Expanded States of America: Difference between revisions

In fiction, the USA sometimes gets [[Divided States of America|split up into several successor states]], while at other times it might get [[Invaded States of America|invaded by one or more other powers]]. And sometimes, it even [[Fallen States of America|falls from power.]] This trope, however, reverses the common factor between the aforementioned two cases (that is, the USA being "weakened"), and instead makes it more... empowered. That is, the USA '''gains''' more territory (and more often than not turns those acquisitions into new states).

The trope has four distinct [[Internal Subtrope|flavors]]:

* The '''standard [[Expanded States of America]]''' has the USA be more ''aggressive'', and use its military might (or subtle politics/diplomacy, whichever works) to annex at least parts of one or more neighbour countries on the North American continent - meaning Canada, Mexico, Central America, and/or a Caribbean island nation <ref>The last two often included in "North America".</ref> - as additional states, if not take over said countries outright; more extreme examples of this kind have the US evolve into what is essentially [[United States of North America]] ([[wikipedia:Americas (terminology)|depending on one's definition of "North America"]]).

* The more "subdued" brother, '''[[Fifty Plus States USA]]''', has one or more of the handful of [[Real Life]] non-state subdivisions of the USA (e.g. Puerto Rico) be turned into a full-fledged state.

* '''[[United Americas]]''', where the USA has united North America and South America (or at least all of the major states and most of the smaller ones) under its banner. The resulting superstate may or may not suffer from recurrent rebellions due to social and economic inequality being imposed by "the rich North/'Anglos'" on "the poor South/'Latinos'".

Usually, but not always, the resultant superstate would go under a name that is a variation on "United States of America".

See also [[Space -Filling Empire]]. Compare with [[United Europe]] and [[Middle-Eastern Coalition]]. Contrast with [[Divided States of America]] and [[Invaded States of America]], and sometimes with [[Fallen States of America]] -- although in the latter case, the US can join Canada or Mexico because it needs to out of weakness (e.g. it became a [[Vestigial Empire]]), and thus the two tropes can actually overlap.

'''Notes:''' This trope does ''not'' cover alternate versions of the British Empire that do ''not'' lose the American colonies in a War of American Revolution, and which eventually expand to the rest of the American continent(s). '''That means cases like the Holy Britannian Empire of ''[[Code Geass]]'' do ''not'' count as examples.'''

* In ''[[Meet the Robinsons]]'' it is implied that Canada will be annexed and renamed North Montana.

* In ''The Trojan Horse'', a Canadian made-for-TV movie starring Paul Gross, Canadians vote to join the United States. Their territory becomes six new states, and Canada's former prime minister (Gross) becomes eligible to run for President of the United States, since, like the first 9 Presidents, he was born in a territory that later became a state.

* The United States in ''[[Julian Comstock]]'' stretches from as far north as Canada to as far as Panama in the south.

* In the ''[[Fallout]]'' series, it's mentioned that the US annexed Canada shortly before the Great War.

* ''[[UFO Alien Invasion]]'' includes the United States, Canada, and Mexico as part of a "United America" (the name used in-game, not the trope distinction) as part of its general trend of lumping all future nations into [[Space -Filling Empire|Space Filling Empires]].

* In ''[[Mass Effect]]'', Canada and Mexico were annexed to form the United North American States at the end of the 21st century. Outrage from the annexation sparked off a terrorist bombing of the Statue of Liberty and the Second American Civil War, which was won by unionist forces.

* From the ''[[Front Mission]]'' franchise, the '''United States of the New Continent''', whose [[In-Universe]] abbreviation is "U.S.N.", is formed of the North and South America; the English-dubbed versions of the games rename it "United Continental States" ([[In-Universe]] abbr.: "U.C.S."). Suffers from continuous unrest due to economic disparity along North-South lines, frequently requiring quashing revolts with military force.

** The Global United States later colonizes the entire Solar System, thus taking this trope to interplanetary levels and arguably evolving into a [[United Space of America]].

* ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]'': in-universe, Goldstein's Book states that the superstate of Oceania, one of [[Space -Filling Empire|only three world powers]], came about in the late 1940s when the United States turned into a tyrannical empire after a nuclear war with [[Soviet Russia]], after which it "absorbs" the British Empire. Of course, this is presumably before the Revolution. Oceania is not a continuation of the United States, and there is no indication that the Americas are more important than Britain, even though the latter's name has been changed to "[[Airstrip One]]". The Party's official ideology is called IngSoc in [[Newspeak]], or ''English Socialism'' in Oldspeak (English). And while there are references to America on a couple occasions (mainly the bit with the photo of Big Brother from New York), Oceania has no actual capital aside from a number of ''regional'' headquarters, and it's mentioned that it is specifically designed in such a way that no one place is considered the 'center' in order to prevent the perception that any given area is under foreign domination. However, the currency in Airstrip One is dollars and cents, and Oceania's anthem, ''Oceania 'Tis for Thee'' is a parody of an American patriotic song, ''My Country, 'Tis of Thee'' (itself the American lyrics to ''God Save The King''). However, due to the state of information in the story, it is possible that Oceania is the entire world, and that the other superpowers are fictional, Oceania is only the former United Kingdom and it is like a quasi-North Korean state, or some other possibility.

* The superstate of '''Oceania''' from ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'', encompassing the Americas, Britain (a.k.a. "Airstrip One"), Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa below the River Congo. Well, that what the Party ''claims''. The only parts that we ''know'' are under the Party's control is "Airstrip One" (Britain); it's all too possible that the rest is just a propaganda sham, which [[Crapsack World|is par for the course in this setting]].

* In the ''[[Wild Cards]]'' universe, both Puerto Rico and Cuba are US states.

* The '''Atlantic Federation''' from the ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED]]'' universe. It is originally comprised the US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, the UK and Ireland. It later invades and annexes South America, which itself was its own superstate - the United States of South America.