and east of the state are the Sierra Nevada, containing the highest peak in North America., Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4421 m). Also in the Sierra is the world famous Yosemite National Park and a deep freshwater lake, Lake Tahoe. To the east of the Sierra is the Owens Valley and Mono Lake, an essential seabird habitat.
In the south lie the Transverse Ranges and a large salt lake, the Salton Sea. The south-central desert is called the Mojave. To the northeast of the Mojave lies Death Valley, which contains the lowest, hottest point in North America.
California is famous for its earthquakes due partly to the presence of the San Andreas Fault. While more powerful earthquakes in the United States have occurred in Alaska and along the Mississippi River, California earthquakes are notable due to their frequency and location in highly populated areas. Popular legend has it that, eventually, an earthquake known as "The Big One" will result in the splitting of coastal California from the continent, either to sink into the ocean or form a new landmass. The fact that this scenario is completely implausible from a geologic standpoint does not lessen its acceptance in public conventional wisdom, or its exploitation by the producers of science fiction and fantasy media.
California is also home to several volcanoes, some active such as Mammoth Mountain. Other volcanoes include Lassen Peak, which erupted from 1914 and 1921.
