NCR History

Origins

The history of the New California Republic dates back to the survivors of Vault 15 who emerged from the shelter around 2097, founding the town of Shady Sands. With the assistance of the Vault Dweller, who destroyed the Khan raider tribe, Aradesh and his daughter, Tandi, led the community into prosperity. With expanding trade routes came cultural exchange, eventually culminating in a movement aiming at forming a national entity. The idea resonated with other wastelanders and won popular support, leading to the formation of the New California Republic in Shady Sands in 2186, with a trial council government established to draft the constitution. Three years later, in 2189, the republic proper was voted into existence as a federation of five states organised around major settlements in the wastes. The states are Shady, Los Angeles, Maxson, Hub and Dayglow.

Early Growth

Within a century of its founding, the NCR became a model example of post-apocalyptic success and good ethics. Steady expansion and development led to widespread political enfranchisement, the establishment of rule of law and its enforcement, security from threats within and without (to a reasonable degree) and standards of living above mere subsistence became a reality for its massive population of over 700,000 citizens. The situation improved even further with the Mojave Campaign and the flow of electricity and water from Hoover Dam to the Republic. However, the protracted campaign has come at a cost.

Conflict in the Mojave

The NCR entered a period of transition after the death of President Tandi, experiencing rapid economic growth and dramatic political changes, endangering its original grand ideals. Beginning a policy of expansion under successive presidents, the single greatest example of this change was the morally corrosive, imperialist Mojave Campaign. Championed by President Aaron Kimball, it aimed for the unilateral annexation of New Vegas and surrounding territories as the sixth state of the NCR. Years of campaigning led to a stalemate, with the Treaty of New Vegas locking NCR as the protector of New Vegas from Caesar's Legion, without a single cap in tax revenue from the New Vegas Strip or concessions from Robert House, proprietor of the New Vegas Strip. The war with the Brotherhood of Steel and the Caesar's Legion stretched the NCR thin, with extended supply lines, profiteering and political maneuvers limiting its ability to respond to emerging threats, all while New Vegas benefited from commerce brought in by tourists, traders, fortune seekers and NCR soldiers.

Bitter Springs Massacre

Additionally, a massacre perpetrated by the NCR at the settlement of Bitter Springs during their conflict with the Great Khans cast a dark shadow over the republic and their military, with men, women, and children being killed alike, without going reported in the NCR press.[Non-game 5] Despite that, the campaign was supported by a majority of the NCR citizens, due to it greatly improving access to electricity and water, with criticism limited to a vocal minority.