California wasn't a US state until the 60s...
Well, technically it was a state before that. It just converted to a state of euphoria during the 1960's.
As for the question about "Where is Delaware?", I suspect it's hidden under one of the letters of the adjacent states. It's kind of small.....OK, maybe not "kind of".
Why is it that all of the toll booths along the Delaware River between PA and NJ charge to leave NJ? Also, doesn't the river have more total area than the state by that name?
I'm definitely interested in the potential for believable changes in the situation. I'm NOT interested in random changes due entirely to some RNG deciding that America is going to throw off Democracy and go Fascist for no rational reason. What the player chooses to push for is another matter completely. Random variables are a critical thing for blurring the lines, so you don't know exactly when almost inevitable things are going to happen (which may pre-empt other things unexpectedly), or which of several very credible alternatives will occur. Using random variables as the primary driving force to direct actions, especially where the underlying factors really don't make sense for it to occur, is NOT a good way to write a game. I'm sharply reminded of EU3, where you could be on great terms with a country, with an alliance, transit rights, and a long history of mutual cooperation, and the AI would suddenly break the alliance, cancel rights, and declare war within the space of a year due to the RNG deciding that it should fight you instead of ganging up on the big evil blob that's threatening both of you. The world is largely deterministic, but individual actions, natural events, accidents, and other factors can tip things one way or the other if they're already somewhat close. The game should follow RATIONAL lines, and do what makes sense for the governments, organizations, and key people at the time. A little randomness on the edges keeps it interesting.
