Annexation of America

Following the defeat of the Enclave in the Battle of the Bulge, the Republic of Coruscant established itself as the successor to the U.S. in an event known as the annexation of America.

Background

Sometime during the Troubles, the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. was attacked while Congress was in session. The incident left many political representatives dead and many more unaccounted for, although evidence later surfaced that President Obama had survived. In the aftermath of the event, the federal government's control of the country fractured, and with state bodies swamped by their own crises the situation rapidly deteriorated. As nationwide communication broke down without even a skeleton of a recovery plan in place, the American government effectively ceased to function at all but the municipal level.

The collapse of authority provided fertile ground for the rise of the Enclave, who capitalized on public fear to market itself as the foremost stabilizing force available to the ruined country. While initial approval was high and state and federal resources were soon requisitioned by the organization, months of apathy toward the citizenry indicated the Enclave's interests were solely its own. In possession of virtually all military matériel, its rule remained unchallenged until its attack on Washington, D.C. dragged the Coruscantis into the fray.

Enclave defeat and Coruscanti unification

The Coruscanti counterattack did not halt until the Enclave had been driven from the Lower 48 States entirely. With Coruscant emerging the dominant authority of the region, and with its home territories unmolested, Chancellor Roster declared rebuilding America the Republic's "moral duty". Executive, judicial and legislative responsibilities were assumed by the Coruscanti government, and initiatives were undertaken to restore national infrastructure. Whatever armed forces were not involved in the war were assigned to rooting out the undesirables plaguing the countryside.

As the Enclave retreated into the Pacific, Roster announced Coruscant's goal of "reuniting America" and reclaiming Alaska, Hawai'i, and the unincorporated territories of Guam and Puerto Rico. As the war progressed and these objectives were realized, nearly all of America's pre-crisis territories fell under the jurisdiction of the Republic.

Legacy and unresolved issues

Coruscant's immediate goal was to stabilize American finances through its own budget and reaffirm whatever trade agreements could be salvaged. But while Coruscant endeavoured toward "business as usual" as much as possible, ambiguities concerning American overseas military bases persisted. Cut off from the chain of command and unable to re-establish liaison with Pentagon officials even after Coruscanti restoration, the fate of the personnel varied widely. Some bases remained operational and loyal to the United States, awaiting orders from a superior officer. Some shut down, the men arranging for flights back to the homeland, leaving the bases (and their equipment) abandoned. Some commanders assumed de jure authority and declared themselves independent entities. Countries with strained relations with the U.S. even evicted soldiers outright. An official census into the status of American overseas bases was never conducted.

Following the annexation, the United Nations was faced with the question of whether or not to rescind America's permanent seat on the Security Council. The main concern was that the sovereign nation of America had ceased to exist; arguments were made that Coruscant had inherited the position in a vein similar to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but delegates contested that the Republic was not a member of the UN and so such a transfer of entitlement could not be held valid. The debate continued for months without reaching a decision, encouraging acting chancellor Kusanagi to revisit earlier considerations for formal Coruscanti entrance into the UN.