The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 945: Chapter 704: Independence Referendum

With the Pacific Squadron finally defeated, Arthur was at last able to breathe a sigh of relief and started to plan for Australasia’s future rule in America.

On September 11, 1928, a piece of news ignited public opinion across the entire United States.

The governor of California, Carlhoon, officially declared the State of California independent and established a Provisional Government of California to conduct military control over the entire state and decided to use the upcoming California referendum to determine the new country’s political system and government.

Even now, California still ranked as the sixth most populous state in the United States, with a resident population of about 5.1 million.

And the news of California’s declaration of independence was a heavy blow to both the United States and the American government.

Even those with eagle eyes knew that the military control California spoke of was in fact Australasian military control, and some even said that California’s independence was supported by Australasia.

But the problem was that California was indeed independent now, a fact that the American government was utterly unable to prevent.

The independence of California seemed to have triggered the beginning of the fragmentation of the United States, igniting the hearts of the Governors of States and their governments to seek independence like a prairie fire.

On September 14, the Frenchmen, who had just captured Austin, couldn’t wait to direct Texas to declare its independence, restore the name of the Lone Star Republic, and establish a presidential republic.

The French-controlled territories had no concerns regarding the political system. All the French needed to do was to push Texas into establishing a republic and then control the new republic’s economy and military to complete their rule over the country.

But it wasn’t that easy for Australasia. Since America was a republic, it wasn’t so easy to smoothly transform California into a Monarchical country; it required maneuvers, as well as propaganda efforts.

How to make Californians acquiesce to future monarchic rule was a problem that would be a testament to the governing ability of the few youngsters.

There was a tricky issue: William, as the heir to the throne, was definitely off-limits, leaving Peter and George as the only options to go to America to become king.

But both Peter and George were too young, with Peter only 13 years old and George just turned 9 years old.

Although the referendum in California could be delayed for some time, barely to when Peter turned 15.

But such an age was ultimately too young, which meant they would inevitably have to go through a period of overt and covert struggles with the government before they could smoothly take control of the country’s power.

Of course, this was under the condition that Peter and George were competent. If they turned out to be mediocre monarchs, then the best outcome would be to delegate power to the government and act as a constitutional monarch, peacefully serving as a symbol of the nation.

After all, with Australasia’s support, they need not worry about the security of their throne; it wouldn’t be too bad to acquire some property and live like a wealthy landowner.

Australasia’s actions continued.

For Alaska and Hawaii, two areas destined to be under their control, there was no way they would be allowed to hold referendums for independence.

However, a referendum did not only have to result in independence; it could also result in joining another country, similar to what the Lone Star Republic had done in the past.

On September 21, Alaska State and the State of Hawaii announced simultaneously that they would hold referendums facing three outcomes: independence, joining Australasia, or remaining in the United States Federation.

Compared to the previous announcements of referendums for independence by California and Texas, the reactions to Alaska State and the State of Hawaii were quite muted.

After all, they were just two states with populations of only a few hundred thousand and were also U.S. territories overseas, so their impact on the Native Land wasn’t that big.

Of course, precisely because these two states only had populations of a few hundred thousand, manipulating the outcome of their referendums was quite simple.

By disqualifying some without voting rights, the real number of votes might only be one to two hundred thousand.

With a dual-pronged approach of public opinion and funding alongside some discreet vote adjustment in the shadows, it was possible to ensure the referendum resulted in joining Australasia.

Indeed, that was exactly what happened.

Such scale referendums were swift, and with the actions of the Australasian side, the referendums quickly moved into the settlement phase.

It took some time to count the votes, and announcing the results too early could make them less credible.

Therefore, the announcement of the referendum results for both states was uniformly scheduled for December, which was also the time destinies of the two states would be decided.

As many states consecutively announced referendums for independence, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Louisiana, and Michigan soon naturally transitioned to announcing their referendums for independence.

However, of all the states that announced independence referendums, only a few had a significant impact on the United States, namely California, Texas, and Michigan.

The populations of these three states were all around 5 million, with even the least populous, Michigan, having over 4.5 million people.

This also means that the combined population of these three states exceeds 15 million, accounting for more than one-eighth of the total American population.

The most important thing for the American government is that after Michigan announced its independence referendum, the flames of this referendum have already spread to the eastern states of America.

Although the 13 core states in the eastern U.S. are still safe for now, several states in the Great Lakes Industrial Area are considering whether to hold independence referendums or assume a stance of neutrality, as they no longer wish to be dragged into this war by the federal government.

After all, even if they win the war, they would still only be a state within America but would have contributed a significant number of personnel and supplies to the federal government.

If they could achieve independence or neutrality, they wouldn’t need to worry about the loss of life due to war and waste of supplies, and could sit on the sidelines, waiting to choose the most suitable development path for themselves.

For the American government, besides California and Texas, it could even accept all other states in the western U.S. declaring their independence.

Of course, strategically abandoning the west to defend the east, the American government could even accept the fall of all western regions.

After all, looking at the population distribution, except for California and Texas, which each have populations exceeding 5 million, the most populous state in the west would be Oklahoma with 2.3 million.

In the western states, there are as many as 10 states with populations under one million (not counting Hawaii and Alaska), and even the combined population of these ten states does not match California’s.

But once the flames of independence referendums reached the east, the loss of any of these states would be a severe blow to America, causing the same pain to its government as cutting flesh.

At this time, the difference between the eastern and western United States is something that cannot fully be described by paper figures. But even with just paper figures, there is already a considerable gap between the eastern and western states.

Although there are several states in the east with populations under one million, these states all share one clear characteristic: smaller land areas.

If we talk about population density, these underpopulated eastern states are still far ahead of their western counterparts.

Moreover, there are a few other significant states in the east, each with a population of over 5 million. Michigan’s loss was already painful for America, and if a few neighboring states were also in danger, America’s rule could collapse in an instant.

It’s worth mentioning that the main battlefield of the Allied Army and the American army lies across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York—three of the most critical regions in the east.

Each of these three states has a population of at least 6.4 million, with Pennsylvania’s population exceeding 9.3 million and New York’s population reaching around 12 million.

Looking at such population figures, the reason why the American government is resolutely resisting in the east becomes clear.

All populations from the western U.S. combined would not equal those of these three states, hinting at the wealth of the eastern United States.

Of course, the most important reason is that these areas are located in the Great Lakes Industrial Area, where industry and the economy are highly developed; it comes as no surprise that the population is enormous.

The states of the western U.S. have not yet experienced the kind of thorough development seen elsewhere, and with economies on the poorer side, naturally, there wouldn’t be too many immigrants willing to move there.

This situation is consistent with that of Australasia. Most immigrants prefer more developed areas, as such areas often represent more opportunities to make money.

The British influence quickly made itself felt.

Under British influence, Illinois declared neutrality, stating it would not support the American government.

Illinois is the most populous state in central America, with a population of about 7.3 million.

The stance of Illinois is also representative of the central U.S. states: while the war has not reached their area, what they think about most is how to escape this conflict.

It’s worth mentioning that the populations of the central U.S. states are actually higher than official figures suggest.

Ever since the Allied Army’s leaflets of surrender were dropped in the U.S., a large portion of the population from the east had moved their households to the central region.

Although New York’s population is claimed to be around 12 million, after the economic crisis and this war, maintaining a population of ten million would already be quite an achievement.

For central states like Illinois, which are crucial although the official data only shows around 7.3 million people, the actual population should have reached about 8 million by now.

However, due to the economic crisis and war, the states in America didn’t have time to count their population, and naturally, information about population numbers also wouldn’t be updated.

This situation may continue until the end of the economic crisis and war, either resulting in a victorious America conducting a population census or the victorious countries behind the Allied Army conducting it in the regions they control.

Just like Arthur, who has already decided to carry out a simple population census while holding a referendum in California to determine the exact number of Californian inhabitants.

If things go as expected, California will become an independent country. Its political system can only be monarchic, which is the territory Arthur had decided upon for George or Peter.