Commonwealth of Susquehanna (1983: Doomsday)

Commonwealth of Susquehanna
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday
OTL equivalent: Northeastern Pennsylvania excluding southern Carbon, Monroe, and Schuylkill counties


Flag	Coat of Arms
Nation in yellow

Motto
Ex Fides Pertinacia
("In Faith, Determination")

Anthem

"Oh, Susquehanna"

Capital

Bloomsburg

Largest city

Hazleton

Other cities

Danville, Sunbury, Berwick

Language
official

English

others

German (Pennsylvania Dutch)

Religion
main

Secular State

others

Roman Catholic, Methodist, Amish, Baptist, other Christian denominations

Ethnic Groups
main

Anglo-American, German-American

others

African-American, Asian, Hispanic

Demonym

Susquehannean, Pennsylvanian

Governor

David Argall (R)

Lieutenant Governor

Lynda Schlegal-Culver (R)

Area

2,263 sq mi

Population

254,596 (2020 Census)

Independence

September 26, 1983 (de facto); September 12, 2005 (de jure)

Currency

Barter, Reading Dollar, State College Dollar, US Dollar

Organizations

Confederation of Pennsylvanian States, United Communities

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna, commonly called Susquehanna is a Pennsylvanian survivor nation in the northeastern part of the former state. The name Susquehanna comes from the Len'ape word - Sisa'we'hak'hanna, meaning oyster river.

It is the only survivor state in former northeast Pennsylvania after the union with Hazleton. It is the smallest organized nation in the former state. The leadership has declared independence, but it still uses the pre-Doomsday terms for their government.

The nation formed after over a decade ago, acting as a provisional government, and before that, several years of infighting which almost destroyed the area.

Pre-Doomsday[]

The first major settlements in the Susquehanna River Valley were Iroquois tribes constructing villages. They controlled much of the valley and traded plots of land to English traders. William Penn negotiated with the Iroquois to use the land between the Susquehanna and the Delaware Rivers for villages.

Connecticut had settlers in the Wyoming Valley and claimed the area as part of their state. Pennsylvania disputed this, leading to the Pennamite-Yankee Wars, with only three casualties. In the end, the federal government confirmed Pennsylvanian control over the land.

The river was vital during the coal boom, with rafts carrying the cargo downstream to Harrisburg, Baltimore and other cities to be sold. There was a small canal built in Danville to carry coal and iron to the river.

During World War I and World War II the communities supplies iron to the US Navy for shipbuilding as well as coal. Berwick PA had a former rail car manufacturer constructing the M3 Lee light tank, Danville had a plant producing landing gear for the Wildcat fighter plane and Hazleton had several fabric companies making camouflage for the army.

After the war, the area suffered severe decline in industry and mining as companies moved to China, Mexico and areas with more mineral wealth.

A mine disaster leading to several dozen miners dying and the Susquehanna River flooding several feet underground. This disaster wiped out the little mining left.

By the time Doomsday came around the area was left with some aircraft parts manufacturers, heavy equipment part manufacturing, cloth and carpet manufacturing, a small chemical industry and services.

History[]

See: History of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna

Geography[]

Susquehanna is bisected by the Susquehanna River. Most of its geography is within the Far East part of the Appalachian mountains, with the majority of the communities in the lower valleys. The area has rich, fertile soil with rolling hills that are heavily wooded.

Extensive coal deposits remain under the controlled territory of the nation, with all the coal reserves consisting of anthracite or semi-anthracite coal fields. Southern Columbia, southern Northumberland, and most of Wyoming counties as well as western Carbon Territory sit over the Southern Anthracite Field. Additionally Sullivan County occupies all territory over the Western Northern Anthracite Field. Claimed territory in the rest of former Luzerne County and Lackawanna County have a large anthracite coal reserve in the Northern Anthracite Field.

A small portion of the Unorganized Territory, under former Bradford County contains a small bituminous coal field. However, these reserves have not been secured by the Commonwealth.

The entire nation sits over the Utica Shale, with Sullivan County, parts of northern Columbia County, and parts of northern Luzerne County containing portions of the Marcellus Shale. Both the Utica and Marcellus Shale contain extensive natural gas reserves.

A majority of the nation contains rolling hills or mountains, with very few flat areas. The Pocono Mountains and edges of the Appalachian Mountains cover the vast majority of the region.

Demographics[]

In the constitution, the government must take a census every five years starting in 2005. This is based on the Canadian model of five year intervals compared to the United States ten year intervals.

In the 2020 census, it was recorded that Susquehanna's population had reached 97,596 citizens. Much of the population growth was believed to occur from natural births with a smaller portion from survivors in Nanticoke relocating and foreigners moving to the Commonwealth. (OTL Population as of 2010: 269,465; 295,656 including territories)

The Commonwealth excludes unorganized territories from the census as obtaining accurate data is extremely difficult.

While the nation remains largely agrarian, a rapidly growing portion of the population are living in more urban areas throughout the nation. Much of this migration is to improve personal access to services, infrastructure, and economic opportunity that the communities bring.

Census[]

The census is taken every five years, and is released in January of the census year, at which point the house seats are redistricted. Between each census, each year, Bloomsburg University performs a study to estimate the population for tax estimates and federal grant amounts.

Susquehanna has seen significant population increase in every census with the 2010 census seeing a 293% increase, the 2015 census a 156% increase, and the 2020 census a 131% increase. This has come from high birth rates as well as a consistent increase in territory between censuses.

Year	Population
2004	17,438
2010	51,075
2015	79,606
2020	254,596
2021	256,781

Ethnic Groups[]

The largest racial group in Susquehanna are whites, per the 2020 Census. Small minorities of black, Asian, Hispanic, and other individuals populate the country, most are around the larger cities.

German, Polish, Irish, and Italian are the largest ethnic groups. However English, Ukranian, African American, and Hispanics all have a population that is 1% or more of the overall population composition.

Racial Makeup
- 96% White
  - 95% White (Non-Hispanic)
  - 1% White (Hispanic)
- 2% Black
- 1% Asian
- 1% Other

Ethnic Groups
- 34% German
- 21% Polish
- 17% Irish
- 12% Italian
- 8% English
- 4% Ukrainian
- 1.7% African American
- 1% Hispanic
- 0.4% Chinese
- 0.3% Korean
- 0.2% Indian
- 0.1% Vietnamese
- 1.3% Other

Languages[]

English is the most widely spoken language as well as the official language of Susquehanna. Pennsylvania Dutch is commonly spoken among the Amish population, however the majority of Amish also speak English. Other languages such as Chinese, Italian, Hindi, and Greek may be spoken in homes however these are in the minority and are small enough that they were unable to be officially recorded on the census.

Languages
- 97% English
- 2% Bilingual (English/Pennsylvania Dutch)
- 0.5% Pennsylvania Dutch
- <0.5% Other Languages

Immigration[]

Prior to 2019, Susquehanna had no immigration laws or policies in place. This was due to poor capabilities for border patrol, limited if any documentation of births and death between 1984 and 2002, and the low population in the country. In mid 2019, the government passed laws recognizing any former citizen of Pennsylvania or a legitimate survivor state would be eligible for citizenship after five years of permanent residency and actively engaging in employment.

Immigration rates are fairly flat, with most immigration coming from Lehigh, Reading, or State College. However emigration from the Commonwealth to other nations, especially Reading, for more economic activities has limited the impact immigration has made. This has lead to fairly level population growth from immigration. Domestically, business leaders and government officials are working to increase immigration rates this and help bring skilled workers into the nation.

Municipality Classification[]

Under Susquehanna national law there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, towns, boroughs, and townships. The majority of municipalities are boroughs or townships with only one town (Bloomsburg) existing. Each have different jurisdictions, legal arrangements, and responsibilities.

Largest Communities[]

With the massive destruction on Doomsday, most of the largest cities in Pennsylvania were destroyed. The largest cities in the region, Wilkes Barre and Scranton were both directly struck with nuclear bombs although Hazleton was spared. Overall, these are thought to be the ten largest cities in Susquehanna. Hazleton, at the time of Doomsday, was the 17th largest city in Pennsylvania. Bloomsburg was the only town in Pennsylvania prior to Doomsday and the only one in Susquehanna.

Hazleton is a major hub for Susquehanna, with the downtown having offices, shopping and a few restaurants. Many people living in the region go to the "city" to purchase items such as food, lumber, clothes, and other supplies that they may need.

Ten largest Communities in Susquehanna:

Rank	Community	Population (1980)	Population (2020)	Classification	Area (sq mi)	Population Density (/sq mi)	County
1	Hazleton	27,318	25,607	City	6.00	4,268	Wyoming
2	Bloomsburg	11,717	7,692	Town	4.39	1,752	Federal District
3	Danville	5,239	2,581	Borough	1.60	1,613	Montour
4	Sunbury	12,292	2,484	City	2.2	1,129	Northumberland
5	Berwick	11,850	2,305	Borough	3.10	744	Columbia
6	West Hazleton	4,871	2,136	Borough	1.5	1,424	Wyoming
7	Nescopeck	1,768	1,367	Borough	1.00	1,367	Luzerne
8	Shamokin	10,357	1,257	City	0.83	1,514	Northumberland
9	Freeland	4,285	1,194	Borough	0.68	1,756	South Luzerne
10	Weatherly	2,891	1,134	Borough	2.98	381	Carbon

Metropolitan Statistical Areas[]

There are two Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in the nation. Primary cities are the main centers for business and trade with populations of greater than 5,000 people. Secondary cities are minor hubs that have an impact on the local economy but are much smaller in economic influence and a population of greater than 2,000 people. Metropolitan Statistical Areas must have at least one city with a population greater than 5,000 people.

List of Metropolitan Statistical Areas[]

Bloomsburg-Berwick Statistical Area: Columbia County, Federal District, Montour County - Population (2020): 21,610 - Primary City: Bloomsburg; Secondary Cities: Berwick, Danville
Hazleton Statistical Area: Wyoming County, South Luzerne County - Population (2020): 42,304 - Primary City: Hazleton; Secondary City: West Hazleton

Micropolitan Statistical Areas[]

There are two Micropolitan Statistical Areas (μSA) in the nation. Primary cities are the main centers for business and trade with populations of greater than 2,000 people. Secondary cities are minor hubs that have an impact on the local economy but are much smaller in economic influence and a population of greater than 1,000 people. Micropolitan Statistical Areas must have at least one city with a population greater than 2,000 people.

Northumberland Statistical Area: Northumberland County - Population (2020): 17,097 - Primary City: Sunbury; Secondary Cities: Milton, Shamokin
Shenandoah Statistical Area: Schuylkill County - Population (2020): 5,604 - Primary City: Shenandoah

Counties and Territories not in a Statistical Area[]

Carbon Territory - Population (2020): 6,003
Luzerne County - Population (2020): 4,514
Sullivan County - Population (2020): 2,194
Tunkhannock Territory - Population (2020): 2,154

Tallest Buildings[]

The surviving communities that are encompassed by Susquehanna is primarily composed of small towns or cities. Due to this, and the more rural setting, very few large buildings exist. The majority that do were built between 1910 and 1920 or 1960 and 1980.

The tallest building in Susquehanna is the Forst Keystone Bank Building (former Markle Building) in Hazleton, at 175 feet to the architectural tip, though the Riverfront Offices in Sunbury has the highest usable floor at 162 feet (the roof height on the First Keystone Building is 158 feet).

Two of the buildings, Bush Pavilion and Foss Clinic in Danville are the same height.

Hazleton has six (6) of the fifteen tallest buildings, Bloomsburg and Sunbury have three (3), Danville has two (2), and Shenandoah one (1) building. Luzerne amd Sullivan counties and the territories do not have any buildings on the list.

List of the Ten Tallest Buildings in the Commonwealth Susquehanna

Rank	Name	Usage	Height	Floors	City (County)	Year Constructed	Notes
1	Keystone Bank Building	Financial	53.34 m (175 ft)	11	Hazleton (Wyoming)	1910	Highest floor is at 158 feet
2	Riverfront Offices	Apartments/Office	19.52 m (162.46 ft)	15	Sunbury (Northumberland)	1979	Newest building on the list
3	Chestnut Towers	Government	47.84 m (156.95 ft)	13	Sunbury (Northumberland)	1972
4	Susquehanna Supreme Courthouse (Former Columbia County Courthouse)	Courthouse	37.49 m (123 ft)	4	Bloomsburg (Federal District)	1890	Oldest building on the list
5	Altamont Building	Mixed Use (Office/Retail)	37.19 m (122 ft)	10	Hazleton (Wyoming)	1924
6	Elwell Resident Hall BU	College Housing	37.19 m (122 ft)	10	Bloomsburg (Federal District)	1968
7	Scott Tower	Abandoned	36.80 m (120.73 ft)	10	Sunbury (Northumberland)	1976
8	Center City Complex	Mixed Use (Apartments/Offices)	34.32 m (112.59 ft)	9	Hazleton (Wyoming)	N/A
9	101 West Broad Street Building	Mixed Use (Offices/Retail)	34.29 m (112.5 ft)	9	Hazleton (Wyoming)	N/A
10	Columbia Resident Hall	Educational (College Housing)	33.47 m (109.82 ft)	9	Bloomsburg (Federal District)	1970
11	Wyoming Regional Medical Center (Former Hazleton General Hospital)	Hospital	30.50 m (100.08 ft)	8	Hazleton (Wyoming)	N/A
=12	GMC Bush Pavilion	Hospital	29.76 m (97.62 ft)	8	Danville (Montour)	1915
=12	GMC Foss Clinic	Hospital	29.76 m (97.62 ft)	8	Danville (Montour)	1915
14	2 East Broad Street	Office	26.69 m (87.57 ft)	7	Hazleton (Wyoming)	1924
15	Schuylkill County Complex	Mixed Use (Government/Offices)	26.02 m (85.38 ft)	7	Shenandoah (Schuylkill)	N/A

Future of Nanticoke, Wilkes-Barre, and Scranton[]

On Doomsday, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton were each struck by Soviet nuclear warheads which were air burst over the cities which leveled the cities from the overpressure. Radiation was initially limited but increased in following weeks as dust and ash kicked up from the blast filtered down on the metropolitan areas. Due to the layout of the cities and the limited roads out of the cities resulted in rapid bottlenecking of traffic and a higher percentage of casualties than some other metropolitan areas.

Overflights and scouting missions to Wilkes-Barre have show the city is being reclaimed by overgrowth and with the destruction of flood protection resulted in minor flooding and marshy conditions near the former downtown area.

Due to radiation levels, scout missions to Scranton were deemed too expensive or too risky. Aerial missions over the city ruins have occurred with photographs indicating similar damage as that of Wilkes-Barre.

Nanticoke was not struck on Doomsday and sat south of Wilkes-Barre. However, radiation and fires from the blast heavily damaged the city and resulted in the local government and citizens abandoning the city within a few weeks of Doomsday.

Constitution[]

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna is the guiding factor in policies, laws, and government decisions. It is heavily based off the US Constitution and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Constitution of Pennsylvania was enforced by the Provisional Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg from June 1st, 1991 until it dissolved on September 15th, 2005. The only change made in 1991 was clarification that the government was only to be considered provisional and would turn over authority to the United States government upon renewed contact.

Between 2003 and 2005, the provisional government revised the Consitution of Provisional Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg to align with the planned declaration of independence as the Commonwealth of Susquehanna. The last actions of the provisional government was the ratification of the new constitution.

Several provisions from the US Bill of Rights were added into the main body text of the new constitution including term limits. Since the ratification of the original document, there have been four approved amendments and six pending amendments.

Government[]

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna has three levels of government: national/federal, county/territorial, and local. The most important level, and largest, is the national level. It is responsible for setting national laws, managing the economy, military, law enforcement, and a host of other national issues, as well as foreign relations. The unorganized and organized territories are under this jurisdiction as well.

The county level is split into eight counties, each with their own form of government, although most are similar. Wyoming County has the largest county government and Sullivan County has the smallest.

Beyond this, and the last level is the local level. This type of government depends on the jurisdiction. There is city level, town level, borough level, and township level. All offer different services and governance.

National Government[]

Susquehanna is a democratic republic, with the government operating under an executive branch, a legislative branch and a judicial branch.

Surprisingly, the nation never went through a period of authoritarian control. This is primarily due to the communities strong bond prior to Doomsday, the people and government working together, and strong, but civilian oriented law enforcement and militia. There were times that the region almost devolved into a series of self-governing city states that fought amongst each other, but since the 1990's a strong feeling of unity has developed.

The government has a governor as the head of government. The Senate and House of Representatives are the legislative bodies, called the General Assembly, and a Supreme Court as the Judiciary.

Executive Branch[]

The Governor heads the executive branch wielding much of the power that the former President of the United States would have wielded, including the ability to declare war, sign bills into laws, pardon criminals and other duties. He may serve for two terms of five years each.

The Lieutenant Governor can take over the power of the governor if he becomes incapacitated or dies in office. If the Lieutenant Governor serves over one-half of the term replacing the governor, he is only eligible for one re-election term.

The Lieutenant Governor acts as the head of government and the head of state if the Governor has left the nation. He is given temporary power to sign legislation, convene the courts and General Assembly, declare a state of emergency, and mobilize the Defense Force against an external threat but the Lieutenant Governor may not sign treaties, declare war, issue martial law, or issue pardons unless there is an immediate or extreme need.

Elections for the seat of Governor are held every five years with the next election set for 2025. Both the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor are elected on the same ticket as in pre-Doomsday Pennsylvania.

The current governor is Tim Holden and the lieutenant governor is Lynda Schlegel-Culver, who were elected on the Republican ticket in 2020.

Cabinet members are elected rather than appointed. This has resulted in a diverse cabinet with multiple parties represented.

Cabinet Departments[]

There are several Cabinet Departments within the government. Cabinet Departments have focuses in certain specialized areas of governing and laws. Most are single departments, but a handful have several divisions (i.e., the Department of Defense) The people elect the Secretaries and the Senate and Courts must approve their inauguration. There are currently seven main Cabinet Departments, and six minor departments under the seven main ones. They fall under the Executive Branch of the government.

List:

Attorney General - The Attorney General is responsible for prosecuting felonies committed in the nation as well as crimes committed by Susquehanna nationals in foreign nations. They have offices in the Federal Courthouse of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna. Each county has its own office of the Attorney General that work on a county and local level. The Attorney General of Susquehanna serves as prosecution for any crimes in the Federal District as well.
- Office of the Public Defender - The Public Defender serves as the opposite for the Attorney General. They provide defense for citizens unable to pay for a lawyer and for foreign nations being prosecuted in the Commonwealth of Susquehanna. Each county has its own office as well, although all offices coordinate through the office of the Public Defender.
Department of Agriculture, Safety and Commerce - The Department of Agriculture, Safety, and Commerce (abbreviated ASaC) is responsible for monitoring farmers usage of pesticides, water runoff, and the health of the public. It works alongside the Department of Infrastructure and Public Development to ensure national safety in the work place and for the public.
Department of Defense- The Department of Defense is responsible for managing the Defense Forces, Civilian Militias, law enforcement, and veteran's affairs. They provide the federal government with situation awareness, and provide budgets to the General Assembly.
- Department of Law Enforcement - The Department of Law Enforcement manages the State Police, as well as coordinates efforts between the State Police and local law enforcement. They manage efforts to lower the crime rate in the more populated and rural areas and are working to increase police coverage in isolated regions.
- Department of Veteran's Affairs - The Department of Veteran's Affairs is responsible for providing care for military and law enforcement veterans including payments, medical benefits and security if needed.
Department of Education - The Department of Education is in charge of managing public schools, providing a yearly curriculum for students, and setting wages for teachers. They also help manage the universities and colleges in the nation.
Department of Infrastructure and Public Development - The Department of Infrastructure and Public Development is responsible for signing off on building plans for large scale construction projects (like office buildings) as well as overseeing the reconstruction of power plants, flood control, waterworks, sewage, and most national infrastructure issues except for those that are related to transportation.
- Code Enforcement- Code Enforcement manages building codes throughout the commonwealth and investigates complaints of home or rental conditions, as well as for commercial buildings. This office may work alongside county Code Enforcement to assist with reports and investigations, especially if they cross county boundaries. They are also responsible for managing inside Bloomsburg.
- Susquehanna Department of Transportation (SusDOT) - The Department of Transportation is responsible for upkeep of all roads in the nation as well as aiding cities with public transportation, national driving requirements, licensing, horse and buggy checks, as well as maintaining railroads and the airports. They work with the Department of Infrastructure and Public Development as well as the Department of Defense. This office also works alongside the Department of Transportation in State College, Reading and North Pennsylvania to reconnect transit and cut the cost of shipping goods.
Department of State - The Department of State is responsible for foreign relations, and relations with international organizations. They set up embassies in other nations, and work with foreign powers on setting up embassies in the Commonwealth. This department has duties to issue passports and work permits to foreign nationals, as well as coordinate outside of the nation.
- Department of the Interior - The Department of the Interior is responsible for maintaining the National Parks, managing natural resources, regulates hunting, and other internal issues. They work alongside the Department of Infrastructure and Public Development.
Department of Treasury - The Department of Treasury manages banking in the nation and reserves of foreign currencies, and may print currency later in the future. This office is also responsible for stopping counterfeiting and negotiating exchange rates with other countries.

List of Government Officials[]

Office Held	Name	Term	Party	Line of Succession
Governor	David Argall	2020-Present	Republican	N/A
Lieutenant Governor	Lynda Schlegel-Culver	2020-Present	Republican	1
Attorney General	William Kreicher	2020-Present	Republican	5
Department of Agriculture, Safety and Commerce	Christopher Grayson	2020-Present	Democratic	9
Department of Defense	Robert Montgomery	2020-Present	Republican	6
Department of Education	Karen Boback	2020-Present	Republican	10
Department of Infrastructure and Public Development	Katrina Wilkens	2020-Present	Republican	8
Department of State	David Millard	2020-Present	Republican	4
Department of Treasury	Kelly Lewis	2020-Present	Republican	7
Office of the Public Defender	Anthony Matulewicz III	2020-Present	Republican	12
Department of Law Enforcement	Tim Chamberlin	2020-Present	Democratic	13
Department of Veteran's Affairs	James Spagnola	2020-Present	Conservative	14
Code Enforcement	Diane Panzarella	2020-Present	Independent	15
Susquehanna Department of Transportation	Chuck Hopta	2020-Present	Republican	16
Department of the Interior	Robert Gavio	2020-Present	Democratic	11

Legislative Branch[]

The Senate and House of Representatives are the two legislative bodies in the General Assembly.

The Senate is headed by the President Pro-Tempore and retains the same powers as the pre-Doomsday USA and Pennsylvanian Senate, including. However, the Lieutenant Governor does not serve as President Pro-Tempore. Senators are elected every five years to have slower change to the Senate with all Senators are being elected at once. Each county receives two senators regardless of the population for a total of 16 senators. The Federal District and two organized territories each receive a non-voting observer who may not participate in debates or voting, however they are permitted to address the Senate and have the same privileges as Senators.

The House of Representatives is headed by the Speaker of the House the legislative branch of the Commonwealth, with one member per 2000 citizens (minimum representation) in each county rounded to the closest number and a minimum of one member. There are 49 Members of the House of Representatives as of 2021 with county representatives composing 46 seats (94% of the seats/78% of the population), the federal district composing of one seat (2% of the seats/8% of the population), and organized territories the remaining two seats (4% of the seats/14% of the population).

Organized territories are each granted a single voting delegate and unorganized territories are alotted a single non-voting delegate. The Federal District of Susquehanna is given one voting representative.

Representatives are elected every two or three years, with the House being split into two classes, First Class and Second Class. First Class Representatives are elected in the first term for three years, and two in the second. Second Class Representatives are elected for a two-year first term, and a three-year second term.

Presently, as of 2021, the non-voting delegate to the House and Senate for the unorganized territories are vacant due to poor control over the regions and inability to arrange elections.

County/District/Territory	Number of Seats in the Senate	Number of Seats in the House of Representatives
Columbia County	2	7
Luzerne County	2	2
Montour County	2	4
Northumberland County	2	9
Schyulkill County	2	3
South Luzerne County	2	4
Sullivan County	2	1
Wyoming County	2	17
Federal District	1 (Non-Voting)	1
Carbon Territory	1 (Nonvoting)	1
Tunkhannock Territory	1 (Nonvoting)	1
Monroe Unorganized Territory	1 (Nonvoting)/Currently Vacant	1 (Nonvoting)/Currently Vacant
Nanticoke Unorganized Territory	1 (Nonvoting)/Currently Vacant	1 (Nonvoting)/Currently Vacant
Northern Tier Unorganized Territory	1 (Nonvoting)/Currently Vacant	1 (Nonvoting)/Currently Vacant

General Assembly Party Composition (County Seats)[]

Party	Senate Seats	House of Representatives Seats
Republican Party	10 / 16	26 / 49
Democratic Party	3 / 16	15 / 49
Libertarian Party	2 / 16	5 / 49
Conservative Party	1 / 16	2 / 49
Progressive Party	0 / 16	0 / 49
Independent	0 / 16	1 / 49

General Assembly Party Composition (Territorial Seats)[]

Party	Senate Seats (Appointed)	House of Representatives Seats
Republican Party	2 / 2	1 / 2
Democratic Party	0 / 2	0 / 2
Libertarian Party	0 / 2	0 / 2
Conservative Party	0 / 2	0 / 2
Progressive Party	0 / 2	0 / 2
Independent	0 / 2	1 / 2

Coalitions[]

The House of Representatives requires a majority of over 50% to pass a bill, while the Senate requires a two-third majority (66%). The Republican Party holds supermajorities in the House and a simple majority in the Senate.

Government Coalition (Republican/Conservative)

Senate: 10 (63%)
- Republican Party: 10 (63%)
House of Representatives: 28 (55%)
- Republican Party: 28 (55%)
- Republican Party (Territorial): 1 (50%)

Opposition Coalition (Democratic/Libertarian)

Senate: 5 (31%)
- Democratic Party: 3 (19%)
- Libertarian Party: 2 (12%)
House of Representatives: 21 (41%)
- Democratic Party: 15 (29%)
- Libertarian Party: 5 (10%)
- Independent: 1 (2%)
- Independent (Territorial): 1 (50%)

Conservative Caucus

Senate: 1 (6%)
- Conservative Party: 1 (6%)
House of Representatives: 2 (4%)
- Conservative Party: 2 (4%)

County Political Leanings[]

Susquehanna generally leans more conservative since Doomsday. For the first few years after Provisional Pennsylvania formed, the Democratic Party controlled the governorship, however the Republican Party has controlled the General Assembly since the mid 1990’s and the governorship since 2000.

While Wyoming County tends to be more liberal, the Democratic Party is still more conservative than prior to Doomsday. Additionally, Schuylkill County has elected mainly Libertarians since 2010 and most of Sullivan County’s government leaders have been Conservatives since 2015.

Republican Strongholds
- Carbon Territory
  - Senate: One Republican (Appointed)
  - House: One Republican
- Columbia County
  - Senate: One Republican, One Democrat
  - House: Five Republicans, One Democrat, One Conservative
- Luzerne County:
  - Senate: Two Republicans
  - House: Two Republicans
- Montour County
  - Senate: Two Republicans
  - House: Four Republicans
- Northumberland County
  - Senate: Two Republicans
  - House: Six Republicans, Two Democrats, One Libertarian
- South Luzerne County
  - Senate: Two Republicans
  - House: Three Republican, One Democrat
- Tunkhannock Territory
  - Senate: Vacant (Appointed)
  - House: Vacant
Democratic Strongholds
- District of Scranton
  - Senate: N/A
  - House: One Democrat
- Wyoming County
  - Senate: Two Democrats
  - House: Ten Democrats, Four Republicans, Two Libertarians, One Independent
Libertarian Strongholds
- Schuylkill County
  - Senate: Two Libertarians
  - House: One Republican, Two Libertarians
Conservative Strongholds
- Sullivan County
  - Senate: One Republican, One Conservative
  - House: One Conservative

Committees[]

There are several standing committees, who's role is to review proposed bills and amendments before taking them to the floor for debate and voting, provide oversight of various government agencies, and consider recommendations by agencies or members of the General Assembly. The number of members per committee varies between three and nine senators or representatives, depending on the committee role. Due to the small size of the General Assembly, members may serve on multiple committees.

Senate Committees
- Agriculture
- Budget and Finance
- Defense Forces and Law Enforcement
- Ethics
- Foreign Affairs
- Public Services
- Transportation and Infrastructure

House Committees
- Budget and Finance
- Energy and Resources
- Ethics
- Foreign Affairs
- Intelligence
- Judiciary
- Oversight and Government Reform
- Reunification and Inter-Pennsylvanian Relations
- Small Business and Commerce
- Transportation and Infrastructure
- United Communities

Judicial Branch[]

The Judicial Branch is arranged in a tiered system with the Supreme Court being the highest in the nation; an appellate court, the Commonwealth Court; and local district courts. The pre-Doomsday appellate Commonwealth Court and Superior Court was merged into the Commonwealth Court and the local court of common pleas and magisterial district courts were merged into a single system of district courts.

Supreme Court[]

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation and the court of last resort. It typically only serves to hear final appeals on legal rulings by the appellate courts or on appeals related to the constitutionality of laws or rulings made by other courts or the General Assembly. Additionally, the chief justice is responsible for presiding over impeachment trials of government officials. Seven justices serve on the court with the longest serving justice acting as the chief justice. Justices are recommended by the Governor to the House of Representatives, who vote in a simple majority.

After one five year term, justices must be reappointed by the Senate in a 2/3rd majority vote and if successful, serve a second five year term. After the completion of two terms, a ballot measure is put in the next general election where the general population must vote to reappoint the justice for a term that last until the member turns 75, the maximum at which they are required to step down.

Retired justices may advise the Supreme Court for three years after stepping down, until they turn 78, at which time they are required to fully remove themselves from the courts. To prevent partisanship, judges, while seated must unaffiliated with a political party and register as independents.

The seat of the Supreme Court is in the Supreme Court building in Bloomsburg, District of Scranton.

Name	Appointed	Retained	Year of Next Retention
Craig W. Long	2013	2018	2023
J. Scot Chadwick	2016	2021	2026
Joe Torsella	2007	2013	2018
Michael Dennehy	2009	2014	2019
Robert Mariani	2018	N/A	2023
Tara Toohil	2021	N/A	2026
Thomas Vanskie	2011	2016	2021

Commonwealth Court[]

The Commonwealth Court is the only appellate court in Susquehanna with jurisdiction over administrative, civil, and criminal law cases. It serves in the same role as both the pre-Doomsday Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Five justices serve on the court who are elected to ten year terms with the same mandatory retirement age as the Supreme Court. Appeals from the Commonwealth Court are directed to the Supreme Court. The primary seat of the Commonwealth Court is in Bloomsburg at the federal courthouse, with two secondary locations in Hazleton and Sunbury, utilizing the Wyoming County Courthouse and Northumberland County Courthouse respectively.

District Court[]

The District Court replaced the pre-Doomsday Court of Common Pleas and Magisterial District Courts with a single system to prevent an overly cumbersome judiciary from forming. Due to the consolidation, the District Court handles both civil and criminal cases including municipal ordinance violations, traffic violations, small civil claims, summary offenses, preliminary hearings; all of which were handled by the Pennsylvania Magisterial District Courts; as well as large civil claims, serious crimes, and controversial cases; which were handled by the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas.

There are six District Courts in Susquehanna as several counties and territories have been consolidated into a single district court due to low population levels. Additionally, Bloomsburg is considered to be under the jurisdiction of the Columbia/Montour District Court.

List of District Courts
- Carbon-South Luzerne: Freeland/Weatherly
- Columbia-Montour: Bloomsburg/Danville
- Luzerne-Sullivan-Tunkhannock: Nescopeck/Sonestown/Tunkhannock
- Northumberland: Sunbury
- Schuylkill: Shenandoah
- Wyoming: Hazleton

Local Government[]

The local government in Susquehanna is divided into two levels, county and either city, town, borough, or township governance. Each level is responsible for different service that are not handled at a national level. Typically counties operate district courts, law enforcement, prisons, libraries, mass transportation, disaster response, and militias. Community level authorities provide code enforcement, local law enforcement, roadwork within the community, maintenance of parks, and water service.

County Governance[]

There are eight county governments, which fill roles that are not undertaken by the federal government, but are not granted to the cities, towns, boroughs, or townships. Counties are organized into three classes. Each class has different responsibilities.

First Class: First Class counties have a population of over 30,000 people. They are responsible for managing museums, public transit, elections, and must have a courthouse, jail, and county sheriff. The board of commissioners is a panel of five elected officials, with four being elected from four different wards of equal population, and one elected at large. Wards are redrawn after each census, and the commissioners serve for five years. There must be at least two political parties represented on the board. The county government assesses property prices, takes care of local prosecution for all crimes other than treason, terrorism, or cases spanning multiple counties. There is currently one First Class County (Wyoming County).
Second Class: Second Class counties have a population between 2,000 and 99,999 people. They manage museums, elections, and must have a courthouse, jail, and county sheriff. They may cooperate with any communities in their jurisdiction for public transportation, as well as other counties in the area. The board of commissioners is a panel of three or five elected officials. If there are five officials, three are elected from three different wards of equal population, and two being elected at large. If there are three officials, they are all elected at large. There must be at least two political parties represented on the board. The county government assesses property prices, takes care of local prosecution for all crimes, other than treason, terrorism, or cases spanning multiple counties. There are currently four Second Class counties (Columbia County, Montour County, Northumberland County, Schuylkill County, South Luzerne County).
Third Class: Third Class counties have a population of less than 5,000 people. They offer basic services, such as managing elections, and operating a courthouse, jail, and county sheriff. They often contract other counties to cover other services. The board of commissioners is a panel of three elected officials who are all elected at large. There mist be at least two political parties represented on the board. The county assesses property prices, takes care of local prosecution for most crimes, excluding felonies, which are taken by neighboring counties. The legality of this was debated in 2011 during a trial, but the Commonwealth of Susquehanna Supreme Court upheld its legality, deeming that in some cases, operating a judicial system puts undue burden on the region, deeming it fiscally impractical. There are currently two Third Class counties (Luzerne County, Sullivan County).
- Note: Counties with a population between 30,000 and 99,000 citizens may choose, via public vote, whether to operate as a First or Second Class county. Counties with a population between 2000 and 5000 citizens may choose, via public vote, whether to operate as a Second or Third Class county.

City[]

Cities in Susquehanna have a city council, with three options for a city government. Each is similar to the pre-Doomsday type, but there have been a few alterations.

These are:

Commission Form: The mayor and four council members form a commission, which is the city's governing body. All council members and the mayor are elected by the people, who also elect the police chief, city controller, and treasurer. The mayor chairs the commission, and only votes in the case of a tie. Each council member and the mayor heads a department of the city; public works (infrastructure work, code enforcement, sewage, water), public safety (police department), finance (taxes and cost), economy (business development, transit system, city beautification), and a single position that may be adapted for the local. The treasurer selects a tax collector and a tax auditor with the commissions approval, and the council elects a secretary with the mayor's approval.
Mayor-Council: The mayor is elected by the people in a direct election, and they also elect four council members. The mayor selects the final council member for a five person council. The mayor selects heads for each department of the city, may draft a budget, and coordinate the departments. The council is responsible for passing ordinances and approving the budget. The council elects a treasurer with mayoral approval, the mayor appoints the city controller, and a tax auditor, and the public elects a police chief, tax collector, and a secretary.
Council-Manager: A council is elected directly by the people, which may be four people, six people or eight people. The council selects one of the members to be the manager, who serves in the same capacity as the mayor. The council may draft ordinances and statuses which must be approved by the manager. The council may rotate managers yearly if needed or desired. The public elects a police chief, secretary, and city controller who need the council's approval to be appointed, and the city council appoints a treasurer, who selects a tax collector and a tax auditor with council approval.

Currently, Hazleton operates under a Mayor-Council system, though there are talks of switching to a Commission form of government soon due to the rapid changes in the city, and the population. Sunbury uses a Commission form of government, while Shamokin uses a Council-Manager government.

Town[]

Towns in Susquehanna are given the option of selecting either a borough style government, or a city style government. The only town in Susquehanna, Bloomsburg, operates under a city government, with a Commission style government in usage. This is due to the fact that the town council also serves as the government for the Federal District, there are more duties they must undertake.

Borough[]

Boroughs all operate under a weak mayor system as authorized by the Commonwealth of Susquehanna. They elect a mayor and a council of either three, five, seven, or nine members. The council drafts and approves ordinances, and the mayor has no executive power to deny the ordinance, though it is his job to ensure ordinances are enforced. The police chief, tax collector, secretary, and tax auditor are elected by the public.

Township[]

There are two types of townships in Susquehanna, First Class and Second Class. Townships are all Second class unless the population elects to move to a First Class standard. Townships must have a population density of at least 5000 people per square mile, and vote to upgrade to a First Class township to move up.

First Class: The township has between five and 15 commissioners, the exact number chosen by the population on a ballot. The people also elect a tax collector, auditor, tax assessor, and a treasurer. Commissioners are elected by ward, and serve for four years, with overlapping terms.
Second Class: The township has three township supervisors or five, if the population approves the change in a township-wide vote. Township supervisors are elected at large from around the township. The people also elect a secretary, a treasurer, and some elect a police chief. The Board of Supervisors selects a tax collector, tax assessor, and two or three auditors. Typically the supervisors also serve in jobs needed, such as engineering, or brush clearing.

Continuation of Government[]

Ever since the nation was formed, the federal government has had a plan for emergency evacuation and recovery of the Commonwealth.

There is a designated succession line for the governor in an emergency, as well as several national plans. This includes plans for the fall of the capital building, gubernatorial house, the entire capital, and strategic facilities and military bases.

Gubernatorial Line of Succession[]

Lieutenant Governor
President Pro Tempore
Speaker of the House
Secretary of State
Attorney General
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of Treasury
Secretary of Infrastructure and Public Development
Secretary of Agriculture, Safety and Commerce
Secretary of Education
Secretary of the Interior
Head of the Public Defender's Office
Secretary of Law Enforcement
Secretary of Veteran's Affairs
Head of Code Enforcement
Secretary of the Department of Transportation

Political Parties[]

Political Parties of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna

The Commonwealth has three major political parties and two smaller minor parties. Unlike pre-Doomsday, minority party candidates stand a better chance of winning positions in the government. Also, there is quite a bit of co-operation between the parties. Prior to Doomsday, this area was seen as relatively secure for Democrats due to the presence of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. Since the destruction of these cities on Doomsday, the area has shifted to a more conservative standpoint due to these losses.

For a party to be considered a major party, it must have over 10% of the voting age population in the party.

There are 62,491 citizens of voting age in the Commonwealth. Out of that group, 74.2% are registered under one of the majority parties, 6.4% are registered as independent voters, and 9.4% are affiliated with either the Conservative or Progressive parties.

Major Parties
- Republican Party: Largest political party, and a continuation of the pre-Doomsday party. The party is considered to be center right, being socially conservative and economically capitalist.
- Democratic Party: Second largest political party, and continuation of the pre-Doomsday party. The party is considered to be center to center left, being a socially liberal and economically capitalist.
- Libertarian Party: Third largest political party in Susquehanna, and a continuation of the pre-Doomsday party. The party is considered to be center, being socially libertarian and economically capitalist.
Minor Parties
- Conservative Party: fourth largest political party, forming from a merger of the Unionist Party and far right elements of the Republican Party in 2015. The party is considered to be far right, being socially paleoconservative and economically capitalist.
- Progressive Party: smallest organized political party, forming from a merger of the Commonwealth Party and far left elements of the Democratic Party in 2016. The party is considered to be center left to far left, being socially progressive and economically socialist.
Independents

Independent voters are not registered with any major or minor party. Many independent voters do not identify solely with one political identity and have a blended ideology.

Elections[]

Susquehanna has had two elections since its foundation in 2005, the 2005 and the 2010 elections. The 2005 elections were the first national elections, with John Gordner (R), the provisional governor, winning reelection. But the Democrats gained a majority in both the House and the Senate. Interestingly enough, all the political parties worked together for the most part.

Due to the difficulty of travel in the country, the elections are held every five years for all federal positions, and as often as counties and towns feel is necessary. Elections are held the first Tuesday in June. Originally, for several years after Doomsday when elections could be held, they were in November, but after the signing of the Constitution, the date was moved to June due to the snow in the winter.

Voters must be 18 years of age at the time of the elections and be a citizen of the Commonwealth for at least 90 days before the elections.

Unlike the former state of Pennsylvania, Susquehanna has open elections. This means that voters for the minority parties can choose their candidates for the elections.

The Saguenay War had a large impact on the 2010 elections, with all parties debating over the war. More recently, debate over expansion of the Commonwealth, integration of new territory, internal development, and the economy have taken over the political debate.

Gubernatorial Election Years[]

2005 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

2010 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

2015 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

2020 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

House of Representative Election Years[]

2007 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

2008 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

2012 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

2013 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

2017 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

2018 Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Elections

Gallery[]

National Symbols[]

Animal - White Tail Deer
Beverage - Milk
Fish - Brook Trout
Flower - Mountain Laurel
Game Bird - Turkey
Tree - Eastern Hemlock

Political Divisions[]

Commonwealth of Susquehanna Territory (2021) — Yellow: Counties; Green: Federal District; Blue: Organized Territories; Brown: Unorganized Territories; Red: Exclusion Zone; County or Territory Capitals: Black Dots

Susquehanna is divided politically into counties, a federal district, territories, and unorganized territories. Additionally, the status of associated states has been proposed for communities unwilling to rejoin the Commonwealth. There are eight counties, one federal district, two organized territories, and three unorganized territories. While Susquehanna claims all of the northeastern part of former Pennsylvania, the government only has direct control of around a third of the region and another quarter is marked as off-limits in an exclusion zone around the ruins of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.

Counties[]

The eight counties of Susquehanna are the primary subdivisions with jurisdiction over the area assigned to them by the General Assembly. As of 2019, three counties encompass all of the territory prior to Doomsday (Montour, Northumberland, and Sullivan), one controls all the territory with the exception of one community (Columbia), one has been a new formation (Wyoming), and the remainder control portions of their original territory (Luzerne, Schuylkill, and South Luzerne).

Governance[]

The governance of the counties are all currently either a weak or strong government, with two weak governments and four strong governments. All counties are responsible for local laws and ordinances in their respective areas, as well as enforcing federal laws. Weak governments have little other role than this for the county, while strong government counties expand this job to include a variety of other needs.

Weak governance counties only operate a county sheriff, a local court system to handle disputes, and the county board to pass ordinances and ensure funding by taxes for the courts and law enforcement. For other services, citizens must travel to neighboring counties. All other work is undertaken by SusDOT, and other federal agencies, in exchange for a slight percentage of taxes collected.

Strong governance counties provide the same services as weak governance counties, as well as other services. Most provide a public library in the county seat, as well as some form of public transportation, and museums of some form. The counties fund volunteer fire departments, paying for equipment, as well as providing medical rescue units, although all may cross jurisdiction in an emergency, or when asked.

List of Counties[]

County	Capital	Largest City	Population (2020 Census)	Admittance or Ratification	Jurisdiction	Abbreviation
Columbia	Berwick	Berwick	14,972	September 12, 2005	All of Columbia County excluding Bloomsburg	CO
Luzerne	Nescopeck	Nescopeck	4,514	June 1, 2015	Northwestern Luzerne county	LZ
Montour	Danville	Danville	7,216	September 12, 2005	Montour County	MO
Northumberland	Sunbury	Sunbury	17,097	June 1, 2015	Northumberland County	NL
Schuylkill	Shenandoah	Shenandoah	5,604	September 12, 2005	Northeastern Schuylkill County	SL
South Luzerne	Freeland	Freeland	7,928	September 7, 2021	Southeastern Luzerne County	SZ
Sullivan	Lapore	Sonestown	2,194	April 17, 2014	Sullivan County	SN
Wyoming	Hazleton	Hazleton	34,376	June 23, 2010	Southwestern Luzerne County	WY

Federal District[]

Susquehanna’s constitution was amended in 2014 to create a capital district in Bloomsburg, separate from the rest of the counties, in a similar vein to the District of Columbia. This occurred due to complaints from the other counties of favoritism from the federal government to the town. Out of the amendment, the District of Scranton was created, to honor both the destroyed city and the Lieutenant Governor on Doomsday who was from the region.

Although an amendment to the Constitution has declared Bloomsburg as the seat for the federal government, multiple amendments have been proposed to relocate the capital to a purpose built capital city towards the center of Susquehanna’s claimed territory. Some of the impetus for the discussions are the size of the town and layout not having a purpose built capital building.

Government[]

The District of Scranton and Bloomsburg, being coterminous share the same government. The town council serves as the legislature for the federal district.

Due to the town also being coterminous with the Federal District, they provide public transit, fire and medical response, and the Bloomsburg Police Department. The Commonwealth of Susquehanna Capital Police act in a similar capacity as the sheriff in each county, although they are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. A local court is run by the town council to handle cases like the county courts do so there are not as many cases in the Supreme Court over frivolous matters.

District	Largest City	Population (2020 Census)	Admittance into Union	Jurisdiction	Abbreviation	Flag
District of Scranton	Bloomsburg	7,692	October 15, 2014	Town of Bloomsburg	DS

Organized Territories[]

Organized Territories in Susquehanna are the first stage to becoming a county, with three presently operating. Territorial status is granted when the Senate certified, with advice from the Defense Force and State Police, that the region is stable enough to sustain self governance.

Government[]

Unlike in the pre-Doomsday United States, organized territories are granted one voting representative in the House of Representatives and a non-voting delegate in the Senate.

Locally, the Territorial Commissioners include three democratically elected members to the council and two appointed representatives of the federal government, selected by the House of Representatives. However, any legislation approved by the commission may be overruled by the General Assembly in a simple majority vote.

The long term goal is for territorial status to precede county status. After initial admission as a territory the Senate convenes a panel to review the status of the territory every two years. The review includes security updates from the Department of Defense, self governing capabilities evaluated by the Department of State, the status on the capabilities and condition of infrastructure from the Department of Infrastructure and Public Development, and a review of the economy completed by the Department of Agriculture, Safety, and Commerce.

If it is deemed stable enough for county status, a referendum is placed on the ballot of the next election.

Territory	Capital	Largest City	Population (2020 Census)	Organized	Jurisdiction	Abbreviation
Carbon	Nesquehoning	Nesquehoning	6,003	2018	Northern Carbon County	CN
Tunkhannock	Tunkhannock	Tunkhannock	2,185	2021	Wyoming County	TK

Unorganized Territories[]

Unorganized territories are formed from newly liberated or claimed regions not yet under the Commonwealth's control. They typically have a low population density making governing the region difficult, communities not recognizing the authority of Susquehanna, security concerns, or unreliable infrastructure.

There are currently three unorganized territories, composed of former Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne (excluding Luzerne County and South Luzerne Territory), Monroe (north of 40 degrees, 52 seconds), Pike, Susquehanna, and Wayne counties. They were consolidated in May 2021 to improve Susquehanna’s claim on the region and begin the process of rebuilding and restoring the counties.

Government[]

The unorganized territory does not have any independent government. Rather, responsibility for security and services falls on the federal government. Active local governments that cooperate with federal authorities typically send representatives to the State Department to facilitate communication, transportation of cargo, and future integration as a territory.

Frequently the Army National Guard is used to police unorganized territories, which has been criticized in recent years by human rights organizations within Susquehanna and the United Communities.

Local governments that exist may be given permission to operate by the Department of State and cooperation between any law enforcement apparatus, the State Police, and Defense Force is coordinated through the department as well.

County	Largest City	Population (Estimate)	Area (Sq. Mi.)	Claimed	Jurisdiction	Abbreviation
Monroe Unorganized Territory	Mount Pocono	~9,000	754 sq mi	2021	Northern Monroe and southern Pike and Wayne counties	MR
Nanticoke Unorganized Territory	Nanticoke	~7,000	305 sq mi	2021	Central and northern Luzerne and southern Lackawanna counties	NK
Northern Tier Unorganized Territory	Sayre	~15,000	2,143 sq mi	2021	Bradford, Susquehanna, and northern Wayne counties	NT

Associated States[]

The federal government has proposed an additional status of associated state. It would function similarly to pre-Doomsday associated states to New Zealand with Susquehanna providing both foreign relations (upon request) and national defense for the communities. Even so, the associate state would remain independent and not receive any representation in the central government.

As of 2021, there are no associated states, however the State Department is attempting to open discussions with Laceyville and Nicholson to join as associated states, since both boroughs have expelled government officials attempting to convince the community leaders to join Tunkhannock Territory.

Government[]

Associated states would have independent governments that Susquehanna requires to be democratically elected and have fair elections. The states, being technically independent would not receive any voting representation in the General Assembly. However, plans are being drawn up to arrange for non-voting delegates to be permitted to observe and speak during certain key issues, namely declarations of war.

Future Territories[]

Susquehanna has formed territorial agreements with Reading, regarding future territorial claims. Recently, portions of both Carbon County and Luzerne County joined Susquehanna as the territories of Carbon and South Luzerne, respectively. While the claim is formal, territorial control over the agreed upon regions is more fluid as the Defense Force works to improve communication, arrest or expel raiders, and confirm the level of contamination around the ruins of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.

Territorial Disputes[]

Several territorial disputes have arisen between Susquehanna and its neighbors.

The dispute between Reading and Susquehanna were resolved through the Treaty of Pottsville between Reading and Susquehanna in addition to the later signator of Lehigh. It divided Carbon, Monroe, and Schuylkill counties between the three countries.

State College and Susquehanna signed a treaty in 2014 delineating the Susquehanna River and the former Lycoming/Sullivan county border as the existing border. The former Bradford/Tioga county border will be a future border as the two countries secure this region.

New York controls several communities in the northern part of Bradford, Susquehanna, and Wayne counties. In 2019, New York and Susquehanna agreed that the communities under New York’s control would remain so, but the country would not expand further into the northern part of the state.

Foreign Relations[]

Like many isolated nations that sprung up post-Doomsday, Susquehanna has a limited, localized history of foreign relations. In recent years, the country has taken steps to engage on a regional level, exchanging diplomats and joining a handful of transnational organizations.

Inter-Pennsylvanian Relations[]

Informal contact with Reading and State College would occur as early as the mid-1980’s as the two governments saw information trickle between residents in the furthest reaches of the territory have contact. Military and law enforcement parties would occasionally have contact with civilian militias in Susquehanna, mainly in Danville, Milton, Shamokin, and Sunbury.

Contact improved throughout the 1990’s although the communities that would compose Susquehanna were aware that the governments they interacted with claimed to be provisional state governments, domestic members of the communities did not believe they had authority and believed they were similar surviving local governments.

Some of the poor communication was due to the fact that Susquehanna was dealing with disorder north and east of the country with frequent gang raids that caused both Reading and State College to limit contact as there was an incorrect suspicion that the locals were supporting the raiders.

Today, the Commonwealth of Susquehanna maintains diplomatic contact with every known Pennsylvanian survivor state.

It operates embassies in the capitals of North Pennsylvania, Reading, and State College. Consulates are located in Allentown (Reading), Gettysburg (Gettysburg), Johnstown (State College), Lebanon (Reading), Meadville (North Pennsylvania), and York (Gettysburg).

A joint commission composed of members from Reading and Susquehanna oversee Lehigh to prevent raiders from retaking the city-state and have collaborated in several anti-raider operations during the 2010’s to improve security and trade.

In 2017, Susquehanna signed the Treaty of Pottsville with Reading, dividing the rest of Schuylkill, Carbon, and Monroe counties between the nations. This led into negotiations and the creation of the Confederation of Pennsylvanian States, a supernational organization for common defense, improved relations, and economic development.

Susquehanna's relations with North Pennsylvania's legal government took a step back with the advancement of the Amish Party into the national politics. With the destruction of the Kinzua Dam, manufacturing in the Commonwealth almost came to a complete standstill as the few long range power transmission lines from North Pennsylvania were shut off. Reports of corruption and hate crimes resulted in Susquehanna cutting back ties and turning towards Reading for economic ties.

Since the removal of the party, diplomatic relations have resumed, however Susquehanna had added additional transmission lines to Reading, and with support from the rest of the United Communities has begun partial restoration at Montour Power Plant.

Ties with State College are positive with the two nations sharing strong economical and political ties, and education and economic ties intended to be improved in the future. However one point of contention has consistently arisen as Susquehanna recognizes the Provisional Government of Pennsylvania in Reading as the successor state to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

In 2019, Susquehanna, alongside North Pennsylvania, Reading, and State College participated in the Williamsport Conference. While the conference did not resolve the Reading-State College dispute over the legitimacy of either provisional government, it did reject violence as a means to resolve the issue, as well as set the blueprint for a unified Pennsylvanian front to counter growing Virginian influence in the southern counties.

Regional Relations[]

Through the Commonwealth’s mission to the United Communities, Susquehanna operates embassies or consulates in the majority of United Communities member states.

Susquehanna has positive relations with neighboring states including the New Jersey Skylands and the Republic of New York (which controls several communities in the Norther Tier region which Susquehanna claims). Trade with New York is essential as the Commonwealth is able to obtain electronic equipment for the military as well as hardware to slowly repair domestic infrastructure.

Through several of its embassies and consulates, Susquehanna has occasional foreign relations with more distant nations including the Republic of Blue Ridge, the Celtic Alliance, Deseret, the Republic of Lakotah, Mexico, the Piedmont Republic, the Republic of Texas, and the United States.

Relations are relatively strong with Canada, the latter providing monetary donations for work on the power plant, stabilizing the nuclear material at the nuclear power plant, arms and other materials that the Commonwealth cannot supply on its own. Susquehanna also keeps trading ties with Superior and Virginia, trading agricultural products for military hardware and some manufactured products. They have attempted to maintain a friendly political relationship with both countries despite Susquehanna leaning towards Canada.

Relations with Virginia have soured in recent years, with some politicians in the Commonwealth, criticizing the government censorship, three strike law, and the seemed militarization of the civilian population as 'unacceptable'. Business owners, and citizens of the Commonwealth with family in Virginia have pushed to improve ties. Recent Virginian steps at demilitarizing the culture have been welcomed by Susquehanna.

Ties with Delmarva, while intermittent due to the effects of radiation in former southeastern Pennsylvania due to the strikes on Philadelphia and Baltimore, are positive. The former president of Delmarva, Joe Biden was born in Scranton, which Susquehanna claims the ruins of. Due to the difficulty of travel, as of 2021, the Biden’s have not visited however Susquehannean government officials have extended an invitation to both the family and Delmarva political leaders to visit the region.

Relations with the former United States[]

Susquehanna has only been in any meaningful contact with the United States in Torrington since 2014 as radio communication was improved and indirect contact occurred through the mission to Canada. In keeping with the USA’s commitment to not pressure other survivor states into rejoining, this was not discussed, however Susquehanna saw minor protests from the Conservative Party and members of CRUSA.

Due to the distance between the nations, there are no economic or political ties and ambassadors have not been exchanged. The General Assembly is presently debating whether to recognize the United States claim to be the successor to the pre-Doomsday nation and what impact that might have on the politics and economics of Susquehanna.

International Relations[]

While regional relations have improved, international relations are severely hampered by two issues. The lack of any developed form of air travel limits the distance diplomats can move and the size, economy, and population of Susquehanna prevent any serious attempt to foment better global relationships.

The only nation on the international scale that Susquehanna shares any official diplomatic ties to is Canada. Occasionally, visiting members from the League of Nations including the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand, the Celtic Alliance, the Nordic Union, have met with Susquehannean representatives while in Niagara Falls or Saint Johns, Canada. However there have been no formal diplomatic relations and oftentimes the meeting are treated as a courtesy rather than in an official capacity.

League of Nations[]

The Commonwealth is not a member or observer in the League of Nations. With the League of Nations headquarters being located in Tonga, the nation has been unable to send an ambassador. Unofficial contact has occurred at various times through some of Susquehanna’s other diplomatic postings and the United Communities, however official membership is unlikely to occur for the near future.

Additionally, the Libertarian Party, the Conservative Party, and some factions in the Republican Party have strongly opposed membership in the organization. Most of the disagreement stems from information that the USSR holds a seat on the high council, intrusion by the League on what is viewed as internal affairs of the nation, and a widely held opinion that regional organizations will serve Susquehnna much more effectively. While they do not have a large enough majority to prevent membership from passing, the can stall it.

United Communities[]

Susquehanna is a full member in the United Communities, joining on January 1st, 2015. It had previously been an observer from late 2013. It maintains a fully accredited embassy to the organization and utilizes the embassy to retain foreign relations with other member states that have not exchanged embassies or consulates with. The Commonwealth has not served on any council or committee and has attempted to remain diplomatically neutral in disputes. Even so, since 2018, the nation has tended to support Canada, much to the chagrin of Saguenay and Superior.

Susquehanna does not maintain direct diplomatic relations with the following United Communities member states:

List of Embassies and Consulates by Nation/Organization from Susquehanna[]

Country	Relations Began	Embassy	Consulate	Mission	Notes
Aroostook	2016		Houlton		Plans to upgrade to full embassy in mid-2022
Canada	2009	Saint John’s
Confederation of Pennsylvanian States	2018			Pottsville (Reading)
Delmarva	2009	Salisbury
Gettysburg	2008		Gettysburg, York		Downgraded from Embassy in 2018, citing territorial disputes with Reading and State College
Kentucky	2013		Elizabethtown, Lexington
Lehigh	2018	Jim Thorpe
London	2013		London
New York	2006	Ithaca	Binghamton
Niagara Falls	2010	Niagara Falls
North Pennsylvania	2005	Franklin	Meadville
Quad Cities Alliance	2019	Davenport
Reading	2005	Reading	Allentown, Lebanon, Pottsville
Saguenay	2015		Chicoutimi
State College	2006			Johnstown, State College, Williamsport	State College does not officially recognize Susquehanna’s independence
Superior	2015		Stowe
Toledo	2014		Toledo
United Communities	2015, Observer from 2013 to 2014			Navy Island (Niagara Falls/International Territory)
Vermont	2014	Montpelier	Manchester
Virginia	2010			Charleston	Suspended since 2019, citing territorial disputes with North Pennsylvania and State College
Waterloo	2014	Kitchener

List of Embassies and Consulates by Nation/Organization to Susquehanna[]

Country	Relations Began	Embassy	Consulate	Mission	Notes
Aroostook	2016		Bloomsburg		Plans to upgrade to full embassy in mid-2022
Canada	2009	Bloomsburg
Delmarva	2009	Bloomsburg	Hazleton
Gettysburg	2008		Bloomsburg		Downgraded from Embassy in 2018
Kentucky	2013	Bloomsburg	Hazleton
Lehigh	2018	Bloomsburg
London	2013	Bloomsburg
New York	2006	Bloomsburg	Hazleton
Niagara Falls	2010	Bloomsburg
North Pennsylvania	2005	Bloomsburg	Hazleton, Sunbury
Quad Cities Alliance	2019		Bloomsburg
Reading	2005	Bloomsburg	Hazleton, Sunbury
Saguenay	2015			Bloomsburg
State College	2006			Bloomsburg, Hazleton, Sunbury	State College does not officially recognize Susquehanna’s independence
Superior	2015		Bloomsburg
Toledo	2014		Bloomsburg
United Communities	2015, Observer from 2013 to 2014			Bloomsburg, Hazleton
Vermont	2014	Bloomsburg
Virginia	2010			Bloomsburg	Suspended since 2019, citing territorial disputes with North Pennsylvania and State College
Waterloo	2014		Bloomsburg

Committee to Restore the United States of America[]

Susquehanna has a small supporting element of Committee to Restore the United States of America, primarily within the Conservative Party and older generation Democrats and Republicans.

CRUSA’s public mission is to promote American values and teach the younger generations the history of the United States. In addition to this, they are pushing for Susquehanna to actively move to rejoin the United States either as part of the reconstituted Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or a separate state.

In 2021, CRUSA released paperwork indicating there are 2,224 registered members with 1,185 paying dues and being considered to hold an active status. Yearly dues are collected to fund domestic educational materials.

CRUSA is headquartered in Bloomsburg with five additional chapters nationally, each covering a seperate region. The regions directly report to the organization leadership in Bloomsburg however do have the autonomy to participate in different protests, political parties, or taking legal action. The most active chapter is located in Sonestown with a strong pro-reunification sentiment in Sullivan County.

Chapter	Headquarters	Membership (2020)	Counties Covered
Capital Region	Bloomsburg (National Headquarters)	513	Columbia County, District of Scranton
Coal Region	Tamaqua	324	Schuylkill County, Carbon Territory, Monroe Unorganized Territory
Luzerne Region	Freeland	266	Luzerne County, South Luzerne Territory, Nanticoke Unorganized Territory
Northern Tier Region	Sonestown	429	Sullivan County, Tunkhannock Teritory, Northern Tier Unorganized Territory
Susquehanna Region	Sunbury	285	Montour County, Northumberland County
Hazleton Region	Hazleton	407	Wyoming County

With freedom of speech enshrined in Susquehanna’s constitution, the federal government has taken few actions to suppress CRUSA. Officially, the government does not support or approve of the organization however, various politicians both legislative and executive offices have expressed support for their goals.

Most federal officials view CRUSA members to be stuck in a golden age of Americanism and having an unrealistic view on logistics, economics, and political ramifications of reunification.

Each year since their first member was elected to the House, the Conservative Party has made motions for the Commonwealth to open negotiations with the United States in Torrington to discuss reunification. However, the motions have always been rejected en-masse by all other parties.

American Spring[]

With the resurgence of pro-American patriotism reaching Susquehanna in 2017 and the government’s official stance against reunification, there were concerns of violence in the more isolated counties. However, the vast majority of protests consisted of a few dozen people at most with signs and chanting or singing. CRUSA branches in the Commonwealth actively disavowed violence as a means for reunification, however the State Police did surveil the organization for over two years as there were concerns of extremism forming in its ranks.

A few individuals were arrested for preparing to commit acts of violence to try and prompt reunification however less than a dozen were put on trial and imprisoned.

Several elections saw a ballot question pertaining to reunification put on the ballot by CRUSA, its supporters, and sympathetic citizens. All have failed by a large majority, even so, this has not deterred the organization.

Reunification[]

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna passed several minor resolutions related to the status of reunification with the United States or Pennsylvania throughout the late 2000's. In 2012, it passed the current resolution, labeled Resolution 29, it outlined conditions that Susquehanna would rejoin either successor state. But this resolution also left open continued independence for the future.

Many citizens today are reluctant to rejoin the United States feeling that they have been abandoned, and the younger population no longer associating with it anymore. A poll taken by the newspaper the Press-Enterprise in 2017, showed that 6% of people support joining the United States of America, 43% support joining the North American Union, and 51% oppose joining either organization.

Slowly, over time as the older population is replaced with younger individuals in government, more of the citizens are opposed to Susquehanna joining the United States in a political union. A law passed in 2019 by the General Assembly initiated the requirement that a national referendum would be required to permit reunification if serious discussions were held with the United States government.

Supporters[]

Many of the supporters are people who want to see the return of the American Hegemony. The strongest support is in Sullivan County and northern Columbia County.

Others point to the weak state of the Commonwealth. They lack a large military, and have a small economy. Most supporters though want Susquehanna to form an independent state in the United States rather than rejoin Pennsylvania.

Most of the support comes from older generations who grew up with the United States around. They are not opposed to Susquehanna's independence, but want to rejoin America if possible and as soon as possible. Most of this is due to patriotism to the former nation.

Critics[]

Many citizens and more each year oppose re-unification, pointing to the APA formation in Canberra rather than any number of surviving states in the United States.

Others point to the nation waiting over two decades before officially seceding. They believe that the wait was more than sufficient for contact to have been made.

Some are opposed due to a fear that the democratic reforms made, such as wider democratic freedom and an emphasis on citizens rights, will be annulled by the federal government if they were to reunite.

Overall, most of the opposition is from the younger generation who never grew up under the United States. They consider themselves to be Susquehannians, not Americans.

Current Status[]

As of 2021, there has been no change in Susquehanna's political status. The government does not recognize State College’s claim to be the legal government of Pennsylvania or the United States in the west as the official successor to the pre-Doomsday USA.

Officially the government takes no stand on re-unification, preferring civilian choice. Unofficially, the General Assembly and even executive branch are split on the issue. More conservative and older members in the government have expressed support for long term plans of reunification. However as younger Susqeuahannians enter the government, this support will continue to be dampened.

Typically the Conservative Party and far right to center right elements in the Republican Party support reunification. The Democratic Party, Libertarian Party, Progressive Party, and centrist elements in the Republican Party are neutral or oppose it.

Susquehanna has entered into a political organization with Reading and Lehigh. Reading has a competing claim as successor state, which authorities in Bloomsburg have generally supported, albeit not vocally.

Economy[]

Companies in the Commonwealth of Susquehanna

Immediately after Doomsday the entire economy in the region more or less evaporated. Luckily a large portion of the economy was based on agriculture, allowing them to feed the reduced population. There was some light manufacturing left, primarily Textron (producing jet engine parts and engines for the Cessna 172 and Piper aircraft), TRW (producing automobile parts including carburetors, valves, pistons, and piston rings), Smith's Machine Works (producing ball bearings), a very small steel works, Cabinet Works (producing wood furniture), Rieter's (producing carpet), Merck (producing medication), Cheetah Chassis (producing trailer chassis'), and an assortment of cloth factories, mines, and a robust services industries.

With the loss of electricity and electronic components from the EMP, these companies collapsed. Although with the lack of a market and the fleeing population, it made little difference.

Today Susquehanna has a small locally based economy, primarily based around agriculture, services to those living in the nation, construction, steel and iron rolling, and healthcare for the population.

Susquehanna's primary economic standard is a subsistence level economy, with most production remaining in the nation to rebuild the damaged area from Doomsday. There is some foreign trade simply for cash to pay for materials not found within the nation, parts, or equipment.

Agriculture[]

Much of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna's economy is based around agriculture, either crops or animal husbandry. The most common crops are fruit, wheat, and soy; while the most common animals raised are chickens, goats, and pigs. Unlike many nations post-Doomsday, Susquehanna did not suffer from food shortages due to the lack of arable land, but the ability to properly distribute the available supplies.

Today, agriculture composes over half the economic output of the nation. Food products are frequently exported to Gettysburg and North Pennsylvania.

It is by far the most important sector of the economy of Susquehanna. Almost half of those employed work in this area.

Manufacturing[]

There is a small but growing manufacturing industry including metals, woodworking, chemicals, and small scale equipment.

Susquehanna’s iron and steel products originate primarily from the Danville Steel Mills and the Milton Steel Works. The mills produce iron and steel bar stock, billets, plates, and T-rail. Smaller casting and fabricating companies are scattered mainly located in Columbia, Montour, and Northumberland counties. They frequently use bar stock, billets, and plate to produce small manufactured goods.

Blacksmithing has surged as large scale metal production was virtually wiped out on Doomsday. Blacksmiths mainly utilize scrap iron and steel salvaged from pre-Doomsday sources or a small quantity from production out of the new steel mills. The vast majority of farm tools, knives and utensils, and other household goods are produced by blacksmiths as large scale manufacturing has yet to resume.

Carpentry and logging have resumed with carpenters producing boards and parts for bridges, concrete molds, furniture, toys, wagons, and other items. Lumberjacks not only cut down trees for processing at sawmills but also for firewood, which has become a common heat source. Logging mainly occurs in northern Columbia and Luzerne counties as well as Sullivan County with plans to expand into Tunkhannock Territory in the near future.

The Commonwealth is a steel producer in the region with the Danville Steel Mills producing railroad tracks and other products. Much of the coal is mined in Columbia, Schuylkill, and Wyoming counties. Limestone is quarried in Montour County and Luzerne County. Although the facility is operational, it produces a small amount of steel per year, with much of it going to repairing crippled infrastructure from Doomsday. Analysts believe that the Commonwealth will not be up to levels enough to export for several more years.

The mills opened in 2010 after a collaboration came between engineers from the Commonwealth with the knowledge of the mills' operation, money from State College investors, and equipment purchased from North Pennsylvania. The plans to reopen the steel mills had been made in 2001 and much of the time had been waiting for North Pennsylvania to be able to produce the needed machinery.

As mineral production has increased, with support from North Pennsylvania and Joy Mining, Susquehanna reopened Kennedy Van Sauns in Danville in 2016, manufacturing steam engine powered grinding and crushing equipment.

Services[]

Susquehanna's services industries are focused around providing for the people in the nation. Major industries include banking and finance, healthcare, entertainment, and shopping. The primary hubs for the service industry are in Hazleton, Bloomsburg, and Sunbury. Danville, Berwick, Shenandoah, and Laporte are other important communities.

Banking[]

First Keystone Bank is the primary bank for the Commonwealth and is the successor to the First Keystone Community Bank operating prior to Doomsday. It was restarted in 2004 as a joint public/private venture with backing by the government. Currently, the bank operates the main headquarters and eastern regional headquarters in Hazleton with the western regional headquarters located in Sunbury and branches in Berwick, Bloomsburg, Catawissa, Danville, Freeland, Laporte, Milton, Shamokin, Shenandoah, Sunbury, Weatherly, and West Hazleton. The bank controls just over four million Canadian Dollars in assets.

First National Bank is another financial institution, primarily serving Montour, Northumberland, and Columbia counties. This bank is privately held and smaller than First Keystone, headquartered in Bloomsburg with branches in Benton, Catawissa, Danville, Hazleton, Milton, Mount Carmel, Northumberland, Shamokin, Sunbury, and Washingtonville. First National holds approximately half a million Canadian Dollars in assets.

Service First Credit Union is headquartered in of Bloomsburg with a secondary, western office in Northumberland, and is the largest credit union in Susquehanna. The credit union hold around a million Canadian Dollars in assets and is managed by a board elected by the membership instead of a corporate board used by the banks. It operates branches in Bloomsburg, Berwick, Danville, Hazleton, Nescopeck, Northumberland, Shamokin, Tamaqua, and West Hazleton.

Members Choice Financial Credit Union is headquartered in Danville. It holds around a quarter of a million Canadian Dollars in assets, and like Service First it is operated by an elected board. The credit union operates branches in Berwick, Bloomsburg, Danville, Laporte, Millville, Milton, Ringtown, Shenandoah, Sonestown, Sunbury, and Washingtonville.

Healthcare[]

Geisinger is the largest healthcare provider in the nation. The primary hospital is located in Danville with smaller campuses in Bloomsburg and Sunbury. Local clinics operate in Berwick, Laporte, Millville, and Milton. Geisinger serves most of northern Susquehanna including Columbia, Luzerne, Sullivan, and northern Northumberland counties and the District of Scranton.

Wyoming Valley Health operates its primary hospital in Hazleton with clinics in Freeland and West Hazleton. The system primarily serves South Luzerne and Wyoming counties as well as Carbon Territory.

Shamokin Area Community Hospital continues to operate independently with the hospital located in Shamokin and a clinic in Shenandoah. The hospital primarily serves Schuylkill and southern Northumberland counties, however frequently residents in Schuylkill County travel to Pottsville in Reading for medical care.

Entertainment[]

Entertainment in considered to span a wide range, from media, to amusement parks, to restaurant chains.

Since Doomsday, Bloomsburg has dominated the entertainment industry. A theatre ensemble, orchestra, several restaurant chains, and media outlets are headquartered in the town.

Recent development in Danville and Hazleton have branched several companies out into these areas. Orchestras, community bands, and community theatres operate in all three major communities. Most small town so ace local bands, who perform on a regular basis.

Knobels Amusement Park operates between Elysburg and Bloomsburg, open between the end of April and beginning of September. The park operates less rides than prior to Doomsday, however, they do operate two roller coasters, water slides, trapeze swings, a pool, a Ferris wheel, and other smaller rides. Additionally, a campground and golf course operate nearby. Open during the summer, the park attracts visitors from as far as Niagara Falls and Reading during the summer.

The Bloomsburg Fair is a regional fair that runs for two weeks in the last week of September and first week of October. While not nearly as large as it was prior to Doomsday, it still attracts fair goers from across Pennsylvania, and vendors from Reading, State College, and New York.

Shopping[]

Doomsday caused major social changes in society. The focus moves from shopping malls located between the towns and suburbs, to operating in the downtowns of the communities, reviving the neighborhoods. In recent years, local shops have expanded into regional chains, filling the void that large department stores had occupied.

Exports and Imports[]

The nation has only recently begun trade with foreign nations, mainly focusing on internal good and services. However with contact improving to survivor states in the former Northeastern United States and around the Great Lakes, export and import levels have increased over the last decade.

Poor infrastructure and limited fuel reserves have hamper strong trade ties outside of Reading and State College. The vast majority of exports, at over 80% are to Pennsylvania survivor states or the Republic of New York, 15% to other United Communities members, and the remaining 5% to Delmarva. 85% of imports are from Pennsylvania survivor states and New York with the other 15% from the United Communities members.

Susquehanna’s imported goods focus heavily around manufacturing equipment, tools, and items that the nation is unable to produce domestically such as medicine and medical equipment, heavy mining equipment, and military hardware.

Exported goods include agricultural products, coal, and steel products.

Gross Domestic Product and Per Capita GDP[]

Susquehanna has a small economy, with a Gross Domestic Product of approximately C$ 66.8 million dollars per year (as of 2020), similar to pre-Doomsday Pacific island nations. The per capita GDP is approximately C$ 685 per year in each household, similar to pre-Doomsday sub-Saharan African nations.

While the per capita GDP is low compared to North Pennsylvania, Reading, and State College, costs in the nation are held low as well, giving the citizens a comparable cost of living.

Several companies located in Gettysburg, Niagara Falls, North Pennsylvania, Reading, and State College have begun investigating relocating factories to the nation due to the large amount of unused factory space and comparably low wages. However, the Commonwealth will need to improve the electric grid and reliability to effectively supply manufacturing plants with enough electricity.

Largest Employers in Susquehanna[]

Rank	Industry	Employees
1	Agriculture	~13,000
2	Government (Federal and Local)	~6,000
3	Manufacturing	~5,500
4	Mining	~3,000
5	Services	~2,700

Tariffs and Taxes[]

Susquehanna has not imposed tariffs on imports or exports to encourage trade and foreign investment. Corporate taxes are low at a marginal rate of 10% and individual taxes are at a flat 12%, with an additional 4% tax for healthcare and a 8% tax for Social Security. National property taxes on private homes are at 1.9 mills and taxes on commercial properties are at 1 mill.

Local taxes are only collected at a county level with tax revenue distributed to the communities based on population. Tax rates range from a low of 3% in Sullivan County to a high of 8% in Wyoming County and are taxes the same for individuals and businesses.

Overall, the average effective tax rate is between 23% and 28% for individuals and 13% to 18% for businesses.

Currency[]

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna Department of Treasury has authorized the recognition of the Reading Dollar as legal tender in the nation. It does not produce a domestic currency and barter is frequently used by the citizens, especially in the more isolated region.

Natural Resources[]

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna’s geographical history has caused it to sit over a large deposit of natural resources at its disposal. While it has these resources, technological lag has limited the ability to extract and utilize the materials.

Coal[]

Anthracite coal is mined in Columbia, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan, and Wyoming counties. The majority of coal is removed by strip mining and processing abandoned culm piles. The coal is primarily used as a fuel source for home heating, powering locomotives, and replacing coke in the steel production process.

Iron Ore[]

Prior to Doomsday, all the local iron mines closed by the late 1880’s. Local deposits were a mix of iron ore and shale and of low purity, which upon the discovery of iron with a higher purity in Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, nicknamed the Iron Range, led to the mines in Montour and Columbia counties closing.

However, post Doomsday, with Susquehanna cut off from the Iron Range and local mines in Lebanon County, it was forced to reopen the mines and relied on manpower to extract the iron. Susquehanna currently extracts a few thousand ton of iron per year and processes this into lower grade steel.

Most of the iron left in the area is hard iron ore that is difficult to mine, and only has about 30% recovery rate. The other type is soft iron, which is easier to mine, but much more difficult to find, as most had been removed in the 1870's-1890's during the previous iron boom. It is estimated by the government that there is 20 million metric tons of soft iron and upward of 450 million metric tons of hard iron, although only about a quarter of the hard iron is able to be extracted with the current technology.

Gravel, Limestone, and Sand[]

Limestone is quarried in small quantities in central Columbia County, southern Montour County, and throughout Sullivan County.

Sand and gravel are dredged from the Susquehanna River, while clay is mined in Luzerne and Northumberland counties.

Mine output is limited in capacity due to the majority of operations being done by hand. However since 2012, Susquehanna has begun importing hand and horse powered mining equipment from Joy Mining Company in North Pennsylvania. This includes horse and donkey powered pumps to remove water from the mines, horse and donkey powered grinding mills, hammers, pick axes, hand operated drills, screens, and other equipment.

Agriculture and Food[]

Immediately following Doomsday, food and drink became of vital importance to the survivors of Doomsday. The police and various other groups defended stores and warehouses to prevent raids by desperate people.

Susquehanna was one of the few nations in the northeast, after Doomsday that did not suffer long term issues with feeding their nation. At first there were some issues due to change in climate, lack of powered equipment, and manpower. By the late 1990's the country had enough food and some surplus, which was traded by the early 2000's with neighboring nations.

Today, agriculture is the most vital industry for the Commonwealth. It produces all of the food needed in the nation, plus a surplus to trade and sell. In recent years it has begun trade with Virginia and other southern nations for more variety in the available food crops due to ease of contact.

Currently the nation grows enough food to feed many times the current population. This makes up the bulk of the trade. Much of it is traded for raw materials and other manufactured equipment.

Malnutrition was an issue for several years after Doomsday, mainly due to the lack of a proper distribution system. In poorer and more isolated counties and communities, malnutrition continues to take its toll. The government has attempted to alleviate this by subsidizing food prices in these regions, and improving transportation to these areas.

Overall, most of the nation has adequate access to a variety of healthy and nutritious foods.

Infrastructure[]

The infrastructure of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna presently is under heavy modernization with support from North Pennsylvania, Reading, and State College.

A Canadian analysis of the area compared the current infrastructure comparable to most African nations prior to Doomsday. There are few paved roads, automobiles are rare, and most transportation is by horseback or train.

Future plans revolve heavily around rail transportation due to several major pre-Doomsday rail routes passing through the region and access to large anthracite coal reserves for powering locomotives.

Roadways[]

Before Doomsday, the counties that make up the nation were based around Interstate 80, Interstate 81, State Route 11, State Route 642, and State Route 54. Since Doomsday, the asphalt has deteriorated severely and is left as a patchwork of potholes, gravel, and small surviving paved section. Rather than working to repave roads with asphalt, Susquehanna is focusing on replacing roads in the cities, town, and boroughs with brick or stone and roads between communities with gravel.

Immediately post-Doomsday, Route 11 and portions of Interstate 80 were blocked by abandoned or disabled vehicles. However, since Doomsday federal and county authorities have cleared both roads and begun repair work.

Today, Route 11 is the cleanest, most intact roadway, traveling from Danville through Bloomsburg, and past Berwick. The road remains very similar to as it was before September 25th. However, several new overpasses have been installed, as well as repairs or replacements to original retaining walls, and new bridges to replace degraded infrastructure. North of Susquehanna the road is only maintained on an infrequent basis for the Army National Guard, to reduce damage to vehicles, during expeditions to the ruins of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.

Interstate 80 is cleared as well and serves as the main transportation corridor between Reading and North Pennsylvania. The original interstate ran from East Strousburg to the Pennsylvania/Ohio border. Since Doomsday and the abandonment of East Strousburg, Reading and Susquehanna have rebadged former State Route 93 as a southern extension to Interstate 80 from Hazleton to Reading.

There are few automobiles operated in the nation, with the costs being too high. Most are operated by the government with a handful owned by the wealthy population. Many of these vehicles are old models refurbished from pre-Doomsday parts and cars. Some are new, purchased from Toledo, Niagara Falls, or Virginia.

Most people use horse and buggy or wagons now due to ease of maintenance. There are several horse breeders throughout the nation. In place of gas stations, there are small stations to get horse feed and water as well as horseshoes. Many have sprung up on main roads between Bloomsburg and Hazleton.

Bicycles are also a common method of transportation. Originally most of the bikes were built out of scrap metal, but by 2011 the government had allotted a small portion of salvaged scrap metal for bike production. Now, there are several hundred bikes manufactured by the Commonwealth. Most civilians have access to a bike, and they are a popular long range transportation for those living in town. Some other bikes are built as trikes for light cargo transportation.

Rail[]

Rail is the most well maintained and reliable source of powered transportation in Susquehanna with both cargo and passenger rail being operated frequently domestically and becoming more common for travel between Reading to State College.

There are three primarily railroads that run through the Commonwealth with a handful of new extensions or truncated routes to service communities.

The busiest rail line, North Shore Railroad, runs from the State College/Susquehanna border in Northumberland, Northumberland County to Beach Haven in Salem Township, Luzerne County. It originally passed through the communities of Danville, Bloomsburg, and Berwick. North of Beach Haven, Susquehanna has planned to extend the line to Nanticoke. North Shore Railroad was reconstituted in 2011, and between 2013 and 2018, Susquehanna extended the railway from Beach Haven to Hazleton, Wyoming County through the Harleigh Junction.

North Shore runs the former Norfolk-Southern line from Millersburg in Reading to north of Shickshinny in Luzerne County with an extension from Sunbury to Williamsport in State College.

The Shamokin Valley Railroad runs from Sunbury to Mount Carmel, both communities are in Northumberland County. The rail line was formed in 2014 when crews were able to clear the abandoned Conrail lines. Shamokin Valley Railroad links with the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad in Locust Summit. Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad provide connection to Reading.

Reading and Susquehanna completed repairing and connecting existing railroad tracks to create the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad. The railway connects Hazleton in Wyoming County to the city of Reading in Reading.

There are future plans to restore rail service between White Haven and Lehighton and an extension to Hazleton.

All trains operated by Susquehanna are powered by anthracite coal mined in the nation.

Cargo Rail[]

Cargo rail has replaced long range trucks, which have complete disappeared outside of the Army National Guard. Much of the rolling stock has been salvaged from pre-Doomsday, while locomotives have been acquired via North Pennsylvania from London, Ontario.

Passenger Rail[]

Passenger rail lines share the same railways as cargo rail and, similar to how long range trucks being replaced with rail, air and car travel has been heavily replaced by rail. However, both the rolling stock and locomotives have been acquired from London,

Trolley System[]

The city of Hazleton is the only community that operates a trolley system. It is a horse-drawn system using cars that were assembled by local factories in the late 1990's, however, newer models have been introduced. When the power grid is repaired, there are plans to electrify the system to improve reliability and reduce the mess.

Waterways[]

The Susquehanna River is the only navigable river in the nation, and is quite important. Trade done with Gettysburg by boat. Roads between the nations are in disrepair and raider attacks are still threatening.

There is a small group of freight boats that operate from Bloomsburg and travel up and down the Susquehanna. Reconnaissance teams from Susquehanna have used the river as a safer way to travel, since the roads north of Susquehanna are overgrown and some are rubble.

Flat bottom boats and small hulled boats are the only waterway vehicles capable of navigating the waters. Since Doomsday, the average water height has risen to eight feet from five feet pre-Doomsday. Rafts and barges are common on both the Susquehanna River and the West Branch for cargo and passenger transportation. For upriver travel, horses are frequently used to pull along the river.

Communication[]

As Doomsday occurred, the Commonwealth lost all forms of communication as the EMP rendered the delicate electronics useless. The government began to immediately work on repairing as many radios as possible. Old radios were pulled from storage and put into use for emergency communications and to link the more isolated Communites to the larger boroughs. One radio station was left online, running off a battery network. However, when the area collapsed into infighting, the transmitter was badly damaged.

In 2007, the nation completed the installation of telegraph lines between Bloomsburg, Danville, Berwick, and Shenandoah. They continued to expand the network throughout the late 2000's and early 2010's. External lines between Susquehanna, Reading, Gettysburg, State College, and North Pennsylvania, were connected by 2015, however, they are primarily used for business and government.

As of 2019, 70% of Susquehanna's population has a telegraph in their home, and another 10% have access to public usage telegraphs. Work is being continued to completely connect Sullivan County, the more rural sections of Northumberland County, and the newly acquired territories to the telegraph network.

Telephone service has only been restored for government and military usage. Efforts have begun to restore a civilian network, and there are plans to progress in a similar fashion as the telegraph network was arranged.

HAM radios are used primarily by the military for long distance communication. The government utilizes several sets to keep regular contact with the outside world. Additionally, local newspapers and radios keep sets to gather limited news from the Celtic Alliance, the North American Union, Canada, the Republic of Texas, and other nations.

Energy[]

Immediately after Doomsday, the police and National Guard secured all of the gas, coal, natural gas, and propane supplies to ensure energy for emergency, agriculture and critical services.

Fuel distribution was limited to emergency and military usage only. Gas and kerosine storage facilities between Danville and Northumberland permitted the government to ration fuel through mid-1984 when the remaining supply was either used up or chemically degraded to a point it was unusable. Supplies at gas stations were either used, stolen, or destroyed in the hours and days after Doomsday as citizens scrambled to try and gather what fuel they could, however the electromagnetic pulse had rendered all but the oldest vehicles useless.

Oil reserves and refineries are not present within the territory controlled or claimed by Susquehanna. While exploration has uncovered significant natural gas deposits, technology lag has tended these sources inaccessible.

All gasoline and diesel supplies are imported from North Pennsylvania which has resulted in a fuel scarcity due to the requirement that it is transported in by truck. Private consumption of fuel is strictly regulated and ration cards are distributed to both private citizens and the few trucking companies remaining.

Coal mines in the nation that is not used in the production of steel has been utilized for both home heating and to power the locomotives operated domestically.

Electricity[]

Prior to Doomsday, there were two power plants in the region that now makes up the Commonwealth of Susquehanna. One was a nuclear power plant which had just gone online completely, and the other was a coal-fired facility.

The lone nuclear power plant, named the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, operational in the region before Doomsday. When the EMP struck, the plant went dark and technicians scrambled for an emergency shut down. The diesel generators were repaired enough to keep the uranium in the cooling pools from overheating. Unit One had opened in 1977, and Unit Two had just opened only weeks before Doomsday.

Both units were successfully and safely shut down, although there have been several minor accidents and incidents since Doomsday. Each reactor had the capability to produce 2700 MW per year. While restoring the plant could provide a stable source of electricity to Susquehanna and its neighboring countries, current plans are to officially decommission and destroy the power plant with support from the United Communities.

The other power plant that ceased operations on Doomsday was the Montour Power Plant. It was coal fired, with an output of 1,758 MW, and had opened in the mid 1970’s. The facility sustained damage from the EMP blast but remained structurally intact and suffered no structural damage during the war.

All pre-Doomsday equipment including grinding mills, dumpers, coal stacking and handling equipment, and burner units remain stored onsite. Kennedy Van Saun has taken over maintenance and refurbishing the equipment as the plant is slowly repaired for renewed operations.

In 2020, Susquehanna signed an agreement with the United Communities to restore the coal fired power plant in exchange for the complete and supervised decommissioning Susquehanna Steam Electric Station and the removal of all nuclear material from Susquehanna proper. Canada, Niagara Falls, North Pennsylvania, and other industrialized nations in the United Communities have begun to supply materials to the nation, in order to restore one of the power plant generators to operational status by 2025 and the second unit by 2028.

New transformers have been ordered from Niagara Falls and New York as well as domestic work has begun to salvage any remaining units from around the country.

Basic electrical services are supplied to government facilities for basic operations, communication hubs, emergency services, hospitals, certain industries, and military installations. It is sourced via generators repaired after Doomsday and newer generators imported from Canada via North Pennsylvania. A small domestic power plant outside Danville at the former Merck facility and State Hospital, and on the campus of Bloomsburg University have been restored and supply energy locally to the steel mill, hospital, and government offices.

Airports[]

Hazleton International Airport is the primary airport servicing the Commonwealth. It has a single runway that is 4898 feet long (1493 meters) and is made of asphalt. While the airport is maintained and occasionally used by the Reading Air National Guard, there have been no domestic operations since Doomsday. The airport serves primarily as a military base for the Army National Guard.

Sanitation[]

Susquehanna is slowly beginning to improve sanitation especially in the cities and larger towns. Danville, Bloomsburg and Hazleton all have operational waste treatment plants that were salvaged from parts stripped from destroyed facilities. Even so, the vast majority of Susquehanna relies on 1800’s style arrangements with outhouses and burying rubbish being widespread.

Education[]

The nation has a mandatory education from grades 1-12, with kindergarten and college optional. The national education system is divided into school district. Military service can be postponed if the student is pursuing higher education or trade school.

Although the nation attempts to enforce education to help improve the nation's self-sufficiency, only about 57% of the current citizens under the age of 18 actually attended school at some point. There is a 62% graduation rate and 5% continue education to college. The literacy rate is at 71%, similar to the pre-Doomsday Second World, however the average reading level is around a 6th grade level.

Susquehanna maintains all the schools under the Susquehanna Public School System and divides the area up into smaller school districts. To keep a balance between those wanting to re-institute religion into the school system, and those opposed to it, the government made a compromise.

Schools had the ability to choose to allow prayer or not participate. Individual students would not be prevented or forced to participate if choosing to do so.

There are also a handful of private schools, mostly religious. The government regulates them to a certain extent but allows the relative freedom to encourage competition and increase the education strength.

School Districts (Jurisdiction)[]

Berwick School District (eastern Columbia County, Luzerne County, western South Luzerne Territory): Berwick, Freeland
Bloomsburg Area School District (western Columbia County): Bloomsburg
Southern Columbia School District (central/southern Columbia County): Catawissa
Danville Area School District (Montour County, northern Northumberland County): Danville, Washingtonville
Hazleton Area School District (Wyoming County): Hazleton, Conyngham
Millville School District (Northern Columbia County): Millville, Orangeville
Northumberland County School District (southern Northumberland County): Sunbury, Shamokin
Pocono Area School District (Carbon Territory, eastern South Luzerne Territory): Weatherly, White Haven
Schuylkill School District (Schuylkill County): Shenandoah, Tamaqua
Sullivan County School District (Sullivan County): Laporte

Technical Schools (Jurisdiction)[]

Montour-Columbia Vocational Technical School (Montour County, Columbia County, Sullivan County): Bloomsburg
Wyoming-Schuylkill Vocational Technical School (Wyoming County, Schuylkill County): West Hazleton

Private Schools[]

Holy Family Academy (K-12) (Hazleton, Wyoming County)
Saint Columba School (K-9) (Bloomsburg, Columbia County)
Saint Cyril's Preschool and Kindergarden (Pre K-K) (Danville, Montour County)
Saint Joseph's Elementary School (1-8) (Danville, Montour County)

Colleges and Universities[]

College or university in Susquehanna is crucial to the long term development of the nation as it passes on knowledge to future generations and helps expand the economic output of the country. To encourage participation, the government provides small grants to students attending college or university.

There are currently two universities and one college in the Commonwealth. All three colleges are operated by the federal government under the Susuqheanna Higher Education System (SHES).

Currently, officials from SHES are meeting with university officials from Reading to potentially integrate the public universities in both nations as the Easten Pennsylvania Higher Education System (EPHES).

Bloomsburg University is located in Bloomsburg, Columbia County. It was founded in 1839 as a teacher's college, and expanded over the years. On Doomsday there were 7428 students on campus. About 5,000 fled either heading home to search for their families or west to escape the chaos that was slowly engulfing the region. Today there are 647 students on campus and 84 who walk to college.

Columbia County Community College is a small two year institution located in Berwick, Columbia County as well as a small satellite campus in Wyoming County. It was founded in 1967 as Luzerne County Community College. There are 293 students who attend the college.

Hazleton University is composed of the former Penn State Hazleton campus. It was founded in the 1930's during the Great Depression. There are 584 students on campus.

Medical Care[]

There is one hospital in the nation. It is based in Danville, Montour County and is responsible for major operations and severe emergency care. It operates two large clinics in Bloomsburg and Hazleton which can provide emergency care. They also run small clinics with two or three nurses in several far out towns.

Medical care is basic with few medications or treatment options for doctors. Many terminally ill patients are sent home to prevent them being a drain on the few supplies left. Susquehanna has a small team at Geisinger hoping to manufacture penicillin in small quantities, and import others from Delmarva and Canada.

Surprisingly, radiation was not as much of an issues as some people and officials were worried about. Most of the effect from it has been some survivors from Wilkes-Barre and Scranton showing signs of cancer. Other than that, there is no sign of major incidents with cancer. There were fears that river would contain high levels of radiation for decades or centuries and could continue to contaminate the water supply of the Commonwealth. Luckily, this has not been the case and while occasionally radiation levels have risen, it has not been concerning enough to ban the collection of water from the river.

The flu has been a thorn in the side of medical personnel in Susquehanna since the winter of 1983. Prior to Doomsday, vaccinations were common and encouraged, however since Doomsday, these efforts have all but stopped due to the inability to continue domestic production. Other illnesses like chicken pox, smallpox, polio, measles, and a variety of diseases have seen a resurgence in the past 40 years and kill or injure hundreds of people a year, mainly children or the elderly.

As transportation and contact with foreign nations has improved, efforts are underway to obtain vaccines in an attempt to stem the waves of the diseases.

Geisinger Medical Center (Danville, Montour County)- 600 beds, 20 critical care beds, four operating rooms, two isolation rooms
Wyoming Cinic (Hazleton, Wyoming County)- ten beds, four critical care beds
Geisinger Bloomsburg Clinic (Bloomsburg, Columbia County)- 50 beds, three critical care beds

Medical Supplies and Treatment[]

Many of the traditional medications and supplies ran out a few months to a few years after Doomsday, causing many to die. Today, Susquehanna operates a small pharmaceutical company out of the former Merck facility in Danville. It produces and extracts medicine from plants, molds, and fungi, as well as basic medical supplies like bandages, wraps, casts, and other materials.

The hospital has been in discussions with Canada and Reading sources to obtain CAT scanners or MRI machines.

Armed Forces[]

Main Page: Commonwealth of Susquehanna Defense Force

History[]

Immediately after Doomsday, local police and small National Guard units in various communities formed small military groups for defense. Some towns organized small civilian militias to back up defense against gangs and raiders who were prowling around the area. even with the lack of weapons, casualties during the short conflict were heavy.

After the unification of the region in the mid 1990's, the militias were reformed into the Provisional Pennsylvania National Guard. However, even with the formalized name change the organization remained what was essentially a militia for over a decade.

After the official formation of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna, the provisional National Guard disbanded and re-formed as the Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Guard. While security and combat missions in the intervening decade had improved the combat readiness and training of the National Guard, it was still primarily a light infantry force and struggled securing the nation.

After a series of major incursions by raiders between 2008 and 2011 that resulted in hundreds of deaths and the serious loss of property, the Commonwealth of Susquehanna National Guard launched a counterattack to push the gangs out of its territory and to a distance that would discourage continued assaults. Initial attempts from 2011 through 2012 were minimally successful as the raiders simply evaded military units who were on foot, or ambushed them with superior numbers. After several battles that resulted in severe losses, the National Guard procured 20 Jeep Raiders, four artillery pieces, and a variety of utility and cargo vehicles to improve resupply missions to troops from Canada, North Pennsylvania, Reading, and State College. In 2014 the government standardized the Army National Guard to the M14 after lengthy negotiations with Virginia permitted Susquehanna to import a quantity through intermediaries in Gettysburg. Machine guns and heavier weapons were slowly added to the inventory through purchases from North Pennsylvania, Niagara Falls, and Superior as contact and security were improved and supply lines enlarged.

In 2018, M113s were acquired from Kentucky and North Pennsylvania to augment the Jeep Raiders, which had suffered a 40% attrition rates in combat between 2014 and 2017 due to the lack of substantial armor and the use of improvised explosives by the raiders. While the armored vehicles were not designed for anti-armor warfare, they were capable of provided fire support and protected transportation of infantry into battle or through hostile regions.

Modern Day[]

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna is a member of the Confederation of Pennsylvanian States, which is both an economic and military organization. The Defense Force frequently participates in yearly drills and military exercises with the Reading National Guard. With the lack of an Air Force and limited air defense assets, the Department of Defense has an air policing agreement with Reading to provide aerial security and defense to the country as well as air support to the Army National Guard if the nation is invaded.

Emergency Responders[]

Emergency responders serve many different roles in the Commonwealth. Law enforcement, fire protection, emergency medical response, and emergency rescue teams all make up the emergency respond in Susquehanna.

Law Enforcement[]

Nationally, there are two levels of law enforcement, a national level, which includes the State Police and Capital Police as well as a local level, consisting of the county sheriffs department and community police force.

Community Police[]

Law enforcement is mainly taken care of by each individual town. Hazleton has the largest police force with 97 police officers, while Bloomsburg comes in second with 32 officers. Most larger towns such as Berwick, Danville, and West Hazleton operate a police force of about eight to twelve officers, while smaller communities including Northumberland and Shenandoah only have three or four officers. Townships or low populated regions oftentimes rely exclusively on policing provided by the county sheriff department or State Police.

Police officers standard sidearm are Glock handguns, or the Browning Hi Power. Each officer is also equipped with a night stick and handcuffs. Police cars are often equipped with a Model 870 shotgun and an M2012 rifle. Nationally there are over 300 police officers sworn in to various local law enforcement agencies with an additional twelve security officers supporting law enforcement activities on the local university campuses.

The police departments are led by local elected officials. Officers may not cross jurisdiction of the town or patrol area unless given explicit permission by the neighboring law enforcement agency unless they are pursuing a fugitive of justice.

Capital Police[]

The federal government operates the Commonwealth of Susquehanna Capital Police alongside the State Police but in a different role. The police force only has jurisdiction in federally owned building such as the General Assembly building, Supreme Court, and other government offices. Additionally, the police force is trained to support the Susquehanna Guard for security of the capital and high ranking government officials.

There are thirty-six sworn officers with an additional ten security guards providing roles such as bag inspection and other simpler tasks.

Local Police Forces
- Berwick Police Department
- Bloomsburg Police Department
- Danville Borough Police Department
- Hazleton City Police Department
- Shenandoah Police Department
- Sunbury Police Department
- West Hazleton Police Department
College Police Forces
- Bloomsburg University Police
- Columbia County Community College Security
- Hazleton University Police
Capital Police
- Commonwealth of Susquehanna Capital Police

Sheriff's Department[]

Each county and territory operates a sheriff's department to transport prisoners, provide courthouse security, and provide policing to communities lacking their own law enforcement agencies. The role of sheriff is an elected position however candidates must meet a certain set of parameters to ensure the duties that must be fulfilled are properly completed.

In addition to their main roles, sheriff departments may assist local and federal authorities during criminal investigations. The Supreme Court has affirmed that, given the updated role of the sheriff the departments are law enforcement agencies. By confirming the law enforcement duties, this gives these agencies the ability to arrest individuals for crimes committed.

With the various populations and areas of the counties and territories, the number of sheriff deputies ranges from eight (Luzerne County) to forty-one (Wyoming County). Deputies are typically lightly armed with revolvers and batons for crowd control. Luzerne, Northumberland, and Sullivan counties also arm the deputies with bolt action rifles due to the more isolated nature of their duties. The majority of deputies use horses or bicycles for transportation, although Northumberland, Sullivan, and Wyoming counties have either restored off road vehicles for transportation or procured a few new vehicles from Niagara Falls for longer duty patrols..

County Sheriffs Department
- Carbon Territory Sheriffs Department
- Columbia County Sheriffs Department
- Luzerne County Sheriffs Department
- Montour County Sheriffs Department
- Northumberland County Sheriffs Department
- Schuylkill County Sheriffs Department
- South Luzerne Territory Sheriffs Department
- Sullivan County Sheriffs Department

State Police[]

The State Police are the federal law enforcement of the government. They are not to be confused with the Capital Police who operate on federal properties as law enforcement and security. The State Police were the first organization formed by the government, combining various law enforcement organizations under the provisional state government, and the county jurisdiction, with the exception of the sheriff. Officially, the foundation date is November 7th, 2005.

The federal government operates two barracks in the nation and employs 68 troopers and 73 civilian employees. The East Barrack has 41 officers, and the West Barrack has 27 officers. It serves a similar purpose as the former United States FBI agency and the US Marshal Service, participating in criminal investigations, enforcing the judiciary, surveillance of citizens to prevent crime, and transportation of high risk prisoners, as well as administering the death penalty.

State Troopers are authorized to operate nationally and may cross county lines without a warrant, unlike the County Sheriffs or local law enforcement. Additionally, the force functions in a similar role to pre-Doomsday SWAT teams, deploying for crisis response or hostage rescue.

The State Police operate twelve patrol vehicles, three four-wheelers, ten motorcycles, and ten bicycles. The twelve patrol vehicles include five patrol cars and six SUV’s procured from Niagara Falls, with an additional short bus repaired and modified locally for prisoner transfer.

Motorcycles are typically used for long range patrol or urban patrol for preservation of the limited fuel supplies. Four-wheelers are used for off-road patrol and search and rescue and the bicycles are utilized in urban patrol and security at large events.

State Troopers are armed with M1911’s as their primary sidearm. Additional weapons include the Remington 870 shotgun, C1 submachine gun, AR-15 assault rifle, and M2012 sniper rifle.

Barracks:
- East Barrack: Carbon Territory, South Luzerne Territory, Luzerne County, Wyoming County (Headquarters: Hazleton)
- West Barrack: Columbia County, Montour County, Northumberland County, Schuylkill County, Sullivan County (Headquarters: Bloomsburg)

Crime[]

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna has a fairly low crime rate compared to pre-Doomsday. Some of this may be attributed to lower mobility of the population; closer, tight knit communities, and harsher punishments.

The federal government operates one prison in Danville with individual sections for low risk prisoners, medium risk prisoners, high risk prisoners, and juveniles. Columbia County, Montour County and Wyoming County each operate county prisons, while Luzerne, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Sullivan counties each rely on prisons in the other counties to hold prisoners.

Susquehanna’s criminal prosecutors still are able to consider the death penalty in certain criminal cases, with the sentence carried out by hanging at the federal prison. However this is carried out exclusively for violent crimes such as crimes against humanity, murder, terrorism, and other such convictions. Additionally, minors convicted of these crimes are ineligible for the death penalty.

Most prison sentences for petty crimes range between 3 and 24 months, more serious crimes can range from 2 years to 20 years without parole, and capital offenses not applying the death penalty carry a sentence of over 20 years to possible life without parole. All criminal sentences except for the death penalty or prisoners considered high risk of escape include hard labor. Hard labor is considered when prisoners are up for parole, incentivizing good behavior and hard work.

Susquehanna’s criminal law does not differentiate between juvenile and adult sentencing period, however oftentimes judges take this into consideration. Even so, the justice system has been criticized by foreign observers for overly harsh punishments on people under the age of 18.

For relatively minor offenses such as vandalism or petty theft, oftentimes restitution and community service are applied to avoid overstraining the prison system.

Gallery[]

Fire Personnel[]

Fire is mainly provided by a handful of refurbished 1950's fire engines, and one 1930's fire engine salvaged from Knobel's Amusement Park. There are several fire stations in the country. All fire units are volunteer personnel who are unpaid. Unfortunately, many of the vehicles are beginning to develop issues and will need to be replaced.

Hazleton Fire Department -
- Three: 1960's fire engines
- One: 1950's water tanker
- Five: Brush Trucks

Bloomsburg Fire Department -
- One: 1950's fire engine
- One: 1930's fire engine
- One: 1960's water tanker
- Two: Modified brush trucks
- One: Water Rescue fireboat

Danville Fire Department -
- One: 1950's fire engine
- Two: Modified brush trucks

Berwick Fire Department -
- One: 1950's fire engine
- One: Pickup truck for firefighting

Benton Fire Squadron -
- Three: Pickup trucks for firefighting

Ambulance and First Responders[]

There are multiple ambulance and emergency response units scattered throughout Susquehanna, primarily based out of the major communities. Initially, the success rate of the units was low due to poor equipment and training. Since the mid 2010’s a strong effort has been made to procure new ambulances from Niagara Falls and Toledo as well as a concentrated effort by Geisinger and the Defense Forces to properly train both ambulance personnel and first responders.

Ambulance and First Response Units

Berwick Ambulance
Bloomsburg Rescue
Danville Ambulance (sponsored by Geisinger)
Hazleton Emergency Medical Service
Millville Emergency Rescue
Shenandoah First Responders
Sunbury Emergency Response
West Hazleton Emergency Medical Service

Recreation[]

While much of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna's early history has been spent reconstruction or repelling raider attacks, the recent stability has lent a hand in permitting more free time and stability throughout the country. Both federal and county level efforts have been made to restore a legal of normalcy by reopening parks, encouraging theater and the arts, and supporting festivals of both season and celebration.

The town of Danville hosts the Iron Heritage Festival once a year in the middle of the summer. Organizers restarted the festival in 2012 as the region stabilized in an attempt to restore a more normal feeling to the county.

Bloomsburg hosts the Bloomsburg Fair during the end of September and other performances throughout the year, which have resumed since 2012.

There are also several museums still in operation throughout the nation, relying on donations and fees from visitors to stay in operation. The largest national park Susquehanna maintains is Ricketts Glen National Park (Formerly Ricketts Glen State Park) located at the intersection of Columbia, Luzerne, and Sullivan counties. The second largest park, Weiser National Park is located scattered between Columbia, Northumberland, and Schuylkill counties.

List of Attractions in Susquehanna
- Fairs and Festivals
  - Bloomsburg Fair (Last Full Week in September)
  - Iron Heritage Festival (Third Week in July, Monday-Saturday)
  - Montour Delong Fair (Last Full Week in August)
  - Wyoming County Fair (Second to Last Week in August)
- Museums
  - Bloomsburg Children's Museum (Bloomsburg, Columbia County)
  - Eckley Miners Village (Hazleton, Wyoming County)
  - Prestley House (Northumberland, Northumberland County)
  - General William Montgomery House (Danville, Montour County)
- National Parks
  - Montour Preserve National Park (Montour County)
  - Nescopeck National Park (Luzerne County)
  - Ricketts Glen National Park (Columbia, Luzerne, and Sullivan counties)
  - Weiser National Park (Columbia, Northumberland, and Schuylkill counties)
- Theater
  - Berwick Center for the Community Arts
  - Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble
  - Pennsylvania Theatre of Performing Arts

Culture[]

Susquehanna has a diverse culture with a mixture of urban and rural culture. Bloomsburg and Hazleton are seen as the cultural heart of Susquehanna. There is still a small African American culture present in Hazleton, with a handful of celebrations and events held each year.

Danville has a strong history with the iron industry and continues to celebrate the Iron Heritage Festival each summer. This delves into the historical mining and the town as well as modern day industry.

Bloomsburg hosts the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, a regional acting group that was formed prior to Doomsday. They tour the Commonwealth putting on plays in the various communities in the nation. The organization is a nonprofit, but charge small fees to cover travel expenses and new props and costumes.

Music[]

Susquehanna has a strong musical industry with a variety of genera singers, bands, and orchestras scattered throughout the Commonwealth.

Bloomsburg is the seat of the nonprofit Bloomsburg Orchestra, which succeeded the Bloomsburg University Orchestra. While based in Bloomsburg, the group tour the nation generally playing in community centers, gymnasiums, parks, or other gathering places for the citizens.

Much of Susquehanna's music falls into the categories of classical, country, or rock due to the instruments available. However, other groups from Canada, North Pennsylvania, Reading, and Virginia in the pop and metal category have been rising in popularity, especially among teenagers and college students.

Food[]

Susquehanna has a strong German and Polish heritage. Foods such as perogies, sausages, haluski, and an assortment of other dishes are popular. Some small private companies have begun growing spices used in these dishes that were lost on Doomsday.

Due to the relative scarcity of beef, hamburger is rare. Ground up goat meat has risen in popularity to replace it as goats are more hardy and adaptable to different plant matter compared to cattle as well as the resources gained compared to consumed is much higher.

Performing Arts[]

Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble operates out of the capital city, but tours the nation several times a year. All members are volunteers with props being purchased from admission tickets, concessions, and donations by local individuals and businesses.

Hazleton University supports a small acting club who puts on shows and plays angled at a younger audience. Most shows charge a low admission price to help pay for materials.

Holidays[]

Susquehanna has several federally recognized holidays throughout the year. The majority are a continuation of the pre-Doomsday observances with two new holidays: Independence Day and Doomsday Memorial Day. The American 4th of July is still celebrated and recognized more as a heritage day than a celebration of independence.

Holiday	Date
New Years	January 1st
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Junior	3rd Monday in January
Presidents Day	3rd Monday in February
Memorial Day	Last Monday in May
American Independence Day	July 4th
Labor Day	1st Monday in September
Independence Day	September 12th
Doomsday Memorial Day	September 25th
Veterans Day	November 11th
Thanksgiving Day	4th Thursday in November
Christmas Day	December 25th

Sports[]

Sports have attracted a small group of followers with football and baseball both being popular. Immediately after Doomsday, they were seen as a way to escape the hardships of life and some of the troubles that occurred in the region. Later, they were used to foster a sense of community and unity among the people and a nostalgic remembrance of the world that was lost.

Susquehanna Interscholastic Athletic Association[]

SIAA replaced the PIAA for schools in the Commonwealth in 2009, when the Provisional PIAA dissolved into the SIAC. The Provisional PIAA had formed in 2000 to allow schools which had only recently reformed to compete with each other. They existed alongside the Susquehanna Interscholastic Athletic Conference. At the time of the merger in 2009, the PPIAA had Bloomsburg Area School District, Millville School District, and Montour-Columbia Vo-Tech participating, and the SIAC had Danville Area School District, Southern Columbia School District, and Berwick School District as well as Schuylkill Vo-Tech. All private schools at the time were in the PPIAA.

Currently there are eight school districts, two technical schools, and three private schools participating in the SIAA. They are headquartered in Bloomsburg, with an office in Hazleton. It is considered a nonprofit, and is associated, but not operated by the government. It is also associated with the SNAC.

Susquehanna National Athletic Conference[]

The SNAC is the national athletic association for the commonwealth and the three colleges and universities. Due to the small size, the team compete with each other two or three times per year for each sport. There are talks with Reading and State College to begin a conference between the three nations to increase variety in gameplay.

Currently there are two universities and one college participating in the conference. It is headquartered in Bloomsburg with offices in Hazleton. It is a nonprofit, and is associated, but not operated by the government. It also is associated with the SIAA.

Pennsylvania Football League[]

In 2007, several local members of high school and college football teams discussed forming an organization similar to the defunct NFL for regional games. After talking with a senator from Montour County, they managed to get support from the General Assembly for such an endeavor.

It took several years for the organizers to acquire the neccessary equipment and recruit players. So in 2011, the first season of the Susquehanna Football League was played. There were three teams that year, the Bloomsburg Eagles, the Danville Steelers, the Berwick Giants. That year there were six regular season games, four playoff games, and the SFL Super Bowl. Each team played the others one time.

In 2012, Shenandoah formed the Shenandoah Browns and began playing. That year, there were eight games, four playoff games, and then the Super Bowl. Like before, each team only played the others once.

After a one year lull, the SFL signed agreements with Hazleton and Nescopeck to form a team in each community. Hazleton took the former name of the New York Jets, and Nescopeck, the name of the New England Patriots. The Army National Guard has also decided to field a team for that season, though the team dissolved in 2016.

All of the teams are semiprofessional only. They are given a small stipend, and each team is normally sponsored by a business or individual to cover these costs. Each team utilizes local high school or college football stadia to play their games in. The Bloomsburg Eagles utilize Bloomsburg University's football field. The primary stadium is the Robert B. Redman Stadium at Bloomsburg University. It has a seating capacity of up to 5000 people, and hosts supporting infrastructure.

The final game is between the two teams with the most wins. That is the SFL Super Bowl Championship. This game is always played at the Robert B. Redman Stadium. There are talks with State College about hosting it at the Penn State stadium.

Games are played either Saturday afternoon or Sunday night. Typically regular season lasts from September until early December, and the playoffs from early January until mid February. The Super Bowl is played the last weekend in February, giving players about a week to recover.

In 2017 there was a major restructuring of the team organization. Several smaller communities lost teams, while the nation of Reading joined the football league. Teams were either moved to new communities, or new teams were founded. The Pennsylvania Football League recognizes the 1925 victory by the Pottsville Maroons as counting towards the number of championships aawarded to the teams.

Location	Team	Founded	No. Championships	Last Championship	Conference
Allentown	Ravens	2017	0	N/A	Reading Conference
Berwick	Giants	2013			Susquehanna Conference
Bloomsburg	Eagles	2011			Susquehanna Conference
Danville	Steelers	2011			Susquehanna Conference
Lebanon	Yellowjackets	2017	0	N/A	Reading Conference
Hazleton	Jets	2013	0	N/A	Susquehanna Conference
Pottsville	Maroons	2017	1	1925	Reading Conference
Reading	Patriots	2017	0	N/A	Reading Conference

Eastern Pennsylvania Baseball League[]

The Eastern Pennsylvania Baseball League operates four baseball teams in the nation, in the communities of Hazleton, Bloomsburg, Danville, and Berwick. The new league replaced the original Susquehanna Baseball League in 2017 when the national baseball league merged with the Reading League.

The original Susquehanna Baseball League entered the planning stages in 2010 however the league failed to officially begin operation until 2014 due to funding and travel issues. However prior to the official formation, local farm teams formed and played each other as well as high school and college teams until the league began operating. The first season ran from May until October with a total of one game per weekend for each team, a six game postseason for the three teams with the most wins, and a final four game series between the two victors from the postseason. Games were played Saturday evenings or Sunday afternoons to prevent conflict with the Susquehanna Football League.

Susquehanna Baseball League

Berwick Yankees
Bloomsburg Nationals
Danville Pirates
Hazleton Mountaineers
Shenandoah Mets

Eastern Pennsylvania Baseball League

Berwick Yankees
Bloomsburg Capitals
Danville Ironmen
Hazleton Mountaineers

Olympics[]

Susquehanna sent two cross country skiers to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Saint Johns, Canada. This is the first Olympics the nation had participated in since Doomsday and the first as an independent country.

Modern Reaction to Doomsday[]

A poll taken in 2011 showed that 89% of citizens believe that the USSR was responsible for the Third World War, 2% believe that the United States were responsible for Doomsday, and 9% were undecided or declined to answer.

Even though the nuclear war was devastating, the general public has not seen a major anti-nuclear movement rise and many politicians support longer term investment in nuclear energy.

Religion[]

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna is a secular state, allowing the freedom of religion to its people. The nation has a high percentage of people who are actively participating in a religious group with Christianity being the largest faith group.

The Protestant church is composed of several different bodies including the Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, and Methodist faiths. Overall, 41% of citizens of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna are Protestant, with 14% being Methodist, 9% being Anglican, 5% being Lutheran, and 4% being Baptist. The remaining population includes a variety of other faiths including Adventist, Calvinist, and Pentecostal.

The largest single Christian denomination is Catholicism, with 35% of the population being Catholic. However, of that population, 33% are Roman Catholic and 2% are Byzantine Catholic. Due to long separation from the Roman Catholic Church, it has developed separately after Doomsday but is still considered to be Catholic.

4% of the population is a mix of Christian faiths.

The Amish Community holds approximately 2% of the population, seeing some growth since Doomsday. The vast majority of adherents are New Order Amish with a minority of a few dozen members practicing as Old Order Amish.

1% of the population claims to be Jewish and Mennonite. The remaining 8% of the population is atheist or agnostic.

Susquehannean Catholic Church[]

Immediately following Doomsday, the remaining parishes and local church leaders set to aid those in need following the nuclear war. Most set up soup kitchens, utilizing fresh foods that would spoil in days without proper refrigeration, donated by church members. They also began Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament around the clock at Saint Joseph's Parish, and Saint Columba. The priest and various members of different religious orders went out into the communities to help people with who were still stunned by the events of Doomsday.

After stabilizing the region and the union of the towns and communities as the Provisional Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Susquehanna in the early 1990’s, the surviving priests and congregations realized that there would be no foreseeable contact with the Vatican given the state of communication infrastructure. Additionally evidence on Doomsday indicated that both the Diocese of Harrisburg and the Diocese of Scranton had ceased to exist.

Since the Conclave there has been little changed within the Church. One primary change that was made had to do with Holy Day's of Obligation. It was decided to add September 25th as an additional hold day due to the events in 1983.

The Catholic Church has evolved in Susquehanna into its own distinct religious format. Unlike other evolutions of the church (such as Niagarian Catholicism), Protestant and Catholic faiths have not unified due to an agreement to collaborate but remain separate. A bishop is the leader of the Susquehannean Church. The seat of the Susquehanna Catholic Church is Saint Cyril's and Methodius Basilica in Danville, Montour County. The head of the Church is the Patriarch who is responsible for doctrine and assigning priests to various parishes.

There are three dioceses in Susquehanna, the Diocese of Danville, the Diocese of Bloomsburg, and the Diocese of Hazleton. This is primarily due to the small size of the nation, yet scattered population.

Differences Between Susquehannean Catholicism and Roman Catholicism[]

High Mass celebrated on all feast days
Kneel to receive Communion
No Meat on Fridays year round
Recognizes John Paul II as the Pope
September 25th is a Holy Day
Traditional prayers recited in Latin
Women are asked to cover their heads in the church

Similarities Between Susquehannean Catholicism and Roman Catholicism[]

New American Bible is in usage
Masses and sermons are spoken in English
Priest faces congregation during Mass

Relations with the Roman Catholic Church[]

The Catholic Church in Rio de Janiero recognizes the Susquehanna Catholic Church as Catholic and in communion with the rest of the world. There are talks to officially reunify with the Roman Catholic Church. A major sticking point is the lack of North American bishops being present during the first conclave, so the Susquehanna Catholic Church will not officially recognize Anthony I as the Pope. They are still in talks though, and many believe reunion may be in the near future.

Relations with the Niagaran Catholic Church[]

The Susquehanna Catholic Church recognizes the Niagaran as Christian but not Catholic due to the usage of the King James Bible and the ordination of women. Relations though, are relatively good with positive dialogue in the past few years which has made Susquehanna more receptive.

Diocese and Parishes of the Susquehannean Catholic Church[]

Diocese of Bloomsburg
- Christ the King Mission (Benton)
- Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish (Berwick)
- Our Lady of Mercy (Catawissa)
- Saint Columba's Parish (Bloomsburg)
Diocese of Danville
- Saint Joseph's Parish (Danville)
- Saint Francis of Assisi Parish (Washingtonville)
Diocese of Hazleton
- Most Precious Blood Parish (Hazleton)
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish (Shenandoah)
- Queen of Heaven Parish at Our Lady of Grace Church (Hazleton)
- Saint Gabriel's Parish (Hazleton)
- Saint Mary's Parish (Ringtown)
- Saint Patrick's Parish (White Haven)
- Saint Stanislaus Parish (Hazleton)
- Holy Name of Jesus Parish (West Hazleton)

Other Religious Bodies[]

Carmelites of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (Elysburg, Northumberland County)
Geisinger Chaplin (Danville, Montour County)
Sisters of Saint Cyril's and Methodius (Danville, Montour County)

Images[]

Protestant Faiths[]

As the Catholic Church was working on salvaging the remaining members of the church, the Protestant faiths all met in Bloomsburg as well, and agreed to consolidate under one leadership. Today, each faith operates independently, but all meet several times a year to discuss doctrine and plans for the next year.

There is very little animosity between the Catholic and Methodist faiths. Many times the churches work together.

There are churches scattered around the nation that have the various faiths. Many towns have more than one due to the many types.

Amish[]

The Amish have changed relatively little since 1983. Much of this is due to the fact that the leadership survived and their lifestyles. Amish were the least impacted group on Doomsday, and many worked to aid others.

The community tends to avoid associating with the government and is granted a wide latitude including freedoms from military training requirements or the draft. The majority live in their own communities, separated from the general population. The largest settlements are near Dornsife and Turbotville in Northumberland County, as well as smaller communities between Bloomsburg and Danville.

Byzantine Catholic[]

Byzantine Catholicism is a branch of the Catholic Church that has a small following in Susquehanna, mainly in Schuylkill County. After Doomsday, similar to the Roman Catholic, the few remaining churches met in a conclave in Ringtown, Schuylkill County, to decide what to do. They had lost contact with the Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the priests that met assumed that their leadership had either all died, and formed the Diocese of Shenandoah and Central Pennsylvania.

There are five churches with two in Hazleton and one each in Berwick, Mount Carmel, and the seat of the Bishop in Shenandoah. The current Bishop is Gregor Allen.

Eparchy and Parishes of the Byzantine Catholic Church[]

Eparchy of Shenandoah
- St. John the Baptist (Hazleton)
- St. Mary’s (Hazleton)
- St. Michael the Archangel (Berwick)
- St. Nicholas (Shenandoah)
- St. Peter and Paul (Mount Carmel)

Other Religious Bodies[]

Byzantine Carmelites (Sugarloaf, Wyoming County)
Holy Dormition Friary (Sybertsville, Wyoming County)

Judaism[]

Judaism was more or less wiped out in the region on Doomsday as most of the population lived in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. However, a small community remained in Bloomsburg and Hazleton. The congregations disbanded after Doomsday due to the breakdown of social order and were not reformed until the late 1990’s. After Susquehanna improved contact with other survivor states, the size of the Jewish community stabilized with over one hundred members. Two synagogues reopened, one in Bloomsburg in 2001 and the second in Hazleton in 2015.

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna Defense Force provides Jewish soldiers with an allowance to accommodate for dietary restrictions.

Synogauges[]

Beth Israel Congregation (Bloomsburg)
Beth Israel Congregation (Hazleton)

Mennonite[]

Similar to the Amish, Mennonites have changed very little since Doomsday. Most continue to follow their elders' customs, but are more involved in the government and current affairs.

Media, Information and Communication[]

Newspaper[]

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna has recently formed several media outlets for people to use. Newspapers were one of the first forms used, being hand-typed on old typewriters that had been stored at area high schools from the 60's and 70's. One of the first newspapers to reform was the Morning News (renamed the Press Enterprise) in Bloomsburg. On September 25, 2013, the thirtieth anniversary of Doomsday, they released a special paper with stories of some survivors who managed to escape Scranton and Wilkes Barre.

Today the nation has two major newspaper distributors, The Press Enterprise, based in Bloomsburg, Columbia County; the Daily Item, based in Sunbury, Northumberland County; and one minor newspaper distributor, the Standard-Speaker, based in Hazleton, Wyoming County.

The Press Enterprise is considered to be the paper of record for the Commonwealth.

The Press Enterprise is the successor to the Morning Press, being renamed in 2004. They operate nationally, providing national and world news, cartoons, advertisements, and coupons for the citizens, along with serving as an announcement bulletin for the government, printing upcoming bills, elections and issues. The paper publishes five days a week. Originally the Danville News operated independently, but after two months became cost prohibitive, and merged with the Morning Press to form the Press Enterprise. The newspaper is distributed in the entire nation through pre-Doomsday newspaper racks and stands. The paper publishes seven days a week, and prints papers for the Standard Speaker on Tuesday and Thursday to bring in extra revenue.

The Daily Item was founded in September of 2015. It operates in the eastern side of the nation, covering Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, and Schuylkill counties, providing regional news coverage as well as some national and world news. They offer puzzles, coupons, and advertisement as well as providing service announcements from community and government organizations. The paper publishes Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The Standard-Speaker was the original newspaper for Greater Hazleton when it was an independent nation. It was only one or two pages long with just some basic news for the city with some ads and on the weekends, puzzles and comics. Today it is six pages long, and publishes Tuesday and Thursday and has an agreement with the Press Enterprise to roll copies of that paper during the rest of the week.

Radio[]

Soon after Doomsday, many resources went into restarting the radios as they were the most efficient way to get information to the public, because in the news and bulletins, it was already at least one day old.

In 1984, the communities that would form Susquehanna later on banded together and started the Provisional Pennsylvania Broadcasting Company, the predecessor to the Susquehanna Broadcasting Company. The original transmitter was in Bloomsburg, and was constructed from salvaged equipment from Danville and Berwick. It was up and running by late 1986.

Today there is a variety offered through the radio, as it has claimed the market formerly occupied by television. Through aid from Canada and Vermont, Susquehanna has six radio stations in operation as of 2021. Three are operated by the Susquehanna Broadcasting Company, and three are privately owned.

Radio listeners can pick up signals from State College, Reading, Texas, Mexico, North Pennsylvania, and several other regional radio stations with larger transmitters.

Susquehanna Broadcasting Company[]

AM
- SBC Station One (1280 AM) - This station is the first channel opened by Susquehanna. It was founded in 1986 after some engineers managed to get it operational again. It operates from 7:00 AM until 10:00 PM, seven days a week. The station transmits government broadcasts, religious programming, and sports. The main studio is located in Danville and the station transmits at 2500 Watts.
FM
- SBC Station Two (91.1 FM) - This station is the second radio channel operated by the Commonwealth. The station began transmitting in 2013 after battery packs and updated radio sets arrived from Canada and New York. It operates around the clock, all seven days of the week having begun this operation in 2018. It transmits music, government broadcasts, news, and entertainment such as talk shows and comedy skits. The main studio is located in downtown Bloomsburg and the station transmits at 2000 Watts.
- SBC Station Three (104.3 FM) - The third radio station opened in early 2020 and operates from 4 PM until midnight, seven days a week. The station broadcasts dramas, music (primarily sixties through eighties rock and country), radio talk shows, and pre-Doomsday radio shows. The main studio is located in downtown Bloomsburg and transmits at 1,500 Watts.

Privately Operated[]

AM
- WALZ Hazleton Current Hits (1490 AM) - WALZ was purchased by the Press Enterprise in 2017 from the City of Hazleton. The station was operated by the City of Hazleton in the late 1990's with help from Reading. It originally operated from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM seven days a week. Since its incorporation with the Press Enterprise the hours have been slightly adjusted. The station broadcasts from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as well as the weekend. They transmit variety music from pre and post-Doomsday as well as news focused on the eastern part of the country, various talk shows, and entertainment. WALZ has its studio in downtown Hazleton in the Altmont Building and transmits at 1,500 Watts.
- WPGM Christian Radio (1570 AM) - WPGM was reopened in mid-2021 by an interfaith group of Christians who wanted to renew the radio transmission of the gospel. The station traded radio frequencies with SBC1 as the group had acquired station 1280 AM but was interested in regaining 1570 as it was the pre-Doomsday station operated by WPGM. The station transmits religious broadcasts including music, talk shows, sermons, and services. It operates 6 AM to 10 AM and 5 PM to 11 PM on Fridays and from 6AM until 11 PM on Saturday and Sunday. WPGM has its main studio in Saint Cyril’s Basilica and transmits at 1,000 Watts.
FM
- WCFT (96.7 FM) - WCFT was opened in mid-2021 by an agreement between the Daily Item and Press Enterprise. The station broadcasts from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as well as the weekend. It retransmits broadcasts from WALZ as well as separate news broadcasts focused on the eastern part of the country. WCFT has its main studio in Sunbury, operating from the Riverfront Complex and transmits at 1,000 Watts.

Telephone[]

There are a handful of phone lines running through the Commonwealth, most of which serve government offices and the hospital system. Progress has been in restoring private phone service as several larger companies and the banking system have had phone service restored. This has supported further growth and improved communication by reducing response times from hours or even days to minutes.

Telegraph[]

Telegraph is the primary medium of communication outside of the nation. Susquehanna has telegraph connections with most nations in the Northeast and Eastern Canada. Each of the larger communities has a telegraph station in the downtown area. One line does connect with a network of lines, giving them sporadic contact with the Republic of Texas, United States of America, Toledo, and a few other nations that are farther out but this is rarely used.

The government operates its own telegraph service independent of the civilian relays. It gives them contact with all nations they have diplomatic relations with, as well as the members of the United Communities, Mexico and West Texas.

HAM Radios[]

With the FCC being vaporized in the strikes on Washington D.C. the government of Susquehanna has lifted any restrictions on the use of HAM and CB radios for any that had survived the ravages of the EMP, and post Doomsday chaos. The federal government utilized several HAM radios to keep in touch with leaders from the United States, Mexico and the Republic of Texas on a more regular and stable basis than the telegraph has allowed. HAM radio usage among the civilian population is much more limited. Primarily the wealthy have the money to purchase one for use, often families will purchase bootlegged radios, or improvise their own. This is especially common for individuals with families in other nations.

Film[]

Four privately owned movie theaters operate in the nation, one each in Bloomsburg, Berwick, Danville, and Hazleton. They operate using batteries and frequently require recharging from the government due to the lack of domestic electricity. The equipment use is typically either salvaged from pre-Doomsday screens and rebuilt with parts from New York and Niagara Falls or more recently, through purchased equipment mostly from Canada or New York.

Many screenings are from pre-Doomsday films salvaged from theaters, private collections donated or sold, and a handful of imported films from Canada and the Celtic Alliance, though this occurs infrequently. The nation does not have a domestic film industry.

Television[]

The absence of reliable electric has hampered the restoration of television service to the country. While the Susquehanna Broadcasting Company has expressed interest in providing this service it has been pushed off until the Montour Power Plant can be restored.

Libraries[]

There are several libraries in Susquehanna held by a variety of public and private sources. All the colleges and universities in the country have separate libraries to serve their campuses and student bodies. Additionally, Geisinger has an independent library mainly focused on medicine. All the public schools in the commonwealth maintain libraries with between 1000 and 5000 items, as well as 600 to 3000 books. Additional public libraries function in most of the major communities and many of the smaller ones as well.

All libraries are subsidized by the Commonwealth of Susuquehanna, and there are thousands of books stored in Berwick, waiting to be catalogued and sent to the various libraries. The library system, while typically operated separately from each other, have an asset sharing program to ensure information is distributed throughout the nation and provide a variety of books available to the public in an area.

Major Libraries

Andruss Library - 2.5 million items; 400,000 books (Bloomsburg University, Columbia County)
Bloomsburg Public Library - 135,836 items; 36,322 books (Bloomsburg, Columbia County)
Geisinger Medical Library - 79,375 items; 58,256 books (Danville, Montour County)
Hazleton Area Public Library - 149,423 items; 152,336 books (Hazleton, Wyoming County)
John R. Kauffman, Jr. Community Library - 29,300 items, 18,400 books (Sunbury, Northumberland County)
McBride Memorial Library - 21,842 items; 35,483 books (Berwick, Columbia County)
Ronald Wilson Reagan Memorial Library - 2,689 items; 13,843 books (Hazleton University, Wyoming County)
Thomas Beaver Free Library - 59,100 items; 31,500 books (Danville, Montour County)

Computers/REMUNDO[]

REMUNDO does not have a presence in the nation. There are no facilities in the nation to support the infrastructure. It is highly unlikely that there will be any for the far future.

There are no computers operated in the nation, either, as all the ones previously used were destroyed from the EMP on Doomsday, or lost in the following chaos.

Overall Conditions[]

Overall, Susquehanna has a subsistence economy, with 90% of goods and crops that are produced supporting the nation. It has a GDP comparable with pre-Doomsday Niue, and a per-capita GDP comparable with pre-Doomsday Sudan. Much of the economic development comes from aid from Canada, North Pennsylvania or Niagara Falls. It is expected that in the coming decades the economy will improve and expand with additional mining of coal and iron, and drilling for gas.

Manufacturing will increase slightly with cotton being used to make cloth and fabric. Other industries include asphalt and concrete manufacturing, and other industries.

Services have been increasing including medical care, education and banking. These are expected to be the major economic boost to the nation.

It is classified as a developing nation with a strong enough economy to support itself but relying on external donations to improve any.

Before Susquehanna joins the global market there are many things that will need to be accomplished. These range from transportation to economics.

Transportation[]

Hazleton International Airport will need massive amounts of capital to lengthen the runway to handle large aircraft. It also may need a landing site for airships due to their increased usage.

Due to the location of the capital, the government may need to expand that airport as well, or build a new one to replace the current small one used. Another possible solution would be to relocate the capital closer to Hazleton International Airport.

Railroads and roadways will need to be standardized and heavily repaired. This is so they can safely link with those of State College and Reading.

Rail lines are currently the safest and quickest method of transportation and more than likely will be the primary initial focus.

Economy[]

The government more than likely will need to develop a stable currency for foreign trade. More than likely, it will be pegged with that of Canada or Mexico.

Another possible need may be a stock market to keep businesses able to interact on a global scale.

They will need to find a strong stable source of income for the government to avoid inflation or deflation of the currency. More than likely, the economy will settle to be focused on heavy industries including steel, iron, coal, natural gas, limestone, and granite, as well as agriculture including corn for ethanol, corn for eating, red deer meat, soybeans, and vegetables.

Education[]

For citizens to be able to compete in a global job market they will need to get a better education. This will mean students will either be encouraged to leave the Commonwealth for universities in Toledo, Canada, Niagara Falls, or Vermont or the government will need to improve the education system by hiring teachers from first world nations.

Susquehanna is working to improve its overall education services. There are still many issues with preventing truancy and encouraging parents to keep their children in school rather than pull them out to work the fields.