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'''North American Confederacy''' is an [[alternate history]] series of novels created by [[L. Neil Smith]]. The series includes the novel ''[[The Probability Broach]]'' and its sequels, and takes place in a country of the same name.

==Novels==

===By Publication===
*''[[The Probability Broach]]'' (1980)
*''[[The Venus Belt]]'' (1980)
*''[[Their Majestys' Bucketeers]]'' (1981)
*''[[The Nagasaki Vector]]'' (1983)
*''[[Tom Paine Maru]]'' (1984)
*''[[The Gallatin Divergence]]'' (1985)
*''[[Brightsuit MacBear]]'' (1988)
*''[[Taflak Lysandra]]'' (1989)
*''[[The American Zone]]'' (2001)

===By Chronology===
*''The Probability Broach'' (1980)
*''The Nagasaki Vector'' (1983)
*''The American Zone'' (2001)
*''The Venus Belt'' (1980)
*''The Gallatin Divergence'' (1985)
*''Tom Paine Maru'' (1984)
*''Brightsuit MacBear'' (1988)
*''Taflak Lysandra'' (1989) <ref>[http://www.uchronia.net/bib.cgi/label.html?id=smitnortha Uchronia lists the chronology of the series]</ref>

''Their Majestys' Bucketeers'' takes place in the same universe, though none of the characters from the series appears in it.<ref>[http://www.lneilsmith.org/world.html WorldFAQ: L. Neil Smith's North American Confederacy]</ref>

==History==
The ostensible [[point of divergence]] leading to the North American Confederacy (NAC) is the addition of a single word in the preamble to the [[Declaration of Independence|United States Declaration of Independence]], where in it states that governments "derive their just power from the ''unanimous'' consent of the governed."  Inspired by this wording, [[Albert Gallatin]] intercedes in the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] in 1794 to the benefit of the farmers, rather than the fledgling United States government as he does in real life. This results in the rebellion to become a [[Second American Revolution]]. This eventually leads to the overthrowing and execution of [[George Washington]] by firing squad for treason, the abrogation of the U.S. [[Constitution]], and Gallatin being proclaimed the second president. In 1795, a new caretaker government is established and revised version of the [[Articles of Confederation]] is ratified in 1797, but with a much greater emphasis on individual and economic freedom.

After the war, [[Alexander Hamilton]] flees to [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] and lives there until he is killed in a duel in 1804.

Over the ensuing century, the remnants of central government dissipate. The government can no longer create money, only individual people can, being backed by [[gold]], [[silver]], [[wheat]], [[corn]], [[iron]], and even [[whisky]].

In 1803, [[Albert Gallatin]] and [[James Monroe]] arrange the [[Louisiana Purchase]] from [[First French Empire|France]], borrowing money from private sources against the value of the land.

[[Thomas Jefferson]] successfully leads the abolitionist movement to a peaceful end to slavery in 1820. Jefferson is also responsible for developing new systems of weights and measures ("metric" inches, pounds, etc.). He also devised a new calendar system in to honor the birth of liberty - the old year 1776 becomes [[Year Zero]], ''Anno Liberatis'' ([[Latin language|Latin]] for ''year of liberation''). When Jefferson first proposed the new calendar system in 1796, he originally marked it to Gallatin's ascension to the presidency. However, Gallatin protested that the [[American Revolutionary War|real revolution was in 1776]], and that the Federalist period should be regarded as an aberration, and that commemorating, even by implication, the overthrowing and execution of George Washington might set a hideous precedent (as Gallatin insisted that historians should still count Washington as the first president). Jefferson and Gallatin compromised and utilized 1776 as the new Year Zero.

The absence of government interference creates a [[Libertarian utopia]] where science and medicine advance at a significantly greater pace than in our baseline history. [[Alexander Graham Bell]], freed from the duties of inventing the telephone by an earlier inventor named Elisha Gray in 1867 (91 A.L.), develops a [[voder]] technology which allows recognition that [[chimpanzee]]s, [[gorilla]]s, and other simians are sentient, and the greater primates are granted citizenship rights equivalent to all races of humans. Later on in history, [[dolphin]]s, [[porpoise]]s, and [[orca]]s reveal their [[sentience]] and join the land civilizations. In 1888 (102 A.L.), [[Thomas Edison]] invents electrically heated streets. In 1947 (171 A.L.), colored television is invented. In 1993 (217 A.L.), [[mastodon]]s are cloned back to life with frozen tissue.

In 1893 (117 A.L.), almost all North American Nations and territories ([[Alaska]], [[California]], [[Canada]], [[Cuba]], [[Mexico]], [[Newfoundland]], [[Republic of Texas|Texas]], etc.) join together to form the NAC, a new nation whose government has very little power and which allows its citizenry to do as it pleases (so long as they don't violate anyone else's rights). The NAC is not involved in any major wars as a country, but a massive cohort of volunteers arises to fight whenever Federalist and Federalist sympathizers disturb the peace, most notably in [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] in 1914 (138 A.L.), and against the [[Czar of Russia|Czar]] of [[Russian Empire|Russia]] in [[Antarctica]] in 1957 (181 A.L.) (where the naval action is led by the NAC version of [[Robert A. Heinlein]]).

Other famous people named in the series include NAC president [[Ayn Rand]], who visits the [[Moon]] in the 1950s, and earlier NAC President [[H. L. Mencken]] (who was killed by his vice-president's mother after killing his vice-president in a duel). A west coast university is named after historical [[San Francisco]] eccentric [[Emperor Norton]].

By the start of the series in 1986, the NAC spans the entire continent of [[North America]] as well as [[Greenland]], though [[Panama]] appears to still be part of [[Colombia]]. The capital city of the NAC is Gallatinopolis, which is located in the geographical center of the North American continent. The NAC also has independent settlements on the Moon (which were established in 1949 (173 A.L.) ), [[Mars]], and on major [[asteroid]]s. The government is an utterly powerless entity, with the presidency a largely honorary role preserved only as a coordinator of actions in national emergencies. Along the way, the [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] philosophies of the Gallatin Party in the NAC remain in conflict with the remnants of [[Federalist Party]] (sometimes referred to as ''Hamiltonians'', after the man considered the real villain in the old United States, [[Alexander Hamilton]]), which continues to promote strong central government.

==Presidents of the Old United States/North American Confederacy==
''The Probability Broach'' includes a timeline for the History of the United States, which includes a listing of those who followed Washington and Gallatin as the [[President of the United States|American Presidents]]. In this history, the US merged with several other North American nations to form the North American Confederacy in 1893. From that point, the individuals listed here are considered Presidents of the NAC. It should be noted that many of these individuals are prominent in the history of either [[Anarchism]] or [[Libertarianism]].

# [[George Washington]]: 1789 - 1794  (13 - 18 A.L.) ''(Executed)''
# [[Albert Gallatin]]: 1794 - 1812  (18 - 36 A.L.) 
# [[Edmond-Charles Genêt]]: 1812 - 1820  (36 - 44 A.L.)
# [[Thomas Jefferson]]: 1820 - 1826  (44 - 50 A.L.) ''(Died in Office)''
# [[James Monroe]]: 1826 - 1831  (50 - 55 A.L.) ''(Died in Office)''
# [[John C. Calhoun]]: 1831 - 1836  (55 - 60 A.L.)
# [[Albert Gallatin]]: 1836 - 1840  (60 - 64 A.L.)
# [[Sequoyah|Sequoyah Guess]]: 1840 - 1842  (64 - 66 A.L.) ''(Killed in Battle)''
# [[Osceola]]: 1842 - 1848  (66 - 72 A.L.)
# [[Jefferson Davis]]: 1848 - 1852  (72 - 76 A.L.)
# Gifford Swansea: 1852 - 1856  (76 - 80 A.L.)
# Arthur Downing: 1856 - 1859  (80 - 83 A.L.) ''(Died in Office)''
# [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]]: 1859 - 1860  (83 - 84 A.L.)
# [[Lysander Spooner]]: 1860 - 1880  (84 - 104 A.L.)
# Jean-Baptiste Huang: 1880 - 1888  (104 - 112 A.L.)
# [[Frederick Douglass]]: 1888 - 1892  (112 - 116 A.L.)
# [[Benjamin Tucker]]: 1892 - 1912  (116 - 136 A.L.)
# [[Albert Jay Nock]]: 1912 - 1928  (136 - 152 A.L.)
# [[H. L. Mencken]]: 1928 - 1933  (152 - 157 A.L.) ''(Assassinated after a duel)''
# [[Frank Chodorov]]: 1933 - 1940  (157 - 164 A.L.)
# [[Rose Wilder Lane]]: 1940 - 1952  (164 - 176 A.L.)
# [[Ayn Rand]]: 1952 - 1960  (176 - 184 A.L.)
# [[Robert LeFevre]]: 1960 - 1968  (184 - 192 A.L.)
# [[None of the Above|None of the above]]: 1968 - 1972  (192 - 196 A.L.) <ref>In ''The Venus Belt'', Lucy Kropotkin claims that she came in second during the [[United States presidential election, 1968|1968 election]], avoiding the presidency by only one vote -- her own.</ref>
# [[John Hospers]]: 1972 - 1984  (196 - 208 A.L.)
# Jennifer A. Smythe: 1984 - 1992  (208 - 216 A.L.)
# Olongo Featherstone-Haugh: 1992 - 2000  (216 - 224 A.L.)
# [[None of the Above|None of the above]]: 2000 - ?  (224 - ? A.L.)<ref>In the sequel, ''The Venus Belt'', it was revealed that Olongo Featherstone-Haugh (pronounced "Fanshaw"), the gorilla who served as Vice-President in this book, had been elected President. At the end, Olongo retires and "None of the Above" (which is always an option on the ballot) is returned to office.</ref>

==Themes==
The North American Confederacy is much more advanced in science and technology and much wealthier than our Earth, implying the author's view that [[libertarianism]] is a superior political order. Smith states that his novels are written with the purpose of promoting libertarianism.<ref>[http://www.theadvocates.org/celebrities/l-neil-smith.html L. Neil Smith article on "Advocates for Self-Government"]</ref><ref>[http://www.lneilsmith.org/americanzone.html A letter on Smith's website that stresses his libertarian ideology]</ref>

==Criticism==


==Awards==
''The Probability Broach'' won the 1982 [[Prometheus Award]], an award given by the Libertarian Futurist Society.<ref>[http://www.lfs.org/awards.htm Prometheus Awards]</ref>  ''The Nagasaki Vector'', ''Tom Paine Maru'', ''The Gallatin Divergence'', and ''The American Zone'' were all Prometheus Award finalists.

==See also==
*[[North American Union]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://northamericanconfederacy.wikidot.com/ North American Confederacy Wiki]

[[Category:Alternate history book series]]
[[Category:Fictional North American countries]]
[[Category:Moon]]
[[Category:Mars]]
[[Category:Libertarian science fiction]]