South Nashville

The Commonwealth of South Nashville is country located on the Shaharazia continent of Wysteria. It is a liberal democracy. Its currency is the Tallent.

Constitution

South Nashville is governed by its Constitution which guarantees the protection of life, liberty, and property.

The Consitution establishes four branches of government: legislative, executive, judiciary, and monetary.

The legislative branch is composed of a bicameral legislature made up of a House and Senate. The House is composed of 99 Represenatives who are elected from single-member districts and serve two-year terms. At the beginning of each session the House elects a Speaker.

The Senate is composed of 30 members who are elected to six-year terms and divided into three classes that are staggered. There are 10 Senate districts and each Senate district is represented by 3 Senators, each of whom belong to a different class and are thus elected in two-year intervals. The Senate also elects a Speaker who also serves as Lt. Governor and is second in line to become Governor. In the event of a tie, the Speaker casts the tie-breaking vote. This allows for the rare occasion of the Speaker voting twice on a bill.

Executive power is vested in a chief executive, the Governor, and the Attorney-General. The Governor is popularly elected nationwide to a four-year term for a maximum 2 terms. The Attorney-General is elected nationwide to a two-year term for a maximum of 5 terms. The Governor appoints the Cabinet level positions of Secretary of State, Treasury, Defense, and Energy (subject to confirmation by the entire Congress). The Governor is also responsible for appointing Supreme Court Justices and the Chairman of the Central Bank (both subject to confirmation by the Senate).

The judicial branch is composed of a Supreme Court made up of nine Justices. The Court selects its Chief Justice from amongst its members who is responsible for heading the Court. Justices are appointed to lifetime tenures by the Governor, however they are subject to confirmation by the Senate.

The monetary branch is composed of the Central Bank led by a President. The bank is charged with protecting the integrity of the currency, the Tallent, and monitoring monetary policy, much like the Federal Reserve of the United States. The President is appointed to a six-year term by the Governor subject to confirmation by the Senate.

Additionally, the South Nashville Ambassador to the United Nations is popularly elected nationwide and serves a three-year term.

Politics and Government

Economic History

The Great Rail Era

The High-Speed Corridor

As the need to integrate the country became evident, South Nashville turned to develop a high-speed corridor. This began one of most heated modern political debates to grip the country.

To address this concern, South Nashville had two choices - It could build a high-speed railway or a high-speed highway. 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 would cost up to three times as much as the highway. Proponents argued that the costs were exagerated and that no one knew how much research and development would cost. Addtionally, they pointed out that the majority of the railways were already in place and that investment in infrastructure would be minimal.

Opposition to the highway came largely from environmental groups. Increasingly concern by the car culture which was taking over the northern part of the country and the effects on the environment and the health of the citizens, opponents argued that the highway would quicken the pace of environmental degradation and bring those ill effects experienced in the North to the Central and South parts of the country. Additionally, the highway would require a large investment in infrastructure that would blow right through forests and the Cumberland River's wetlands and lowlands damaging animal habitats. They also pointed out that the recurring costs for upkeep of a highway of that length were greater.

Predictably, a more industrialized North favored the highway while the more environmentally conscious Southern and Central parts of the country favored the rail. The Governor, from New Hamilton, wanted the highway and said he would veto the rail. The Speakers of both the House and the Senate, from Nashville and South Nashville Station, respecively, defiantly passed the rail bill. Having enough votes to override the veto (it takes a two-thirds vote in the House and a majority vote in the Senate), the Governor reluctantly signed the bill and the high-speed rail was developed and built; underbudget nonetheless.

However, as a car culture began to dominate the northern half of the country, just as the environmentalists had foreseen; there was renewed talk of a high-speed highway. There was increasing pressure to integrate Brentwood to its sister cities and beach towns. This led to the creation of Interstate 1, a high-speed highway which links Fed Res, Brentwood, Marion, New Hamilton, and Fogledonia as well as scattered beach towns and runs along the ocean providing quite a scenic view in some areas (New Hamilton to Fogledonia). There has been renewed talk of building a highway to integrate Nashville and South Nashville Station, but it has not gained much traction.

Major Cities

Nashville

"The once and future capital."

Brentwood

Brentwood is the largest city in South Nashville. It's a thriving metropolis and the major center of commerce in the country. It exhibits strong characteristics of both a rail town and a harbor town. It has been compared to both Boston and Atlanta of the United States.

South Nashville Station

For much of it's history South Nashville Station was a town defined and anchored by the flagship university of the nation, the University of Nashville. It is located squarely on the Southern Lowlands, the Cumberland's river delta. It has been compared to other delta cities such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

In addition to drawing people from all across the country, it is also a popular destination for those emigrating from their home coutries, notable refugees. While this has caused some tensions in the past, the residents of South Nashville Station have generally accepted and integrated these new peoples and cultures into theirs.

This has helped develop one of the most distinct mixed cultures in the world. Widely regarded as the culturual center of the country, it is known for its rich tradition in music and arts. It is known as the birthplace of blues, jazz, rap, and jams (jam bands). Its residents also tend to have a dinstinct drawl (accent), despite it being such a cosmopolitan city.

Historic and Minor Cities

West Fed

West Fed was one of the first of many boomtowns that sprung up along the railroad during the Great Rail Era. Established a few years before Marion, it competed with Marion for a rail junction. When it lost out in the bid for the rail junction, many of the residents moved onto Marion for the better opportunities. A few years later, a devastating plague wiped out most of the remaining residents and the town aptly earned its ghost town title. While not as well preserved as Davidson's Gap, it is a national landmark.

Davidson's Gap

Davidson's Gap was a mining town that was abandoned after the mine collapsed. It is now a national historical landmark and one of the best preserved ghost towns on the continent.

Canton/Canton Lake

Canton Lake, referred to by most as simply Canton, is a small town located between Nashville and South Nashville Station. Canton technically refers to the entire Canton region encompassing the lake, river, mountains, and forest. Canton Lake is both the official name of the city and the lake itself.

East Argonne

New Hamilton

Marion

Fed Res

Fogledonia

Fogledonia is largely a resort town. It began as a fishing town, but now tourism is its main source of revenue. It was one of the first cities founded on the entire continent, and predates the development of nations.

Ft. Tennessee

Davidson

Davidson is known as the birthplace of bluegrass music.