The "Disunited States of America" (2006) - Further note on a book to be cited in a discussion of "E Pluribus Unum? What Keeps the United States United."

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The Disunited States of America, Tor, 2006, is the fourth novel in Harry Turtledove's Crosstime Traffic series. It posits an alternate in which the United States did not reach the compromise of the bicameral legislative branch at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and so continued to use the Articles of Confederation. After a few decades, the United States simply ceased to exist, and the various states became countries unto themselves. Many have a history of war with their neighbors. Beckie Royer, a Californian, travels to Virginia with her grandmother, Myrtle Bentley. So do Crosstime Traffic employees Justin Monroe and his mother. By chance, they meet. Shortly after, Virginia goes to war with its neighbor, Ohio. Biological weapons are used, stranding everyone in a quarantine situation.