A Nation Reimagined

Jukic’s map divides the U.S. into regions named after and proportionally modeled on the former Soviet republics, each reflecting a slice of America’s population and economy:

• Oredova (Moldova): Oregon stands in for Moldova, with 1.5% of the U.S. population and 1.3% of GDP.
• Calikraine (Ukraine): California, Nevada, and Arizona transform into “Calikraine,” representing 18% of the population and 16.2% of GDP.
• Ohiorus (Belarus): Ohio becomes “Ohiorus,” a nod to Belarus, contributing 3.6% of the population and 4% of GDP.

The map’s treatment of the southern and central states draws parallels to Central Asia:

• Arkanstan (Kyrgyzstan), Missibamastan (Uzbekistan), Georgiastan (Tajikistan), South Carolinastan (Turkmenistan), and Floridastan (Kazakhstan) collectively represent 17.2% of the population and 10% of GDP.

The rest of the U.S., labeled as the American Federation, is shaded gray and retains a population of 170 million, “less than Pakistan,” with a GDP of $14 trillion, making it second only to China.

Lessons from the Soviet Collapse

The map provokes comparisons to the dramatic geopolitical shifts of the early 1990s. When the Soviet Union disbanded, its new states faced severe economic turmoil. Ukraine, for instance, experienced a 60% economic contraction in the 1990s, despite being one of the USSR’s industrial powerhouses.

Meanwhile, the Baltic states—modeled on the map as Estmont (Estonia), Lathishire (Latvia), and Massathuania (Lithuania)—took a different path. While grappling with their own post-Soviet challenges, they quickly integrated into Western institutions like NATO and the EU.

Could the U.S. Fragment in a Similar Way?

While the U.S. differs significantly from the Soviet Union in governance and economic structure, the map raises compelling questions about national unity. Regional divisions, economic disparities, and political polarization are often cited as vulnerabilities in maintaining cohesion.

Jukic’s “American Federation” reflects the potential economic and demographic decline a fragmented U.S. might face. At 170 million people, this hypothetical entity would rank below Pakistan in population and significantly trail China’s economic might—an unthinkable scenario for a current global superpower.

Why This Map Resonates

The map’s playful but insightful design challenges viewers to consider the fragility of large, complex nations. By linking history to a contemporary context, it emphasizes how rapidly geopolitical landscapes can change.

Vladimir Putin famously described the USSR’s collapse as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century”. His nostalgia for Soviet-era influence has driven policies aimed at reasserting Russian dominance over former Soviet republics. However, this has come at a steep cost.

Russia’s interventionist policies, such as the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ongoing war in Ukraine, have led to severe economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and immense human and material losses. According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, instead of strengthening Russia, these actions have left the country grappling with stagnation and a brain drain as citizens and businesses flee uncertainty.

While Putin’s vision for a revived Soviet sphere of influence remains far from realized, his attempts have had lasting consequences for both Russia and the broader global order. This underscores how efforts to reconstruct historical empires often exacerbate, rather than resolve, national crises.

What do you think of this scenario? Could such a breakup ever happen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The United States initially pursued a policy of neutrality and non-intervention in the early stages of the war. But later, the United States started to support to the Allied powers, including the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, through programs like Lend-Lease. It wasn’t until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, that the United States officially entered World War II. This attack prompted the U.S. to declare war on Japan, and subsequently, Germany declared war on the U.S., leading to America’s full involvement in the war effort alongside the Allied powers.

If We Enter a World War – and Lose! (1937)

Interestingly, before the beginning of the Second World War, the premise was that England and Germany would make a treaty and attack the United States from Canada. The imaginary map below was published in many Hearst newspapers.

This map of the United States contained the following text:

‘The United States, with the greatest resources on Earth, would suffer the fate Poland, Austria, and Germany – our prizes lands would be divided among the conquerors.’

The creators of this map prophesied the following fate for various regions of the country:

• Washington, Oregon, California: ‘Our rich Pacific coast, with a wealth of minerals, oil, lumber, and its many natural advantages would fall east pray to the Allied conquerors. This Empire could be defended against attack from the east.‘
• Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, New York, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, parts of Arizona, Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas: ‘All that is left of the United States of America – reduced by pressure of embattled conquerors on all sides. We could still till our soil, man our industries and conduct our business affairs, we could ship products abroad – under supervision and control of other powers.’
• Wisconsin, Michigan: ‘A big prize for one of the victors – minerals, foodstuffs, shipping outlets.’
• Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut: ‘The empire state corridor conceded to U.S. as a buffer between two victorious allies who may be enemies it the next conflict’
• New York: ‘New York City to high a prize to be awarded a single conqueror would be an international free port‘.
• Alabama and parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee: ‘The “Corridor of Death”, where America’s bounty of steel, coal, and cotton could be diverted to channels of destruction, munitions plants dwarfing the combined output of all Europe would spring up in this “Buffer State”, cut out of the heart of a continent as was Poland’
• Delaware, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida: ‘The reach east coast would be stripped from the U.S. and divided among foreign powers’.
• Parts of Arizona, Mexico, and Texas: ‘As a reward to one of the successful alliesallies, this section, rich in farming and mineral resources, would be ceded’.
• Hawai: ‘ The United States would lose this mid-Pacific stepping stone and naval base.’
• Alaska: ‘Rich Alaska mineral, lumber and fur resources were taken over by a conqueror’
• Panama Canal: ‘Panama canal linking the Earth’s greatest oceans would be under the joint control of victorious powers’

New Prussia

At the height of World War I, many publications also voiced fears that America would be the target of aggression.

The map below appeared earlier on the cover of Life magazine on February 10, 1916, calling for direct U.S. action against German aggression in Europe.

To learn more about World War have a look at the following books and movies:

• World War II: The Definitive Visual History from Blitzkrieg to the Atom Bomb
• Hidden Side of World War II
• The Man in the High Castle

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Here’s the data that was used to create the map:

Comparison of the Former Confederate States and the Rest of the U.S. Today

(Note: The data was sourced from the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and defense budget reports.)

The Economic and Social Divide: Then and Now

These numbers reflect a historical divide that shaped the U.S. and continues to influence it today.

The South’s Economy: Then and Now

Before the Civil War, the Southern economy revolved around cash crops like cotton, tobacco, and sugar. It was an economy built on enslaved labor and plantation wealth, in contrast to the North, which was industrializing rapidly with factories, railroads, and financial hubs.

Today, the South has diversified, but remnants of this past remain. Agriculture is still a major industry, but now Texas leads in oil and energy, Florida thrives on tourism, and states like Georgia and Alabama have attracted major manufacturing plants. Yet, per capita income in the former Confederate states still trails behind the rest of the country—an economic gap that has never fully closed.

Population and Racial Demographics

One of the most notable differences in the table above is the racial composition. The former Confederate states have a higher percentage of African Americans than the rest of the U.S. This is a direct legacy of slavery and the Great Migration, when millions of Black Americans moved north in search of better opportunities during the 20th century.

Meanwhile, the rest of the U.S. has a larger proportion of Asian Americans, due in part to immigration waves from East and South Asia, particularly after the 1965 Immigration Act.

What If the South Had Won the Civil War?

It’s a question that has fueled countless books, films, and debates. What would have happened if the Confederacy had achieved independence? Here are some possibilities:

• The CSA would have struggled economically. Without industrial development and with declining international support for slavery, it might have faced severe financial difficulties.
• Slavery could have persisted longer, though international pressure—especially from Britain and France—may have forced its abolition sooner rather than later.
• The U.S. and CSA may have become bitter rivals, potentially engaging in military conflicts similar to those between North and South Korea today.
• The Civil Rights Movement could have taken a vastly different shape, with even deeper racial divides persisting well into the 20th and 21st centuries.

It’s impossible to know exactly what would have happened, but these scenarios highlight how the Civil War shaped the modern United States. If you’re interested in exploring alternate Civil War history further, check out these books on Amazon:

• If The South Had Won The Civil War
• Patriots & Traitors
• Shattered Nation

Does this data change how you think about regional differences in the U.S.? What do you think would have happened if the South had won? Let’s discuss in the comments!

The post The Former Confederate States vs. The Rest of the U.S. Today: A Map-Based Comparison appeared first on Vivid Maps.

Reddit user: SharpieInNastassja

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Douglas Copeland (1992)

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According to Mark Stein, author of the work “How the States Got Their Shapes,” there was six of the most significant influences that managed the shapes of the states:

• The American Revolution
• Natural geographic barriers
• Longitude and latitude lines
• The construction of railroads
• The 1808 proposal for the Erie Canal
• The political disagreements over the problem of slavery

The American Revolution helped determine the shapes of the first 13 colonies that became the New England states.

The shapes of the most initial states were frequently determined by natural geographic barriers, such as rivers and mountains. For example, New Hampshire and Vermont are divided by the Connecticut River, California and Arizona are divided by the Colorado River, Indiana and Kentucky are separated by the Ohio River.

Moreover, Congress used longitude and latitude lines to create western states similar in shape and size.

For instance, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, and South Dakota are all approximately 7 degrees longitude wide (~483 miles). Besides, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota are all nearly 3 degrees of latitude tall (~207 miles).

With the development of national railroads, the shapes of U.S. states didn’t depend as much on the natural ways as rivers. Railways started to shape where one state ended and another began. The building of the Erie Canal also changed the shapes of states in the regions it crossed.

The problem of slavery also assisted in molding the states’ shapes in the territory added in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The Missouri Compromise of 1818 set basing state lines in the region where slavery was allowed. It permitted slavery in states with northern boundaries below 36 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude.

Finally, рnlike other states, California and Texas рфму determined their own borders. 

What might the states’ shape have been if other influences, for example, cultural and economic relations, had been used to form state boundaries?

Below are the 38 States of America, proposed by George Etzel Pearcy in 1973, based on cultural and economic relations of existing regions.

Here a mapping experiment was created by Andrew Shears to visualize alternative results for various failed state partition proposals throughout U.S. history. This map was not created to propose redrawing states; instead, it is a creative work based very loosely on historical ideas and events.

At present, it may be more rational to draw the boundaries between the states, taking into account the location of major cities and highways.

Reddit user desfirsit redrawn borders so that each part of the map is assigned to the nearest (in travel time) of the 50 U.S. largest metropolitan areas.

The United Cities of America

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The Middle East has the most irrational and distorted frontiers in the world.

How would a better Middle East look?

Who wins?
– Afghanistan (gains area from Pakistan)
– Azerbaijan (gains land from Iran)
– Iran (gains area from Afghanistan, Iran became more Persian.)
– Jordan (gains area from Saudi Arabia)
– Lebanon (gains territory from Syria, thalassocratic state Phoenicia will be reborn)
– Yemen (gains land from Saudi Arabia)
– New states will be formed: Free Baluchistan (country for the Baluch people), Free Kurdistan (state for Kurds), Arab Shia State,
Islamic Sacred State, Sunni Iraq, The Islamic Sacred State (“Islamic Vatican”).

Who loses?
– Afghanistan (loses territory to Iran)
– Iran (lose’s land to Kurdistan, Arab Shia State, Azerbaijan, Sunni Iraq, and Free Baluchistan)
– Iraq (lose territory to form a new states: Free Kurdistan, Arab Shia State, and Sunni Iraq)
– Israel (restoring to its pre-1967 frontiers)
– Pakistan (loses area to Afghanistan and new state Free Baluchistan)
– Saudi Arabia (loses territory to Jordan, Arab Shia State, Yemen, and the Islamic Sacred State)
– Syria (lose land to create a new country Free Kurdistan)
– Turkey (lose area to form a new state Free Kurdistan)
– United Arab Emirates (loses territory to Arab Shia State)

Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar would retain its current borders.

Related post:
– Former states in Asia (1860 – 2018)

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