Introduction: "A Bright North Star For All"

Since the discovery and eventual colonization of the New World in the 15th and 16th centuries, few could have guessed that the European inhabitants that settled in these usually austere and backwood environments would have such a pivotal role in determining the future of the world. The already established and sometimes hostile Native cultures coupled with a complete lack of "Western" society seemed all too perilous for most would-be settlers. Most Europeans, regardless of their financial or social calamity, were simply unwilling to uproot their entire families and lifestyles to settle in a strange and unexplored continent completely devoid of law. To most, it seemed as though it was a foolhardy enterprise, one designed only for young men and those attempting to escape debts or broken promises they had left back in the "Old World" of Europe. Yet for some, the promise of freedom and liberty from religious persecution or the hope of a new life seemed too promising to ignore. Europe's situation in the 1500's had only added a tempting initiative for settlers to travel to the New World; and this initiative was independence.

This emphasized idea was carried forward by the men who eventually laid the foundation of colonies scattered across the two new continents of North and South America. Not only was this trait recognized as independence from religious and cultural persecution, but independence as a unique culture. The combing effects of grossly different lifestyles from their European ways of life that they left behind prior to their migration and an indifference of government that regarded these new colonies as trivial before evaluating their worth eventually forced "Englishmen" and "Spainards" alike to develop new identities to resolve their commitment to their new regional governments and people. Descriptors like "Colonists" and "Conquistadors" would be replaced by "Americans", "Mexicans" and "Canadians." And it was these people and their independent nations that shaped the course of the world.

As these small, young Republics formed, the very word of independence not only defined them in terms of culture, but also defined them as nations. A republican form of government that exercised democracy was practiced and adopted widely throughout the New World, and this style of representation would find a new light as the stroke of fate turned the wheels of destiny. And as it stood the test of time through tranquility, it would be tested in ways far beyond human comprehension in calamity - and even in war, when it would evolve in the 20th century to a scale that engulfed the entire world - it would be challenged to stand. Yet despite its tribulations, it remained a beacon for hope and independence - one that has been acclaimed to be a North Star - a star commonly referred to in the Americas as one that can be used for navigation to find direction. Thus the namesake of a nation that reflected these values.

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Long prior to Zebulon Pike's first term as President, no one had conceived that the North Star Republic would have such a resounding influence on the outcome of international human events. The growth of the nation through the 19th century would prove to be pivotal, and the challenges it would face in the 20th century would prove to be near fatal for not only the Republic, but for the Free World. But through determination and strength, the challenges the Republic faced over the years after its independence came - and Harold Stassen put his famous words to the test: "A bright North Star for all will be brighter - a bright North Star for all will always endure."