Goldman Mill, by the numbers
Official Designation: The Microstate of Peace
Founding Date: August 13, 1890
Location: The Microstate’s Exclusive Economic Zone begins in the Atlantic Ocean beyond Georges Bank, about 250 statute miles or 402 kilometers east and south of the US and Canadian coastlines, where their respective EEZs end.
Territory: 26 km² (approx. 10 sq. mi.) across one primary island and two satellite microislands
Population: ~42,600 Citizens and Resident Aliens
📜 Part I: Historical Narrative
The Genesis of Discontent (1887)
In the early months of 1887, lifelong friends Josiah Foster and Emmanuel Goldman found themselves increasingly alienated by the trajectory of post-Civil War American society. Raised in the demanding garment-making districts of New York City, both men were staunch abolitionists and deep-thinking progressive-left pacifists. While they recognized the immense potential of the industrial revolution, they watched its dark side take root with growing horror.
As corporate smoke began to choke the skies and streams, a parallel pollution was poisoning the social fabric. Foster and Goldman observed an exponential rise in raw materialism and a systematic erosion of human empathy. Mainstream society was hardening into a landscape of violence and deep-seated bigotry targeted at women, Native Americans, people of African heritage, immigrants, people of varying faiths, queer people, and anyone deemed “different.” Furthermore, they recoiled at a growing apparatus of state laws steeped in white supremacy, Christian nationalism, classism, and sexism designed primarily to insulate the pockets of the entrenched wealthy.
Concluding that remaining within the mainstream American framework would be catastrophic for the moral and physical safety of their loved ones, Josiah and Emmanuel convened with their brilliant wives, Genevieve Cooke Foster and Chaya Cohen Goldman. Together, the four visionaries made a radical pact: they would completely sever ties with a society they believed was destined for ruin and ignominy. Packing their belongings, they set out to establish an independent, self-governing communal sanctuary completely insulated from the mainstream consciousness.
The Great Migration and Global Architecture (1887–1889)
The search for true sanctuary required tireless exploration. A wind-tossed riverboat journey eventually carried the wandering families to a geographical miracle: an untouched, uncharted cluster of lush microislands in the Atlantic Ocean, nestled between the maritime borders of Canada and the United States. The territory was a natural paradise, boasting rolling green meadows, a majestic miniature mountain range, dense, fertile forests, and pristine cerulean waters. Crucially, it sat entirely outside the jurisdiction or claim of any sovereign nation.
Upon verifying this legal vacuum, Emmanuel Goldman famously exclaimed to his partner, “My lands, Josiah! No one has control over this place. We can claim it as our own! We must, in the name of peace and love and humanity.”
For the next two years, the Fosters and Goldmans discreetly recruited like-minded souls ready to abandon a violence-weary homeland. By 1889, they had successfully amassed a foundational coalition of 150 households (comprising approximately 500 men, women, and children) who pooled their wealth to fund the construction of a new civilization.
To ensure the experiment’s success, they recruited elite international talent:
C. Lysander Tate (Montreal): A brilliant banker with a passion for nonviolent revolution, who stepped in as the colony’s first Finance Minister.
Helena Gomez (Mexico City): An acclaimed artist and visionary architect appointed to oversee the layout and aesthetic of the municipal grid.
Clive & Prunella James (London) and
Frederick Johnson (New York): Renowned constitutional scholars, civil rights advocates, and attorneys who volunteered to draft the colony’s legal architecture alongside Genevieve and Chaya.
Ecumenical Clergy Alliance: Led by Jamaican Pastor Herbert Sims, British Rabbi Miles Liebman-Chase, and Irish Roman Catholic Priest Nathaniel Connell, a dedicated cadre of multi-faith pacifist clerics joined the cause to anchor its spiritual harmony.
While the Fosters aggressively spearheaded the physical construction of the construct, the Goldmans’ exhaustive research into historical pacifism provided the philosophical and intellectual backbone that won the absolute devotion of the impending citizens.
Declaration and Sovereignty (1890–1895)
In the spring of 1890, the pioneers migrated to the islands in three organized waves, initially pitching tents on the raw soil. By late summer, their communal town was operational. On August 13, 1890, the community officially released a formal proclamation to the global community, asserting its independence as a sovereign, pacifist city-state: The Peaceful Collective Republic of Goldman Mill. At the suggestion of Josiah Foster, the collective enthusiastically chose the name to honor the Goldman family’s guiding wisdom.
Through the relentless, brilliant diplomacy of Ambassador Richard Goldman, the microstate achieved what many thought impossible. By 1895, Goldman Mill was officially recognized de jure and de facto by the United States, Canada, and the premier and European powers. Decades later, in 1945, this sovereign status was formally reaffirmed by the newly established United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice. Today, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and the European Union (and, to a lesser extent since the advent of Trump, the United States) remain vital trading partners and external protectors; in return, The Mill provides world-class diplomatic mediation and humanitarian aid during times of global conflict.
🏛️ Part II: Governance & Constitutional Framework
Goldman Mill is organized as a unified, singular city-state (operating similarly to Vatican City) functioning as a collective pacifist-democratic socialist republic. Its governance is dictated by the foundational Constitution approved unanimously by the original founding households.
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
THE SOVEREIGN PEOPLE
└───────────────────┬────────────────────
▼ ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
STATE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL │ MAYORAL EXECUTACY
12 Elected Adults │ Goldman Clan Seat│ 1 Non-Voting Youth
└───────────────────┬────────────────────┘
▼ ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
└────►│ THE GOLDMAN MILL GARDAI │◄────┘
Unarmed Peace Enforcement
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
The Legislature Composition: A unicameral State Legislative Council consisting of 12 adult members and one non-voting youth member (ages 14–20).
Elections & Franchise: Universal suffrage is mandatory. Adults aged 21 and over vote every two years for the main council. Citizens aged 13-20 elect the youth representative annually.
Term Limits: Adult councilors are restricted to a maximum of two consecutive terms and four terms overall. These are part-time, service-oriented positions compensated via a nominal stipend.
Direct Democracy: While the Council drafts and ratifies statutory laws, citizens retain the constitutional right to bypass council blockades by introducing legislation directly through a formal initiative process.
The Executive Head of State (The Mayoralty)
To honor the initial vision, intellectual weight, and foundational sacrifices of the Goldman family, the original constitution dictates that the Head of State (internally titled “Mayor”; externally designated “Prime Minister” for foreign relations) shall be held by a member of the Goldman lineage in perpetuity.
Powers & Compensation: The Mayor is a full-time, compensated administrator who manages national executive affairs, represents the republic on the world stage, and guides legislative debates—holding a voting right only to break ties.
Succession & Tenure: The current Executive is Mayor Regina Goldman, who assumed office following the retirement of her father, Jacob Goldman. By constitutional mandate, a Mayor serves until voluntary retirement, statutory retirement at age 60, or death. Upon vacancy, a successor is vetted and chosen from within the Goldman clan by the elected State Legislative Council.
Pacifist Domestic Security
Public safety is maintained by the Goldman Mill Gardai. Operating entirely without weapons, this specialized peace enforcement agency relies on de-escalation, conflict resolution, restorative justice meted by the State Court, and progressive-left pacifist methodology to safeguard the community.
💰 Part III: Economic Model & Public Infrastructure
The Republic operates a highly stable, collective-socialist economy characterized by zero national debt, regular budget surpluses, and one of the lowest unemployment rates on Earth. Its financial architecture is built on a dual system of universal security and entrepreneurial liberty.
Economic Input Channels
• Corporate yields from state-owned enterprises
• Taxation on income exceeding the BMI threshold
• Global tuition fees from Pax University
• International Peace Education service marketing
• Ecologically sustainable ecotourism
• Endowments from global pacifist organizations
Collective Services Provided to Citizens (Free of Charge):
• Comprehensive Health and Wellness Care
• High-Speed National Internet & Media Services
• Universal Childcare & Stringent Public Education
• Full Membership to the National Food Co-Op
• Municipal Transit (The National Shuttle System)
• Baseline Universal Housing & Job Placement
• Membership to the National Arts Society, Miller Arts Centre, and the National Art Gallery
The Labor and Resource Compact
Basic Minimum Income (BMI): Every citizen is guaranteed a baseline income and comprehensive benefits package ensuring basic, healthy food; shelter; and security are never commercialized.
The Service Quota: Every able-bodied adult has the right to pursue private enterprise or supplementary employment for surplus income, but must contribute a minimum of 10 hours per week to mandatory government or community service. For youth, service hours are part of their schooling.
The Green Grid: The microstate runs on a fully self-sustained, solar- and wind-powered electrical grid. Citizens are provided a generous standard utility allotment; usage exceeding this baseline incurs a nominal environmental surcharge.
🌲 Part IV: Modern Culture & Legacy
From its humble architectural beginnings in 1891—which boasted 150 homesteads, five communal farms, a textile enterprise (Foster’s Clothiers), and a dual steam-and-windmill manufacturing facility (Olde Goldman Mill)—Goldman Mill has matured into a global beacon of cooperative living.
True Humanitarianism in Times of War
The moral steel of The Mill was tested severely during the dark epochs of the World Wars. Refusing to remain passive in the face of tyranny, Millers volunteered en masse on the front lines as unarmed medics, field hospital operators, and humanitarian logistics experts. Most notably, the Republic engineered underground rescue operations into continental Europe, successfully extracting targeted communities out of Nazi Germany.
Goldman Mill rejects self-righteous isolationism. The nation officially honors all those who lay down their lives for a higher cause. This inclusion honors
Soldiers of Integrity: Aligning with Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of meeting individuals where they are across their own moral evolution.
Fallen Millers: Those who make the ultimate sacrifice during peacetime or wartime humanitarian missions.
Conscientious Objectors: Those who brave social exile or incarceration in other lands to stand immovably for justice and for absolute peace.
The Modern Collective Republic
Today, the Microstate of Peace stands as living proof that humanity can prosper outside the boundaries of predatory competition. Under the steady stewardship of Mayor Regina Goldman, the nation remains a sanctuary where diversity is actively celebrated, structural equality reigns supreme, and children are lovingly raised within a world-class educational ecosystem. Bound together by shared labor and mutual respect, the citizens of Goldman Mill continue to safeguard the utopian experiment launched by the bravery of the founding families over a century ago.