The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures. In those episodes and films, the Federation is described as an interstellar federal polity with, as of the year 2373, more than 150 member planets and thousands of colonies spread across 8,000 light years of the Milky Way Galaxy, and taking the form of a post-capitalist liberal democracy and constitutional republic.[1] It has also been described as a utopian society. The Federation is described as stressing, at least nominally, the values of universal liberty, equality, justice, peace, and cooperation.[2] The Federation also maintains its own quasi-militaristic and scientific exploratory agency, known as Starfleet (also written as "Star Fleet" in some texts). Starfleet is seen handling many other governmental processes, sometimes with no other agency's influence, such as border defense, diplomatic envoy and has seen extensive use as an offensive military force just to name a few instances.[citation needed]
The legislature of the Federation Council is located at the Presidio of San Francisco.[3] Several other bodies of the Federation have been depicted. There is an executive branch headed by a Federation President,[4] who keeps offices in the Palais de la Concorde in Paris. There is a judiciary branch as well, the highest court of which is the Federation Supreme Court.[5] The Federation's scientific, diplomatic and defensive/military arm is Starfleet, depicted as being headquartered at Fort Baker, just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. The Federation comes into military conflict with other major powers in the galaxy such as the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, the Cardassian Union, the Borg, and the Dominion.
The United Federation of Planets has existed as part of the Star Trek universe since the first season of the original series, and is the primary focus of all the Star Trek series, with the exception of Star Trek: Enterprise, which is set before the Federation comes into existence.
The first mention of the United Federation of Planets was in the 1967 episode "A Taste of Armageddon", although other vague references such as just "The Federation" or to the "United Earth Space Probe Agency" were used in prior episodes. As part of the anti-war message he wanted the show to convey, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry intended to depict the Federation as if it was like an ideal, optimistic version of the United Nations.[6] In several following episodes of the original series that were intended as allegories to the then-current Cold War tensions, the Federation took on the role resembling the United States while the Klingons represented the Soviet Union.[7]
In the series Star Trek: Enterprise, Earth Minister Nathan Samuels advocated the Coalition of Planets and invited other alien species, initially the Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites, to become a part of this. The formation of the Coalition seems to have been the event that provoked the xenophobic Terra Prime incident in the episodes "Demons" and "Terra Prime." After Terra Prime leader John Frederick Paxton exploited the xenophobia on Earth, many of the aliens were unnerved and nearly abandoned the idea of a coalition. However, they were convinced by a speech from Captain Jonathan Archer to give the idea of a united organization of worlds a chance. Six years later in 2161,[8] the United Federation of Planets was organized.
The Federation is founded under a document known as the Charter of the United Federation of Planets October 9, 2161, which is occasionally referred to informally as the "Constitution." It draws text and inspiration from the United Nations Charter and other sources. An important guiding principle — indeed, it is listed as General Order One in the list of Starfleet general orders — is the Prime Directive, which forbids any interference in the natural development of any pre-warp civilization. This is intended to prevent even well-intentioned Federation personnel from introducing changes which could destabilize or even destroy other pre-warp-era cultures through interference.[9] In practice, however, consistent application of the Prime Directive tends to be a controversial issue, and the Federation does not always abide strictly by it, such as when it attempted to strongarm the Organians into forming an alliance with it,[10] or when it initially approved the forced relocation of the Ba'ku from their adopted homeworld—although it was eventually determined that the Ba'ku were not a pre-warp civilization.[11] Other aspects of the Articles provide for rule of law, equality among individuals and protection of civil and creative liberties, which appears to be based on principles found in contemporary Western political theory. It includes a set of guarantees of civil rights, the "Seventh Guarantee" being analogous to the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and its protection against self-incrimination.
The Federation also has its own black ops agency, referred to only as "Section 31". It can be considered analogous to the modern-day CIA, or to the Romulan Star Empire's "Tal Shiar" and the Cardassians' "Obsidian Order".
The Federation has exacting requirements for prospective member worlds that wish to join. Caste-based discrimination is forbidden,[12] and major systematic violations of sentient rights, such as the unjust peacetime imprisonment of specially modified soldiers on the planet Angosia, are not tolerated for any petitioner.[13] Furthermore, while most member worlds have single, unified world governments, it is not required for entry, as the Federation will consider "associate membership" of non-unified worlds.[14]
In many non-canon sources like The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual and Worlds of the Federation, as well as the FASA and Last Unicorn Games Star Trek role-playing games, the five founding worlds of the United Federation of Planets were Earth, Vulcan, Tellar, Andoria, and Alpha Centauri. Alpha Centauri being a founding world of the Federation and even having a humanlike native race called Centaurans became a popular fan theory, possibly based on uncertainty as to whether or not Zefram Cochrane (described in Metamorphosis as "Zefram Cochrane of Alpha Centauri") was a native of Alpha Centauri or a resident of a human colony in that system; the latter has since been revealed to be the case, Cochrane having spent most of his life on Earth but eventually retiring to spend his final years on Alpha Centauri, prior to his disappearance and presumed death.
The once official, but now non-canon Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology 1980 - 2188 guide states that the UFP was "incorporated at the first Babel Interplanetary Conference" in the year 2087.
Later, in Star Trek: Enterprise the actual founding of the Federation can be seen in the episodes "Zero Hour" and "These Are the Voyages...," and early negotiations that lead to it in "Demons" and "Terra Prime." Alpha Centauri is not mentioned as part of the founding, which is explicitly said to be between Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites. This leaves open the possibility of the Alpha Centauri colony becoming an independent polity some time between "Terra Prime" and "These Are the Voyages...," and then helping to form the Federation as a separate member. However, Alpha Centauri is only ever mentioned in passing as an Earth colony on screen. In the alternate timeline seen in the DS9 episode "Past Tense," where the Federation was never formed, Alpha Centauri is a Romulan colony instead.
In the novels A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal, A Time For War, A Time For Peace, Errand of Vengeance: Seeds of Rage, and Articles of the Federation, the Federation Council was shown occupying the floors below the President's office in the Palais de la Concorde. This may be seen as contradicting elements of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek: Voyager.
In some non-canonical works like The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual and the novel Articles of the Federation, the Federation's founding document is called the "Articles Of Federation," which has been popular fan tradition. However, in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The Void", the text of the founding document is shown on screen (the preamble is a slightly reworded version of the UN Charter), and it is clearly called the "Charter of the United Federation of Planets," canonically establishing that as the name of the founding document. The term "charter" is also used in Star Trek: Enterprise and in the DS9 episode "Accession," when discussing membership requirements for the Federation. That latter episode seemed to indicate that the timetable for a world's entry into the Federation is ten years after the request is made, although the Federation was willing to cut that time in half for Bajor in that episode, and has similarly made other exceptions for times of war, as seen in Star Trek: Insurrection. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Drumhead," Captain Picard refers to the founding document in passing as "the Constitution," establishing that it is also known by that name. Novels such as Articles of the Federation presume that it is known by all three names.
After the end of World War III on Earth, scientist Zefram Cochrane built Earth's first warp-capable vessel, the Phoenix. He launched it on April 5, 2063. The warp-testing of this vessel would garner the attention of a Vulcan science ship operating just outside of the Solar System. Vulcans had not previously considered the Solar System of Earth, or Earth itself, worthy of their attention before this time. However, the science ship lands on Earth, and makes first-contact with Zefram Cochrane and the inhabitants of Bozeman, Montana. This contact would be the first time that Earth joins the interstellar community, and begins the road toward the foundation of the United Federation of Planets.
In the year 2119, an aging Zefram Cochrane opens the Warp 5 Complex on Earth, in the hope of building a vessel that would be the fastest human starship at the time. Eventually this project would yield the Enterprise NX-01, Earth's first deep-space exploration vessel.[unreliable source?] In 2150, a World Government, United Earth, was formed that included virtually all of the old nations on Earth.[citation needed]
Although no single individual is responsible for the foundation of the United Federation of Planets, the exploratory vessel Enterprise NX-01 was a major catalyst. Under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer, it helped forge an alliance between the formerly belligerent Vulcan, Andorian, and Tellarite states, and forged a spirit of unity and cooperation in the Alpha Quadrant, culminating in a formal union in 2161. It was first preceded by the Coalition of Planets, which was mainly opposed by the xenophobic group, Terra Prime. The Federation was formed largely out of the aftermath of the Earth-Romulan War of the late 2150s ending in 2160, when the founding members saw the need for interstellar unity to prevent the horror of further war. Archer was one of the individuals who signed the Federation Charter, after giving a historic speech that was still being studied two centuries later. According to information seen on a viewscreen in a late episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, Jonathan Archer later became the Federation ambassador to Andoria, a Federation Councillor, and President of the United Federation of Planets from 2184 to 2192.[unreliable source?]
Around 2223, tensions thickened between the UFP and the Klingon Empire. In 2267, the Organian Peace Treaty was signed which ended major engagements, but the two interstellar powers remained in a state of cold war with occasional skirmishes over the next couple of decades. In 2293 the Klingons sued for peace after the destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis, leading eventually to the signing of the Khitomer Accords (the events depicted in Star Trek VI). This effectively ended the war and ushered in seven decades of relative peace.
During the era of the original series, Captain James Kirk once noted (in the episode Metamorphosis) that humanity was on "a thousand planets and spreading out;" however, this number apparently encompasses Earth's many off-Earth colonies and the various alien worlds on which humans can be found (just as non-humans have been depicted as residing on Earth) and should not be taken to mean that the Federation itself had a thousand members at that time. Considering that many of the Federation's other members have several interplanetary colonies just as Earth does, the full number of planets which the Federation encompasses may be impossible to determine; it is presumed that colony worlds are directly subsidiary to the planetary governments of their homeworlds (much like individual states/provinces in a nation), but this has never been clearly established.
In 2311, the Tomed Incident occurred in which thousands of Federation civilians and Starfleet personnel were killed by Romulan forces. The unrest was ended by the Treaty of Algeron, which re-affirmed the Neutral Zone and prohibited Federation development of cloaking technology.
In 2344, the Romulan Star Empire launched an assault on the Klingon outpost at Narendra III, but unexpectedly the USS Enterprise-C, under the command of Captain Rachel Garrett, came to the Klingons' defense. This Enterprise was destroyed in the skirmish, a sacrifice which did great honor to the Klingons, and the burgeoning diplomacy between the two powers soon grew into a formal alliance. (In an alternate timeline, the Enterprise-C did not so assist, leading eventually to a full-scale war.)
Exploration and expansion in the 2340s and 2350s brought the Federation into conflict with several minor and major powers including the Talarians, the Sheliak and eventually, the Cardassians.
Federation contact with a race called the Cardassians resulted in an extended conflict. One incident in this conflict was the massacre of Federation civilians on Setlik III in 2347. A truce was reached and a Demilitarized Zone was formed in 2370. A number of Federation and Cardassian colonies found themselves situated within the other’s territory; an agreement was reached for the transfer of those colonies. However, some Federation colonists were opposed to the agreement and formed the Maquis, a rebel movement who resisted the Cardassians (see below).
In 2365, the Federation had first formal contact with the Borg Collective, who threatened the existence of the Federation at the Battle of Wolf 359. Other events of this era include the Klingon Civil War, first contact with the Q, and various time travel incidents.
From 2363 to 2371, the USS Enterprise-D served as the Federation's flagship.
From 2371-2378, the USS Voyager NCC-74656 was lost in the Delta Quadrant after being taken in the Badlands by the Caretaker's Array.
From 2373 to 2375, the Federation fought in the Dominion War. This was by far the largest conflict the Federation had ever been involved in, allying with the Klingons and Romulans against the combined forces of the Dominion, the Cardassians, and Breen. The Federation/Klingon/Romulan alliance was victorious, due in no small part to the Cardassians switching sides in the war after some of its officials realized that the Dominion had bloodlessly conquered them, but with substantial casualties on both sides.
In 2379, a Reman Praetor named Shinzon seized control of the Romulan Star Empire. The coup was defeated by the crew of the USS Enterprise-E with assistance from dissidents within the Romulan fleet, opening up the possibility of improved UFP/Romulan relations after over two centuries of tension. However, this improved relationship came at a cost, as the death of Shinzon may have created a power vacuum.
Prominent in some timelines is the Temporal Cold War, waged on a number of fronts throughout time including the 28th and 31st centuries.
By the 29th century, the Federation explores time as it once did with space.[15]
As depicted in the Star Trek: Countdown comic series, in 2387 the star of the Hobus system went supernova and posed a serious threat to the Romulan Star Empire. Ambassador Spock formulated a plan involving red matter to halt the Hobus supernova; saving billions of lives and preventing the political destabilization of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. However, they did not act soon enough to save Romulus from being destroyed. A Romulan mining ship called the Narada captained by Nero attacked the Jellyfish (the ship in which Spock traveled) as Nero blames the Federation (Ambassador Spock in particular) for the destruction of his homeworld and for the death of his wife and child. During the attack, both ships are pulled into the singularity and transported into the past; the appearance of the Narada (which arrives farther into the past than the Jellyfish) and its subsequent attack on the USS Kelvin creates an alternate timeline depicted in the 2009 Star Trek film.
The Federation has largely been portrayed as a economic utopia. On Earth, war and poverty have been eliminated. Individuals strive for self-betterment rather than fiscal remuneration. This condition probably does not extend to the outer reaches of the Federation or other powers with similar levels of technology, where substances such as latinum are used as currency on a somewhat ad hoc basis, and for the purpose of trade with other cultures, although there have been persistent references to a "credit" unit of currency used at least occasionally in the Federation.
In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Dark Frontier," Tom Paris describes it as the "New World Economy," which began in the late 22nd century and eventually made money obsolete, as does Jean-Luc Picard while explaining the timeline to Lily Sloane in Star Trek: First Contact.
The first mention of the Federation not using money came in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, where Kirk (coming from 2286) says "these people still use money" upon arriving at 20th-century Earth, and says "We don't" when asked whether or not he and his crew use money in the 23rd century. In "The Neutral Zone", Picard tries to explain to cryogenically preserved people from the late 20th century that 24th century economics are quite different and money as they know it is not used or needed in the Federation. In Star Trek: First Contact, he gives a similar speech to Lily.
However, this appears to be either a retcon, or a change in the Federation that occurred over the course of the 23rd century, as apparently for at least the latter half of the 23rd century, a monetary unit known as the "credit" was in fairly common use. At the Federation space station K-7 in the original series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles," set in 2267, Uhura offers to buy a Tribble for 10 credits. In the episode "Errand of Mercy," also set in 2267, Spock estimates that Starfleet has invested over 122,200 credits in his training as a Starfleet officer. In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, in 2285, while on Earth, McCoy attempts to hire a ship to take him to the Genesis Planet, and is warned it would be expensive and cost many credits; we do not know if McCoy could have afforded this or how much it would cost, since he was taken into custody for breaching the secrecy of the Genesis Project immediately afterwards. And in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Carol Marcus mentions the Federation's decision whether or not to "fund" the Genesis Project itself, though "fund" may mean something different in this context as credits are not mentioned. There are also references to "buying" and "selling" that do not specifically mention credits; for example, while entering the meeting room in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Scott states that he had just purchased a boat. During the film Star Trek Generations, Captain Kirk states that he sold his house some time in the previous nine years, which from Kirk's perspective would be between 2284 and roughly 2290. By the time of The Next Generation, money was considered abhorrent to many members of Starfleet, although in Encounter at Farpoint, set in 2364, Beverly Crusher buys a bolt of fabric and requests that it be charged to her account on the Enterprise. Two years later, in 2366, in The Price, the Federation is willing to pay millions of credits for access to a stable wormhole. Additionally, some officers were shown in Tapestry to visit casinos, particularly near starbases, and poker is shown on a number of occasions to be a favorite pastime of Enterprise-D crewmembers, though real money is never said to be part of the game. In the Deep Space Nine episode "Explorers," Benjamin Sisko says that when he first entered Starfleet Academy, he rapidly spent an entire month's allotment of transporter credits (which may not be the same thing as 23rd-century credits) on transporting back and forth to his home in New Orleans. He also arranges for his wife's employer to give her a month's paid vacation (emphasis in episode) in The Changing Face of Evil (although his wife works for the Bajorans, a non-Federation race). And in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Voyager, Tom Paris makes a reference to having someone "pay his bar bills."
From this evidence, it is clear that money in the form of legal tender had effectively ceased to exist, but when dealing with those outside the Federation, other arrangements are made (such as a barter of services, since Federation citizens don't have any currency to offer). In the Deep Space Nine episode, You Are Cordially Invited, Jake Sisko tells Quark he sold his first book, but when Quark asks him how much was gotten for it, Jake answers, "It's just a figure of speech." This would certainly explain moments when characters have made similar comments (in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, for instance, when Scotty mentioned having bought a boat).
- ^ Star Trek: First Contact
- ^ Picard's statement to the Borg Collective immediately after being captured in the 1990 third season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Best Of Both Worlds, Part I," indicated freedom and self-determination as central tenets of the Federation. The 1991 fourth season NextGen episode "The Drumhead" established the Federation Constitution's Seventh Guarantee, a principle similar to the United States Constitution's Fifth Amendment, that protects citizens against self-incrimination. The 1994 second season Deep Space Nine episode "The Maquis, Part I" established the Federation Code of Justice, which insures that defendants are innocent until proven guilty, and that if innocent, will be set free. The 1996 fourth season Deep Space Nine episode "Accession" indicated that the Federation refused membership to planets that practiced caste systems. The 1996 second season Star Trek: Voyager episode "Meld" establishes Directive 101, allowing an individual accused of a crime to remain silent, much like the United States Miranda law. All of this is corroborated in Michael and Denise Okuda's Star Trek Encyclopedia, Second Edition; 1997.
- ^ This is established in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and corroborated in the Star Trek: Enterprise installment In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II."
- ^ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- ^ This is referred to in "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?" in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
- ^ "Gene Roddenberry". Woody Goulart. http://woodygoulart.com/wg/trekology/star-trek/gene-roddenberry/. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
- ^ Westmore, Michael; Alan Sims, Bradley M. Look, William J. Birnes (2000). Star Trek: Aliens and Artifacts. Star Trek. p. 208. ISBN 0-671-04299-8.
- ^ "The Outcast"
- ^ "The Circle" (Deep Space Nine)
- ^ "Errand of Mercy" (TOS)
- ^ Star Trek: Insurrection
- ^ Accession (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
- ^ The Hunted (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
- ^ "Attached" (The Next Generation)
- ^ "Relativity (Star Trek: Voyager)"
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