Appalachia

Appalachia is a region of the USA.

Background
Formed after The Collapse, Appalachia is made up of the states of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

History
Appalachia, despite the fact that it is comprised of only five states (plus the remora of D.C.), is the most politically powerful of the regions of the United States. The Free State Board could be a more powerful political factor, and might even overwhelm the Appalachian region, but the structure of new U.S. government, added to the fact that the FSB rarely votes in unison, causes their influence to be diminished.

Throughout the Twentieth Century, the Appalachian states remained by and large a backwater. The major metropolitan developments were restricted to the Atlantic coast; large sections of Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Virginias remained relatively uninhabited, and ignored by followers of pop culture as backwaters and the refuge of the hillbillies. Fortunately, though, these states avoided most of the ecosystem damage caused by the acid rains of the northeast, and the prevalence of forested areas helped the land weather the droughts and global warming in good shape. Overall, the climate in this part of the country has changed little.

Extremely low land prices combined with ready supplies of workers and raw materials brought industry here around the turn of the millennium, and shortly afterwards Appalachia became the new boom section of the country. Terra Tech began extensive underground tunneling and mining activity, then converted their main shafts into superhighways which undercut the winding Appalachian roads. Stoked by the ready supplies of lumber, ore, and self-sufficient construction workers, new towns sprang up quickly, providing homes for the Corporate beavers who flocked here by the thousands.

Over the next ten years, Appalachia underwent a renaissance the likes of which have not been seen in America since the Old West was opened up. Entire small towns were bought, leveled, and rebuilt as planned communities. Industry of every sort moved in, providing an ease of networking found nowhere else in the states. Of the Fortune 1000 companies of 2020, each has a major corporate office in these states.

The heartbeat of the nation can now be felt here. In fact, these states would also have fought for Free State status, except that individually they didn't have enough power. As a collective block, though, they wield a lot of authority in the new governmental structure, and, thanks to the Free States' disorganized political position, they can decide the policies of the country.