waking up in Post Civil War America

Waking up in Post Civil War America

Sam Adams one day
Was involved in an accident
Ended up in a comma

Woke up twenty years later
In a very changed world

He found himself
Living in post American civil war world
Civil war 2.0
Having split the country
Into ten new nations

The Christian States of America
Uniting the old Confederacy, most of the red states
And parts of Canada

In the Christian states
Christians were the official religion
Of the States

Many things were illegal
Abortion, prostitution, pornography
Gay relationships.

Trans gendered people
Officially did not exist
Sex outside of marriage
Gambling, alcohol, drug

Non-Christians banned
Most government positions
Non-Christians are required to register
Civil rights limited
Slavery allowed

Federal government dismantled
No unions allowed
No minimum wage
Legal child labor

The rest of the country
Split between progressive West Coast
East Coast and Chicago United with Canada


On June 23rd, 1819, American author Washington Irving published the first installment of his "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent" . This work included both the story of Rip Van Winkle and the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (in a later installment), which helped propel Irving to fame.

For tomorrow, write a poem or story that centers around a protagonist who - like Rip Van Winkle - wakes up after being asleep for 20 years. (Or regains consciousness after a 20-year coma. Etc.) What is that character's view of the world he or she discovers?

Your character could wake up today after twenty years and comment on contemporary society ... or could wake up twenty years from now and comment on the society you imagine existing then. Or maybe it's all in the past -- what would someone from the '60s think waking up in the '80s? Or maybe this is a fully fictional world? Regardless, the focus is on the character's reaction to the changes two decades have wrought.

Due June 23rd, 2023 before noon, WdC time. === ( Deadline: 17 hours 33 minutes 4 seconds )