The Breaking of Nations

"The Breaking of Nations"
Author	Harry Turtledove
First Appearance	And the Last Trump Shall Sound
Publisher	CAEZIK SF & Fantasy
Series	Pacifica stories
Genre(s)	Science Fiction/Future History
Publication date	August 25, 2020
Followed by	"The Purloined Republic" by James Morrow

"The Breaking of Nations" is Harry Turtledove's contribution to the shared universe work, And the Last Trump Shall Sound, published by CAEZIK SF & Fantasy on September 22, 2020. The work depicts the secession of "Pacifica" (i.e., the West Coast) from the United States in response to a Fascist-Trumpist regime headed by President Mike Pence. An excerpt may be found at Amazon.com.

Literary comment

On January 20, 2021 in OTL, Joe Biden succeeded Trump as president, retroactively making this story an alternate history. However, Trump returned to office on January 20, 2025, allowing the possibility that a similar future may happen with JD Vance in the Pence role.

See also

• The Breaking of Nations: Annotated
• "The Terrific Leader", a dystopian future set in the regime of the titular Terrific Leader.
• "Powerless", an alternate history set in the West Coast People's Democratic Republic, whose borders are similar to Pacifica.
• "Manuscript Tradition," a dystopian future where the West Coast and New Texico have seceded from the United States.