History of South Nashville
This article traces the history of the Commonwealth of South Nashville, a nation located in the region of Wysteria.
Contents
Early History
For nearly ten millennia before the arrival of settlers, the only permanent settlement which existed on the entire continent was a small subsistence fishing village located at the northern tip of the continent.
Early explorers started coming to the region primarily from the Aldaron Isles, Perspectif, Neue Kanadia, and Ayansh continents in Wysteria roughly nine centuries ago. Soon after, a trading post called Brentwood was established along the northern coast attracting a variety of settlers from those continents. Explorers continued deeper into the continent and within two centuries the settlements of Nashville and South Nashville Station were established.
Early on, settlers embraced the idea that the "unlimited creative potential that exists in humanity is best expressed through something they own," put forth by a young columnist named Anthony Locke of the Brentwood Banner. Locke later expanded on the themes in his columns in a book called the Treatise of Human Tendency, asserting that the fundamental human rights of man were the right to life, right to property, and right to self-determination. It was a widely read book, influencing many of the framers of the Constitution of South Nashville.
A few centuries later, stories of the cities to the west and their conflicts started to make their way to South Nashville Station. Realizing the common identity they shared with the cities of Brentwood and Nashville, leaders of South Nashville Station reached out to their northern neighbors and proposed a summit between the cities in Nashville with the goal of protecting that identity.
The three cities indeed had much in common. All three had established forms of representative government, with Brentwood actually electing who was going to represent it at the summit. Additionally, all cherished the idea of private property and the mutual gains to be had from trade.
Meeting at the Ryman House, the summit was a resounding success. They agreed to jointly establish a defensive fort at the northern terminus of the Cumberland (now Tennessee) river called Ft. Tennessee and to meet again the next year in Nashville. The next year's summit, this time attended by representatives from the new Ft. Tennessee resulted in the Cumberland Charta, the first signed document between the cities and precursor to the Constitution of South Nashville. They agreed to send representatives every year to meet in Nashville and to guarantee the right of representative democracy to its citizens in the form of local elected assemblies. Each city also agreed to commit a garrison of troops to serve one year tours stationed at Ft. Tennessee. Within the next century, as Fed Res began to develop it's own identity, it too signed the charter and began sending an annual delegation.
Constitutional Era
In the early 18th century, news of the increasing tensions to the west reached South Nashville Station setting off heightened anxiety across the nation. At the next annual summit, buzz from all the regions was about security. Up to this point, the summits were more of a good will exchange of local news and development. With the exception of providing some of their local militia to Ft. Tennessee, the body had never actually needed to "do" anything. The rules were informal with the person who had attended the most summits assuming the role as leader.
All cities generally agreed that organizing a national army in addition to their local militias was a necessity, but disagreed on how to do that. Nashville, who had always been wary of providing their troops to Ft. Tennessee, did not want to increase troop commitment levels. South Nashville Station was concerned about giving a national army authority over their territory and the principle of a standing army in general. Brentwood was concerned that paying for an army would require taxes.
The resulting compromise was the Tennessee Agreement authored by lawyer and militia captain Alexander Shore of South Nashville Station and seconded by Lt. Col. Robert Davidson of Ft. Tennessee. It stated that a national army would be raised under the command of a Governor-General appointed by the summit. Each city would contribute equal funds (with the exception of Ft. Tennessee who would commit half as much) to raise the army. They would be trained at Ft. Tennessee and would only enter other regions if requested by the regional government. There was heated debate within each delegation, but a majority of every delegation agreed and Col. James Notingshaw of Ft. Tennessee and former Brentwood militia captain was appointed the first Governor-General. Francis Knox, a Nashville entrepreneur and leader of the summit, impressed by Shore, asked him to draft a resolution of formal rules to be adopted at the next year's summit.
The next year, the Shore Amendment was the first order of business and it was approved by each city delegation establishing for the first time the official rules of the annual summit, formalizing the arrangements that had evolved. It established the annual summit as “Congress” who elects a Speaker to lead it. Resolutions could then be proposed and required approval of 3/5 of the regional delegations to pass.
One of the first things the new Congress did was clear and protect the historic trading routes between the cities. They also moved to extract some of natural resources for export and development resulting in the founding of Canton Lake, Davidson, and Davidson’s Gap. Over the next few decades they also began adopting laws that guaranteed inalienable rights to citizens including (in order) the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of association, the right to privacy, and the right to property. The laws are collectively known as the South Nashville Bill of Rights.
As the regional delegations began growing exponentially in size, business became harder to conduct. Because majority approval by 3 delegations was all that was required for passage of laws, the actual size of the delegations was irrelevant. However, all the delegates could no longer fit in the Ryman House and order in Congress began to break down. The President of the Congress, now an elder Alexander Shore, with Speaker Adam Marion of Nashville; moved to establish order and proposed a Constitutional Convention be held to formalize in writing a system of government. They also proposed extending an invitation to the fishing village Fogledonia, and the new towns of Canton Lake and Davidson. Although initially met with some skepticism from the Brentwood and Fed Res delegations, when it became clear that Ft. Tennessee, Nashville, and South Nashville Station were going to approve the call, Brentwood and Fed Res reluctantly agreed. Fogledonia, Canton Lake, and Davidson all accepted the invitation as well.
Each region was allotted seven representatives to the Convention. Over the next decade the Constitutional Convention wrote, proposed, and deliberated, all in secret; finally completing a preliminary draft of the Constitution of South Nashville. The chief architects were believed to be Shore, Marion, and Marcel Rivacosta of South Nashville Station.
Key features of the Constitution were a bicameral legislature with a House allotted by population and a Senate made up of three senators from each region. The Office of the Ambassador was also established to deal in foreign affairs and the Governor-General position was separated with the Office of Governor responsible for executive functions and a General position in charge of the army and appointed by the Governor. South Nashville Station was also designated the capital who agreed to fully finance the construction of a Capitol building. A Supreme Court was established as the court of last resort with the each region providing a local judge or magistrate for the first Court (with the Brentwood region getting two, one from Brentwood and one from Ft. Hamilton). The House was also given the authority to tax. Lastly, in order for the document to take effect, it had to be ratified by 6 of the 8 regional governments.
As it was taken to the home cities to be debated, many people fiercly opposed the idea of direct taxation by a central government. Citizens of Brentwood were shocked and felt betrayed by their Constitutional delegates. Brentwood and Fed Res argued that taxation would hit their more populous and economically developed regions harder, and that the burden of taxation would be unfairly weighted on them. Opposition was so great that it led to the Tax Riots in Brentwood and Fed Res and resulted in snap elections resulting in new convention delegates. The convention met again the next year to revise the document, with the newly elected and anti-tax Brentwood and Fed Res delegations. Debate grew so heated that the entire Brentwood delegation and four members of the Fed Res delegations left the convention. A revised document was submitted, with the tax provisions still in place, and then submitted to the nation for a vote.
Shore, Rivacosta, and Marion campaigned tirelessly for its passage. They published columns in local papers across the nation, later compiled into a book known as the Constitutional Papers. On June 1, 1796, the Fogle regional government became the sixth region to approve the document and the Constitution of South Nashville went into effect. Alexander Shore, however, had died earlier that year, never seeing the Constitution ratified. Fed Res quickly ratified it the next year and Brentwood finally ratified it ten years later.
The Great Rail Era
In the next few decades, the industrial revolution made its way to South Nashville reaching Brentwood first. Large manufacturing and textile industries began to develop in Brentwood as businesses took advantage of Brentwood's large population base. As the population of the city began to grow, so too did the demand for food. As famine seemed imminent, it became clear that a more efficient way to transport wheat and grain to Brentwood was needed.
Delegate David Marion of Brentwood, the great newphew of Ambassador Adam Marion, came to power as Speaker of the Brentwood Assembly with the promise "to link the sister cities of Brentwood." The first legislation passed was the Brentwood Regional Railroad Act. This established a series of subsidies and land grants to construct a railroad network. The Brentwood Rail Co. was then chartered and tasked with building a line from Brentwood to Ft. Hamilton. Concurrently, with signifcant lobbying from Speaker Marion, the Fed Res Assembly passed the Brentwood-Fed Res Railroad Act and the Fed Res Rail Co. was chartered and tasked with building a line west from Fed Res.
As construction on the railroads began, towns began springing up along completed track and began sending grain to the home cities. These towns succeeded in meeting the demand for food, and famine in Brentwood was averted. The most famous of these towns was West Fed, which developed along the West line from Fed Res.
The North line to Ft. Hamilton was completed first. Ft. Hamilton thus became the destination for farmers who were looking to sell and ship grain to Brentwood. The railroad also served to attract merchants from the seas who could now unload at Ft. Hamilton and have access to both the Ft. Hamilton and Brentwood markets. This commerce helped fuel rapid economic development in Ft. Hamilton and resulted in the city changing its name to New Hamilton.
The Brentwood Rail Co. was then charged with building a line south from Brentwood to connect with the West line from Fed Res. The Brentwood government began construction on a junction station as the meeting point of the West and South lines. In order to speed completion, the government pledged a significant bonus to the company who made it there first. Exactly one year later, the Fed Res Rail Co. reached the station first, followed days later by the Brentwood Rail Co.
The completion of the Brentwood Regional Railroad brought a week long celebration across the Brentwood and Fed Res regions. And it was during this time that Speaker Marion first laid out his vision for a railroad that linked the entire nation.
The economic impacts of the Brentwood Regional Railroad were immediately felt. Grain imports from New Hamilton and Fed Res to Brentwood more than tripled and manufacturing and textile exports from Brentwood increased 200%. Brentwood also became a destination for those across the continent looking for work and Brentwood's population soon topped the 1 million mark.
The next year, Speaker Marion began touring the nation to promote his vision and explore a run for Governor. Receiving positive response and encouragement, he announced his candidacy for Governor promising "to link the cities of South Nashville and Brentwood," in a style similar to his Speaker campaign announcement years earlier.
His chief opponent was Senator Samuel Clay of South Nashville Station. In an attempt to outflank Marion and change the subject, Clay announced that he too was in support of a national rail network, an issue which thanks to Marion's tour enjoyed widespread national support. Marion responded by pointing to his record as Speaker and the economic growth experienced in Brentwood resulting from the Brentwood Regional Railroad. Marion won easily, winning a majority in every city except Fogledonia and South Nashville Station.
Governor Marion wasted no time implementing his vision. Before the new Congressional session began, he started lobbying legislators making the trips from their home cities to South Nashville Station; notably those from Ft. Tennessee, Nashville, and Davidson. Once the session began, he used his political capital gained in the election and appealed to the electorate. Within the first 100 days of his administration, the National Railroad Act was passed laying out a plan to link every home city in the nation. The exception was Fogledonia whose delegation unanimously chose to opt the region out.
The North Nashville Rail Co. was incorporated and tasked with building a rail from South Nashville Station to Ft. Tennessee. Concurrently, the South Nashville Rail Co. was incorporated and given the monumental task of building a rail across the Shaharazia desert from South Nashville Station to Davidson. The Brentwood Rail Co. was tasked with building a line from Brentwood to Nashville, and the Fed Res Rail Co. was tasked with building a line from Marion to Davidson to Nashville.
Construction of the rail network was smooth with the exception of the line across the Shaharazia desert. The South Nashville Rail Co. came under repeated attacks from raiders and workers kept dying from heat exhaustion and threatening to strike. In controversial move and without approval from Congress, Governor Marion dispatched the South Nashville Army to the desert to protect the company and to intimidate the workers to prevent them from striking. By the end of his second term, the network was completed and Marion had made good on his promise.
The railroad network ushered in a new era of economic integration and cooperation between the regions of South Nashville. The growth experienced previously in Brentwood spread across the nation. And as this was an endeavor truly national in nature, it further strengthened a sense of national identity.
South Nashville Banking Failure and Depression
During the Great Rail Era, the South Nashville government was forced to borrow heavily to finance construction of the railroad network. As a result, the Central Bank of South Nashville's specie reserve was under increasing pressure and a run on the bank was feared. The President of the Central Bank, Richard Bluspan of Brentwood, announced that the Central Bank of South Nashville was going to suspend convertibility of the tallent. This resulted in an expansion of the money supply and a wave of establishment of private banks, both large and small, across the nation. As increasing lines of credit became available to the average consumer, home ownership and rate of borrowing hit an all-time high.
Additionally, the completion of the railroad had also exponentially increased the value of land adjacent to the track. Because investors were all but guaranteed easy access to credit, massive speculation in land and internal improvement projects by large scale investors began. Combined with the new home construction and the increasing money supply, a post-Great Rail Era economic boom began that lasted for nearly a decade.
However, the boom would prove to be unsustainable. Because of the expanding money supply, there was such a large supply of investment capital available which led investors to mistakenly believe that society's time preference had decreased. As inflation gripped the tallent and its real value began to decrease, the market began to correct itself and the economy slid into a recession.
Concurrently, newly appointed President of the Central Bank, A. Frank Bernes of South Nashville Station, decided he was going to return convertibility to the tallent; to the very vocal objection of outgoing President Richard Bluspan. Bernes severely contracted the money supply, and the tallent experienced rapid deflation. As convertibility returned, there were runs on banks across the nation and lines that stretched around blocks were not uncommon sights in the home cities.
This only served to exacerbate an already dire economic situation. Improvement projects and home construction ceased. Real wages dropped and homeowners and investors were left unable to service their debts. The rate of bank failure and personal bankruptcies increased ten-fold.
As the recession dragged on, former President of the Central Bank Richard Bluspan announced his intention to run for Governor. Incumbent Governor James Carterson of Davidson, the man who had appointed Bernes, chose not to seek reelection.
Bluspan's chief opponent in the general election was Senator Jay Dee of South Nashville Station. During the election, Bluspan spent more time attacking Bernes than he did Dee, whom he blamed the "Great Recession" on and pledged to serve one term and get the economy back on track. Bluspan won easily, declaring at his inauguration, "One day, when we look back on this, we'll see a struggling nation who turned panic into hope."
Governor Bluspan moved quickly. He fired Bernes and appointed Henry Johnson of Brentwood as Secretary of the Treasury who appointed A.P. Volker of Brentwood as President of the Central Bank of South Nashville. The Bank once again suspended convertibility of the tallent and moved to a fiat money system and floating exchange rate regime. This brought deflation under control and stabilized the tallent.
Bluspan, with the help of Senator Robert Kofe of Brentwood, then passed the South Nashville Deposit Insurance Corporation (SNDIC) which guaranteed deposits in banks by individual investors. This served to restore confidence in the integrity of the tallent and spurred new wave of private investment. By the end of Bluspan's term, real wages began to once again increase. And by the beginning of the Cartesian Praetoria Common War, South Nashville's economy had returned to its pre-depression levels.
Cartesian-Praetoria Common War
Tensions to the west finally exploded with the outbreak of the Common War in Cartesian Praetoria. Displaced refugees began pouring across the southwestern border at an alarming rate. While everyone felt compassion for their war torn neighbors, many also feared that this massive influx of immigrants would erode the national identity. There was also a fear that the war could come east and many began to urge involvement in the war. South Nashville had not seen anxiety of this magnitude in two centuries.
Governor Andy Jackson of South Nashville Station, recently elected to his first term, took a decisive stance famously declaring that "any displaced peoples, anywhere in the world, will always be welcome in South Nashville" while taking a stance of neutrality on the outcome of the war itself. He, however, remained silent on the issues of arms sales. He instead devoted resources and took steps to modernize and integrate the refugee camp East Argonne that had developed between Argonne and South Nashville Station.
At the Treaty of Chatham negotiations, Governor Jackson and Ambassador Robert Kofe of Brentwood attended as observers. It is here that Jackson and Kofe first met and befriended then General Vincent Guilbeau Savoie de Chamblee of Cartesian Praetoria. Chamblee later revealed in his memoirs that it was at his insistence that the the Cartesian Power Trust and Preatorian Empire agreed to call a constitutional convention.
As the convention got underway, Cartesian Praetoria descended into anarchy. Law and order broke down and the Cartesian Prateoria economy was experiencing hyperinflation. Vincent Guilbeau Savoie de Chamblee, now Congressional Chancellor, reached out to his new friends Governor Jackson and Ambassador Kofe for help. Jackson, determined to not let the fledgling democracy fail, proposed a summit between the two nations. Ambassador Kofe, busy with the Unified Constitutional Congress, appointed Jackson as lead negotiator (the only time in the nation's history when the Ambassador did not act as lead negotiator at a summit). The summit was a success with both nations agreeing to exchange embassies and eliminate trade barriers between the two countries within the next decade. Jackson also agreed to send in troops to help stabilize the nation.
Concurrently, refugees in East Argonne and South Nashville Station began to return home, bringing with them the South Nashville currency, the tallent. As the nation began to rebuild, the sudden influx of tallents into the economy drove out the various unstable currences of Cartesian Praetoria and it soon became the primary medium of exchange.
When the Unified Constitutional Congress of Cartesian Praetoria concluded its business and reported a draft for ratification; Ambassador Kofe appointed Jackson as the first Ambassador to Cartesian Praetoria to help bring his leadership to the ratification process. Kofe worked in the Congress trying to facilitate compromise between the groups in the Congress. Jackson meanwhile went to the local leaders in the holdout states lobbying for passage. Jackson became the only man in the nation's history to ever hold two offices concurrently. While some questioned the constitutionality of this, most chose to trust their Governor's leadership who was in the last year of his second term anyway. The Supreme Court later ruled that the diplomatic branch was indeed a seperate branch of government even though not explicitly defined as such, and that no one could hold a position in both.
Jackson served as Ambassador to Cartesian Praetoria until the Constitution was ratified and the last of South Nashville's troops had withdrawn. In his last official act as Ambassador to Cartesian Praetoria he attended the inauguration of President William Saxby, presenting him with a copy Locke’s Treatise. He then retired from his office and returned home to South Nashville Station.
Fed Res Plague
The Fed Res Plague was a major plague that devastated the Fed Res and Brentwood regions shortly after the Cartesian-Praetoria Common War. Caused by poor sanitary conditions onset by a corrupt regional government and a national government distracted by helping rebuild Cartesian Praetoria, 75% of the cities' population died within months of the outbreak. In the face of fear and major government failure, many longtime residents of Brentwood and New Hamilton left the region for the Cumberland. West Fed and other boomtowns along the rail could no longer sustain themselves and residents began emigrating west and south.
The plague raged for a little over a year, when a plant from the Canton region showed promise. Bender Fleming of Vandenburg National Labratory observed the Cantonillan mold inhibiting bacterial growth. Applying the mold to the Fed Res bacteria, it was successful in inhibiting growth. Manufactured on a widescale, it completely irradicated the disease. Today it persists as a major export popularly known as Cantonbus.
The impact of the plague was devastating. A little more than 50% of the Brentwood region population had died or emigrated. Economic activity and exports dropped 50% in the Brentwood region and 90% in Fed Res itself. Brentwood's agricultural industries and fishing industries were nearly bankrupted. The shipbuilding and infant banking industries in Fed Res went completely bankrupt. Historian Lawrence MacGregor of the University of Gemini, and current ambassador to South Nashville from the Bruce, speculates that if the Brentwood Regional Railroad had not been completed at this time, the economy in Fed Res would have completely collapsed.
The next year brought to power a more progressive government. Led by Governor Winfield Young of South Nashville Station and Ambassador Cameron Dunn of Canton Lake, they made rebuilding the Brentwood region and saving Fed Res their top priority. The Young and Dunn Government offered a combination of tax incentives to attract a cautious banking and financial industry to Brentwood and Fed Res and initiated a massive public works project. Within two decades, both the Brentwood and Fed Res regions had surpassed their pre-plague growth the Fed Res region elected to rename themselves Young-Dunn in honor of the leaders known to locals as the "saviors of Fed Res."
Jacksonian Revolution
Spearheaded by Nelson Gingerfield.
High-Speed Corridor
In the the last few decades, as the automobile began to take hold in the north, the Brentwood government took steps to integrate the transportation infrastructure resulting in the construction of the Brentwood Regional Interstate System linking the sister cities of Brentwood. The resulting economic integration pushed annual growth to historical highs in the Brentwood and Young-Dunn regions. However, it also began to exaggerate their dependency on the automobile and resulted in a "car culture". As the northern regions began to surge ahead in growth, the need to integrate the Cumberland and southern regions to Brentwood became clear. Thus began one of the most heated debates in modern political history.
South Nashville needed a high-speed corridor. The options were building a high-speed highway or a high-speed railway. Both options had their advantages and drawbacks.
Opponents of the railway argued that high-speed railway techonology was still in its infant stages and would require large investments in research and development. They estimated that the rail development would cost up to three times as much as the highway. Proponents argued that the costs were exaggerated and that no one knew how much research and development would actually cost. Additionally, they pointed out that the majority of the rail right-of-ways were already in place and that, with the exception of connecting Nashville directly to South Nashville Station, investment in infrastructure would be minimal.
Opposition to the highway came largely from environmental groups. Increasingly concerned by the car culture which was taking over the northern part of the nation and the effects on the environment and the health of its citizens, opponents argued that the highway would quicken the pace of environmental degradation and bring those ill effects experienced in the north to the Cumberland and southern parts of the nation. Additionally, the highway would require a large investment in infrastructure that would blow right through forests and the Cumberland River's wetlands and lowlands destroying these treasured natural habitats. They also argued that the recurring costs for upkeep of a highway were far greater than a rail. Proponents pointed to the rapid development experienced by the Brentwood and Young-Dunn regions as a result of the Brentwood Regional Insterstate System.
Predictably, a more industrialized north favored the highway while a more environmentally conscious Cumberland and southern regions favored the rail. Governor John Xavier, Sr. of South Nashville Station wanted the railway and said he would veto any highway bill. Speaker Henry Wilder of New Hamilton and Speaker Jason Jones of Brentwood defiantly drafted a highway bill and in one of the closest votes in legislative history (12-12 in the Senate with Speaker Wilder breaking the tie and 51-48 in the House) passed it. Governor Xavier vetoed the bill as promised, and began working to get the rail bill brought to a vote. He appealed to Ambassador Jack Locke of South Nashville Station who was known to be in favor of the rail for help. Ambassador Locke pressured Speaker Wilder and Speaker Jones to bring the rail bill to a vote. Unable to further hold out in face of this political pressure, Speakers Wilder and Jones brought it to a vote. Because many legislators just wanted the corridor built, it easily passed.
The high-speed railway has widely been agreed to be a huge a success. Citizens can get from Brentwood to South Nashville Station in the same time it takes to get from Brentwood to Davidson; and to Nashville from either city in half that time. It has allowed for a degree of economic integration previously unbeknownst to South Nashville and the annual growth of the Jackson and Cumberland regions has nearly doubled. There has been renewed talk of integrating the Brentwood Regional Interstate System in light of the recent development, though it has not gained any traction.
