The Nine Nations of North America

Forget the schoolbook divisions of North America-the arbitrary borders that separate countries, states, and provinces; the fabled distinctions between East and West, North, and South; the compartments that are supposed to be political units.

Consider, instead, the way North America really works. It is Nine Nations. Each has its capital and its distinctive web of power and influence. Some are still close to being raw frontiers; others have four centuries of history. Each has a peculiar economy; each commands an emotional allegiance from its citizens. Some are made topographically distinct by mountains, deserts, rivers. Others are defined by attitudes, ways of making a living, music, and language. Few are contained by lines that now describe “Canada,” “Mexico,” “the United States.” Each of these Nine Nations has its own desires. Most important, each nation has a distinct prism through which it views the rest of the world.