The Commonwealth of America as of 2022.
Born from the nexus of history and philosophy, the Commonwealth of America is the foremost economic and military powerhouse on the North American continent and one of the most critical member states of the British Empire. Extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic sea with a population of just over 350 million citizens, the Commonwealth is the predominant English speaking nation on the North American continent. The capital is located in the city of Philadelphia, though other prominent cities include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Calgary, Charleston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Halifax, Houston, Los Angeles, Liverpool, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Quebec, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Winnipeg.
A highly developed nation, the Dominion boasts an abundance of natural resources and a long tradition of industry. With the seventh highest GDP per capita and ranked first by the Human Development Index, the Commonwealth of America is both the foremost economic power of both North America. Its advanced economy, one of the largest in the world, relies on well-developed trade networks, agricultural and industrial export, finance, technology, and tourism. America is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the Council of Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the G7 (formerly G8), the Group of Ten, the G20, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The Commonwealth of America is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with King Charles III serving as head of state, though he is represented in this role by a Governor-General. Political power is wielded by the Prime Minister, who is drawn from the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament of the Commonwealth. The other being the less influential Senate, which consists of two members from each province elected by the legislature. The Commonwealth is officially bilingual, with a large Francophone minority in the province of Canada. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries.
Various indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now the American Commonwealth for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. What followed after was a period of unrest over taxation, colonial autonomy, and corruption led to the ultimate Confederation of Britain’s continental holdings. The unrest was quelled, but this began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by Confederation and the subsequent adoption of the Constitution in 1860.
Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth of America.
1860-1865:
Abraham Lincoln (Liberal-Conservative) (1)**
1865-1868:
John MacDonald (Liberal-Conservative) (2)
1868-1876:
Horatio Seymour (Liberal) (3)
1876-1880:
James Blaine (Conservative) (4)
1880-1884:
Edward Blake (Liberal) (5)
1884-1892:
James Garfield (Conservative) (5)
1892-1900:
Adlai Stevenson I (Liberal) (6)
1900-1901:
William McKinley (Conservative) (7)**
1901-1910:
Joseph Cannon (Conservative) (
8)
1910-1912:
Robert Borden (Conservative) (9)
1912-1919:
Woodrow Wilson (Liberal) (10)*
1919-1920:
Thomas Marshall (Liberal) (11)
1920-1923:
Warren Harding (Conservative) (12)*
1923-1930:
Calvin Coolidge (Conservative) (13)
1930-1932:
Richard Bennett (Conservative) (14)
1932-1945:
Franklin Roosevelt (Liberal) (15)*
1945-1953:
Harry S. Truman (Liberal) (16)
1953-1962:
Harold Stassen (Progressive Conservative) (17)
1962-1963:
John F. Kennedy (Liberal) (18)**
1963-1968:
Lyndon Johnson (Liberal) (19)
1968-1968:
Hubert Humphrey (Liberal) (20)
1968-1973:
Richard Nixon (Progressive Conservative) (21)
1973-1976:
Hubert Humphrey (Liberal) (22)
1976-1979:
Pierre Trudeau (
Liberal –
Democratic coalition) (23)
1979-1981:
George H.W. Bush (Progressive Conservative) (24)
1981-1985:
Walter Mondale (Liberal) (25)
1985-1993:
Brian Mulroney (Progressive Conservative) (26)
Brian Mulroney.
Monday, February 22nd, 1993.
#1 America Avenue.
7:50 AM, Philadelphia, PA.
[1]
The cabinet arose in unison, each Minister standing up speedily as Brian Mulroney briskly entered the room and motioned for his government to take their seats; each Minister did so again in near perfect uniformity. As head of the government, Brian Mulroney naturally sat at the head of the table, an ancient mahogany furnishing that had adorned the cabinet room of #1 America Avenue, the historic residence of the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth of America in Philadelphia. The redbrick rowhouse was used to being a bustling hive of activity at the beating heart of political life, but events were moving at a rapid pace, and Mulroney’s momentum was rapidly running out.
“Good morning” he began, opening up a binder and putting on the reading glasses that he so often refused to wear in public.
“I want to begin this morning on a personal note” he began,
“it is no secret here that I’ve grown unpopular. There are some who say I’ve lost my touch, that the magic is gone, that my luck, time, whatever has run out. Some of them are in the press, some of them are in the backbenches, and some of them are in this room right now…and those people, frankly, are right. I have decided that the time has come for me to step aside and allow for fresh leadership to take this party forward.”There was a stunned moment of silence after Mulroney’s announcement; perhaps they were surprised that they were at all surprised. After all, it had been a rocky couple years for the Prime Minister, who saw much of his political capital squandered on divisive debates over free trade and the continuing effort to end the Troubles in the province of Canada. His failures to win the position of UN General Secretary in 1990 and his backseat approach to the Imperial mission in the Persian Gulf further eroded the public’s faith in the Prime Minister.
“I think my resignation is best for my family, my country, and our party” Mulroney continued,
“and would offer the Progressive Conservative Party a last-minute opportunity to rebrand ourselves before its too late.”Some in the room resented Mulroney’s candid remarks about the polls, which predicted the Tories would face an unprecedented electoral annihilation in the next federal election, which was scheduled to take place in the fall at the latest. It was under Mulroney’s leadership that the Tories had gotten to that point to begin; now he was ready to bail. It seemed to be the penultimate act of political cowardice on his part, and more than a few of his Ministers were ready and willing to say as much. The remaining Ministers of the cabinet on the other hand were just relieved that the electoral albatross hanging around their neck had been removed; the Mulroney millstone’s disappearance appealed to their sense of optimism, as much as it did their sense of ambition.
“I have not yet affixed a date for this decision to be final, but it is final, and it is also irreversible. There is no reason for this charade to continue into the next federal election. This party deserves to have a fighting chance in the upcoming campaign, and it will be up to one of you, in all likelihood, to bring the ship to harbor. I am proud of my record. I am proud of our accomplishments. I am proud of this team. And I am certain that better days are ahead. In about thirty minutes, I am going to step outside in front of the cameras and I will tell the public what I just told you. This meeting is finished, consider yourselves dismissed.”With that Mulroney departed the room, leaving his Ministers to ponder their futures in a state of confused bewilderment. They again arose as Mulroney exited, retreating back to his private office on the second floor as they awaited in stunned silence, each one thinking about their future, no one saying a single word in the process.
Cabinet of Brian Mulroney (1985-1993)Prime Minister:
Brian Mulroney (1985-1993)
Deputy Prime Minister:
Jack Kemp (1985-1993)
Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Flora MacDonald (1985-1988),
Donald Rumsfeld (1988-1993)
Minister of Finance & Revenue:
Jack Kemp (1985-1990),
Richard Lugar (1990-1993)
Minister of National Defense:
Donald Rumsfeld (1985-1988),
Richard Cheney (1988-1993)
Minister of Justice & Civil Rights:
Arlen Specter (1985-1989),
Howard Baker (1989-1992),
Mitch McConnell (1992-1993)
Minister of Agriculture & Fisheries:
Edward Madigan (1985-1988),
Joe Clark (1988-1993)
Minister of Commerce & Industry:
Olympia Snowe (1985-1992),
Orrin Hatch (1992-1993)
Minister of Culture & Sport:
Sinclair Stevens (1985-1988),
Fred Grandy (1988-1993)
Minister of Education & Training:
John Anderson (1985-1988),
Lynn Martin (1988-1993)
Minister of Energy & Natural Resources:
Ted Stevens (1985-1993)
Minister of Health & Social Security:
Lowell Weicker (1985-1988),
Elaine McCoy (1988-1993)
Minister of Housing & Urban Development:
Pete Wilson (1985-1991),
Daniel Evans (1991-1993)
Minister of Immigration & Naturalization:
John Sununu (1985-1993)
Minister of International Trade:
Richard Lugar (1985-1990),
John Kasich (1990-1993)
Minister of Labor Relations & Employment:
John Kasich (1985-1990),
Jean Charest (1990-1993)
Minister of Science & Technology:
Joe Clark (1985-1988),
Lowell Weicker (1988-1993)
Minister of Transportation & Infrastructure:
Don Manzanowski (1985-1993)
Minister of Veteran's Affairs:
John McCain (1985-1989),
Duncan Hunter (1989-1993)
Attorney General of the Commonwealth of America:
Orrin Hatch (1985-1993)
Speaker of the House of Commons:
Robert Michel (1985-1993)
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons:
Robert Dole (1985-1993)
Leader of the Government in the Senate:
Dufferlin Roblin (1985-1993)
Chief Government Whip:
Lincoln Alexander (1985-1991),
Newt Gingrich (1991-1993)
Bill Clinton.
Monday, February 22nd, 1993.
Center Block.
11:30 AM, Philadelphia, PA.
Opposition leader Bill Clinton addresses trade unionists in Detroit.
The Leader of the Opposition watched the conclusion of the Prime Minister’s remarks in smug disbelief; the Prime Minister was at that very moment wrapping up his statement to the public, having already informed the cabinet of his decision to resign that morning. Like every other American, this was the first Clinton had heard of the decision, and to put it mildly, he was pissed. In twenty years in the House of Commons, Clinton had never witnessed a Prime Minister stand down without giving the courtesy of notifying the leader of the opposition beforehand.
Huddled in his Center Block office, Clinton was joined by his ever-present wife, Hillary, the Liberal Party’s President Terry McAuliffe, and Canadian MP (and Deputy Liberal leader) Jean Chretien. Though Mulroney's departure from political life was in some ways a flattering indication that the Opposition Leader was effective, Clinton couldn't help but grimace. Mulroney would be far easier to beat than some of the younger rising stars in the government, such as Jean Charest, John Kasich, and so on. Clinton, though youthful and vigorous, had his limits - he had just flown back to Philadelphia from Detroit, where he addressed members of the AFL-CIO over the weekend, and was bone tired. The prospect of an election being held in a matter of weeks or months, depending on the taste of Mulroney's successor, weighed on him as he hurriedly pondered the future.
"So who's going to pilot the plane in the final few seconds before it crashes into the f**king mountain?""Knowing Brian, he probably didn't give his cabinet any advance notice either, so I don't think we'll have even a slight indication of that for a few days.""Probably Dole" said McAuliffe,
"I don't think anyone else can bridge their parliamentary caucus successfully enough.""The question about whether the Tories or not will implode is already settled" noted Chretien,
"the question is who is going to pick up the pieces, us or Perot's party." Chretien was speaking of the Reform Party, a populist outfit that had gained considerable ground in the polls at the expense of both major parties. They had already gained four MPs, one from the Liberal caucus and three others from the Tories, and if the polls were accurate, they could possibly even form the official opposition.
"I don't know about that" Hillary noted,
"the Reform Party is more ideologically whacky and divided than even the Tories. I don't think they can run a credible, cohesive campaign." "Well I know this much" Bill responded,
"I'd rather play tit for tat with Dole than Perot at the dispatch box.""Ideally they'll cannibalize each other's vote share" added McAuliffe,
"we could reduce them down to maybe 40 to 50 seats each.""But how do we stop the bleeding amongst the left?" asked Hillary,
"If we go to far towards the middle, the Trudeau Liberals and Mondale New Dealer types might flock to Wellstone and the Democrats.""I'm not worried about that" Bill answered confidently,
"just let me do all the talking. We're heading towards a landslide. We might even clinch a majority outright. It's been thirty years since we've done that." "The countdown to when you enter the Octagon House is now ticking away" McAuliffe predicted confidently,
"it's only a matter of time now."
[1] Taken from the
CBC.
[2] Taken from the
Walter Reuther Library.
