I run the KFS very different than the standard timeline.
I have a lot of posts that describe my view.
http://henrick.com/ca4/?p=600
http://henrick.com/ca4/?p=561
This campaign is based loosely on the classic Kentucky Free State of the Morrow Project Books, but with a twist.
QUICK NOTES:
For one thing, my Campaign uses the new 4th Edition timeline (war takes place 2017 instead of 1989) so there was more people in the world, more technology, and a greater collapse (as the technology curve was even more digital than the late 80′s). But it also means that I have a greater level of rebuilding in general than the older 3rd edition timeline.
The Kentucky Free State (KFS) is still a huge problem for the Morrow Project Teams. Its population of 3 million or more people (2.2 million of them slaves or non citizens) plus its modern infrastructure, weapons, and production facilities make it the number one power in north america. It has an air force that is more than happy to drop any amount of bombs on a given team just to prove that it can, and it really does not care about most of its soldiers being killed in order to take down a enemy.
[B]So why has the KFS not taken over the pitiful remains of the north america? Its
Lazy, decadent, and happy at the status quo .
ECONOMICS:
The KFS is based on an economic system that the few Rich families (the rich 5) control all the wealth and power in the land. If they took over neighborhood land, they would need to garrison the lands, build infrastructure to get its resources, promote more mid level management (someone has to run the new areas), and basically bring the areas under there control. In many ways the new lands would be better off as they would at least have safety of the KFS Army and more modern infrastructure. Yes they would lose almost all there political rights but they could gain security, good food supply, medicine, and maybe surplus agriculture. So I would think that the KFS has made a practice of NOT expanding past its current borders.
And thinking about economics (think the roman empire in 100 AD), the KFS just does not need to. It can dominate all the lands around it by exploiting the people to produce surplus goods and raw materials but making them dependent on finished goods and machinery. Think of the KFS as a first world nation and the rest of North America as a 3rd world country desperate for antibiotics, machined parts, and knowledge.
Why would the KFS do this? Its the easyest way to control people on the cheap!
The KFS does not need to send armies, It sends salesmen and traders.
It can more or less stop most other manufacture goods by undercutting prices or just by sabotage or military means. All its products are built on the cheap so there wear out quickly and thus make the people using them dependent spare parts.
Example: A local village gets a tractor with fuel from a KFS representative. It produces a large amount of crops and everyone see’s the value. The KFS allows for the village to pay for the Tractor with the surplus crops, but it needs the village to build a road down to the local river for pickup by KFS chartered river boats. The KFS (For more debt) will help build the road and will help to ship the crops. At the end, the village actually makes almost nothing from the work as its never allowed to keep the profit due to shipping, parts, and the representatives commission. And if the villiage does not pay its share of the debt? Then it is cut off from spare parts, medical supplies, and more important the good will of a KFS corporation (which are all controlled by the Powerful families).
Bandit and slaver attacks are well know to happen to villages that do not pay there bills on time. So it is common knowledge that you never default on debts own to the KFS.
Again, why spend all that money to conquer lands when you can make a profit and do it without a lot of chaos to the markets? And the best part is, the local population does not even know its been controlled till its to late. Once you sign a deal with the devil, you are already damned.
GOVERNMENT:
Pretty much unchanged from the standard lore.
There few people that control almost everything. These are the true 1% who control the means of production, the armed forces, and the media. The do not allow for any sort of democracy or local control more than rubber stamped town councils. If they bother with elections for mid level positions, they are all pre selected and pre approved (“Jessica, we have another Election with 100% enfranchised voters voting for the candidate of the people. The Government and the people are lock in step moving the KFS into a bright new future!”).
The Bureaucracy is firmly entrenched and bribery is rampent at every level. The Families are fine with this as it slows down change and keeps the people worrying about day to day life instead of pushing for reform.
Again to make it clear, the power families actually control everything that matters in the KFS and will do everything they can to keep it that way.
SOCIETY:
The 1%:
Perhaps less than 1000 people own almost everything that matters. They are a detached from the common people in almost every way and relying on the mid level technical classes to run the government and keep the machinery of state running. They use the secret police to keep tabs on everyone and especially the Middle Technical classes.
All upper ranks in the armed forces tend to come from the 1%.
Middle Class can marry into the 1%, but it is quite rare.
The 2% to 5%: This would be considered the upper to middle class. They are college educated and actually run the day to day operations of the KFS. These are generally always working to become in the 1% but as above, it rarely happens. They generally are left to there own devices and can have quite a lot of wealth, but it is always under the umbrella of the 1%. Most army and air force officers come from this class. In general they are not an oppressed group of people and are not interested in upsetting the KFS structure (unless its to get to be in the 1%). These are part of the Franchised voter class. They usually have domestic slaves and slave helpers at work.
The 6%-15%: This is the lower middle class. They are the store owners and small business owners. They might have college education (one child per family due to cost). They have some freedoms, but are watched closely by the secret police. They are heavily taxed, and in general tended to be low level officers in the armed forces.. These are part of the Franchised voter class. They are generally NOT happy with the current systems, but have learned not to speak in public about there concerns. They might have from 2 to 3 slaves per family.
The 16% to 35%: The working poor. Education stops at 6th grade for perhaps 50% of this group. These are the small farmers, trades peoples, enlisted in the ranks. Most of these peoples are actually content in there role as they do not have the education to know there treated so poorly. Most of them have few contacts with the government and tend to be pretty arrogant and proud of the KFS and all the stability it brings. When the corruption are shown to them, they will get angry but the KFS will also be the most harsh against them. They do not have any voting rights. They might have 1 slave on the farm or household slave.
The 65%: Slaves. No rights at all besides some laws to protect investment of the owner and basic treatment. The KFS does not in general try and treat slaves any harsher than needed as its bad for business and slaves actually cost a lot to train and keep alive. Slaves do most of the manual work and even some skilled work but this is used to keep the lower middle class in line (and keep the lower middle class aggression healthily for slaves). In theory slaves can win there freedom, but its very rare.
MEDIA:
The KFS does have quite sophisticated media outlets to control the people and the local area. They uses churches, radio, films, newspaper, and limited TV. Almost all media is controlled by the government and used to enforce unity of thought. (Think late 1930′s Nazi movement).
The KFS makes sure than even the working poor can afford simple radio recievers so they can get the “good message of the prosperity the KFS brings to the people”. The radio tends to be a mixture of radio dramas, gossip radio, news, and a heathly dose of propaganda. Think 1930′s wartime radio, and its about right.
Newspapers are around but mostly read by the top 15% and heavily censored.
TV is only used by the Top 15%, and is considered a sign that you are up and becoming when you can watch the one station broadcasting from the government. Many prewar movies are shown, but most in the light of showing how corrupt and wrong the old USA was.
Films are still being made, but there almost always playthings of the 1% or propaganda movies.
The Internet is only used by the government and the top 5% and is more of a business tool than and media outlet.
OTHER:
Places to find more info about the KFS:
Morrow Project Yahoo User Groups
Excellent Website of all sort of things Morrow Project:
http://morrowproject.wordpress.com/category/kfs/
Bullets and Blue Grass – Morrow Project Module
Fall Back – Morrow Project Module (I do not use much of this one)
The Primary Book would be Bullets and Blue Grass (out of print) but my campaign in general is about 20 years after the tradition Morrow Project (3rd edition) timeline
- See more at:
http://henrick.com/ca4/?p=561#sthash.al9gQoGV.dpuf