U.S. state

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A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States (although four states use the official title commonwealth). The separate state governments and the federal government share sovereignty, in that an "American" is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of residence. However, state citizenship is very flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states (with the exception of convicts on parole).

The United States Constitution allocates power between the two levels of government in general terms. By ratifying the Constitution, each state transfers certain sovereign powers to the federal government and agrees to share other powers. Under the Tenth Amendment, all powers not explicitly transferred or shared are retained by the states and the people. Historically, the tasks of public education, public health, transportation and other infrastructure have been considered primarily state responsibilities, although all have significant federal funding and regulation as well.

Over time, the Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization, with the federal government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a continuing debate over "states' rights," which concerns the extent and nature of the powers that the states have given to the federal government.

Contents 1 List of states 2 Legal relationship 2.1 Union as a single nation 2.2 Relationship among the states 2.3 Commerce clause 2.4 Admission of states into the union 2.5 Secession 2.6 Naming issues: Commonwealths, republics, and states 2.7 State governments 2.8 New states on the horizon? 3 Origin of states' names 3.1 British 3.2 Native American 3.3 Spanish 3.4 French 3.5 Other 3.6 Origin Unknown 4 Grouping of the states in regions 5 State lists 6 See also 7 External links 8 References

[edit] List of states

The following sortable table lists each of the 50 states of the United States of America with the following information:

• The common state name,
• The official state name or names,
• The United States Postal Service (USPS) two-character state abbreviation^[1]
  (also used as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 3166-2 country subdivision code),
• The date the state ratified the United States Constitution or was admitted to the Union,
• The United States Census Bureau estimate of state population as of 2006-07-01,^[2]
• The state capital,
• The most populous incorporated place or census-designated place within the state as of 2005-07-01, as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau,^[3] and
• An image of the state flag.

The 50 United States of America

State	Official Name	USPS	Date	Population	Capital	Most Populous City	Flag
Alabama	State of Alabama	AL	181912141819-12-14	04,599,030	Montgomery	Birmingham
Alaska	State of Alaska	AK	195901031959-01-03	00,670,053	Juneau	Anchorage
Arizona	State of Arizona	AZ	191202141912-02-14	06,166,318	Phoenix	Phoenix
Arkansas	State of Arkansas	AR	183606151836-06-15	02,810,872	Little Rock	Little Rock
California	State of California	CA	185009091850-09-09	36,457,549	Sacramento	Los Angeles
Colorado	State of Colorado	CO	187608011876-08-01	04,753,377	Denver	Denver
Connecticut	State of Connecticut	CT	178801091788-01-09	03,504,809	Hartford	Bridgeport[4]
Delaware	State of Delaware	DE	178712071787-12-07	00,853,476	Dover	Wilmington
Florida	State of Florida	FL	184503031845-03-03	18,089,888	Tallahassee	Jacksonville[5]
Georgia	State of Georgia	GA	178801021788-01-02	09,363,941	Atlanta	Atlanta
Hawaii	State of Hawai`i Moku`a-ina o Hawai`i	HI	195908211959-08-21	01,285,498	Honolulu	Honolulu
Idaho	State of Idaho	ID	189007031890-07-03	01,466,465	Boise	Boise
Illinois	State of Illinois	IL	181812031818-12-03	12,831,970	Springfield	Chicago
Indiana	State of Indiana	IN	181612111816-12-11	06,313,520	Indianapolis	Indianapolis
Iowa	State of Iowa	IA	184612281846-12-28	02,982,085	Des Moines	Des Moines
Kansas	State of Kansas	KS	186101291861-01-29	02,764,075	Topeka	Wichita
Kentucky	Commonwealth of Kentucky	KY	179206011792-06-01	04,206,074	Frankfort	Louisville
Louisiana	State of Louisiana État de Louisiane	LA	181204301812-04-30	04,287,768	Baton Rouge	New Orleans[6]
Maine	State of Maine	ME	182003151820-03-15	01,321,574	Augusta	Portland
Maryland	State of Maryland	MD	178804281788-04-28	05,615,727	Annapolis	Baltimore[7]
Massachusetts	Commonwealth of Massachusetts	MA	178802061788-02-06	06,437,193	Boston	Boston
Michigan	State of Michigan	MI	183701261837-01-26	10,095,643	Lansing	Detroit
Minnesota	State of Minnesota	MN	185805111858-05-11	05,167,101	Saint Paul	Minneapolis
Mississippi	State of Mississippi	MS	181712101817-12-10	02,910,540	Jackson	Jackson
Missouri	State of Missouri	MO	182108101821-08-10	05,842,713	Jefferson City	Kansas City[8]
Montana	State of Montana	MT	188911081889-11-08	00,944,632	Helena	Billings
Nebraska	State of Nebraska	NE	186703011867-03-01	01,768,331	Lincoln	Omaha
Nevada	State of Nevada	NV	186410311864-10-31	02,495,529	Carson City	Las Vegas
New Hampshire	State of New Hampshire	NH	178806211788-06-21	01,314,895	Concord	Manchester[9]
New Jersey	State of New Jersey	NJ	178712181787-12-18	08,724,560	Trenton	Newark[10]
New Mexico	State of New Mexico Estado de Nuevo México	NM	191201061912-01-06	01,954,599	Santa Fe	Albuquerque
New York	State of New York	NY	178807261788-07-26	19,306,183	Albany	New York
North Carolina	State of North Carolina	NC	178911211789-11-21	08,856,505	Raleigh	Charlotte
North Dakota	State of North Dakota	ND	188911021889-11-02	00,635,867	Bismarck	Fargo
Ohio	State of Ohio	OH	180303011803-03-01	11,478,006	Columbus	Columbus[11]
Oklahoma	State of Oklahoma	OK	190711161907-11-16	03,579,212	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma City
Oregon	State of Oregon	OR	185902141859-02-14	03,700,758	Salem	Portland
Pennsylvania	Commonwealth of Pennsylvania	PA	178712121787-12-12	12,440,621	Harrisburg	Philadelphia
Rhode Island	State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations	RI	179005291790-05-29	01,067,610	Providence	Providence
South Carolina	State of South Carolina	SC	178805231788-05-23	04,321,249	Columbia	Columbia[12]
South Dakota	State of South Dakota	SD	188911021889-11-02	00,781,919	Pierre	Sioux Falls
Tennessee	State of Tennessee	TN	179606011796-06-01	06,038,803	Nashville	Memphis[13]
Texas	State of Texas	TX	184512291845-12-29	23,507,783	Austin	Houston[14]
Utah	State of Utah	UT	189601041896-01-04	02,550,063	Salt Lake City	Salt Lake City
Vermont	State of Vermont	VT	179103041791-03-04	00,623,908	Montpelier	Burlington
Virginia	Commonwealth of Virginia	VA	178806251788-06-25	07,642,884	Richmond	Virginia Beach[15]
Washington	State of Washington	WA	188911111889-11-11	06,395,798	Olympia	Seattle
West Virginia	State of West Virginia	WV	186306201863-06-20	01,818,470	Charleston	Charleston
Wisconsin	State of Wisconsin	WI	184805291848-05-29	05,556,506	Madison	Milwaukee
Wyoming	State of Wyoming	WY	189007101890-07-10	00,515,004	Cheyenne	Cheyenne

[edit] Legal relationship

[edit] Union as a single nation

Upon the adoption of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the states became a confederation, a single sovereign political entity as defined by international law — empowered to levy war and to conduct international relations — albeit with a very loosely structured and inefficient central government. After the failure of the union under the Articles of Confederation, the thirteen states joined the modern union via the process of ratifying the United States Constitution, which took effect in 1789.

[edit] Relationship among the states

Under Article IV of the Constitution, which outlines the relationship between the states, the United States Congress has the power to admit new states to the union. The states are required to give "full faith and credit" to the acts of each other's legislatures and courts, which is generally held to include the recognition of legal contracts, marriages, criminal judgments, and—at the time—slave status. States are prohibited from discriminating against citizens of other states with respect to their basic rights, under the Privileges and Immunities Clause. The states are guaranteed military and civil defense by the federal government, which is also required to ensure that the government of each state remains a republic.

[edit] Commerce clause

The Supreme Court of the United States has interpreted the Constitution of the United States such that the commerce clause allows for a wide scope of federal power. For example, Congress can regulate railway traffic across state lines, but it may also regulate rail traffic solely within a state, on the theory that wholly intrastate traffic can still have an impact on interstate commerce.

Another source of Congressional power is its "spending power" -- the ability of Congress to allocate funds, for example to the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System. The system is mandated and partially funded by the federal government but also serves the interests of the states. By threatening to withhold federal highway funds, Congress has been able to persuade state legislatures to pass a variety of laws. Although some object on the ground that this infringes on states' rights, the Supreme Court has upheld the practice as a permissible use of the Constitution's Spending Clause.

[edit] Admission of states into the union

Main article: List of U.S. states by date of statehood

Since the establishment of the United States, the number of states has expanded from 13 to 50. The Constitution is rather laconic on the process by which new states can be added, noting only that "New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union", and forbidding a new state to be created out of the territory of an existing state without the consent of both that state's legislature and of Congress.

In practice, nearly all states admitted to the union after the original thirteen have been formed from U.S. territories (that is, land under the sovereignty of the United States federal government but not part of any state) that were organized (given a measure of self-rule by Congress). Generally speaking, the organized government of a territory would make known the sentiment of its population in favor of statehood; Congress would then direct that government to organize a constitutional convention to write a state constitution. Upon acceptance of that Constitution, Congress would then admit that territory as a state. The broad outlines in this process were established by the Northwest Ordinance, which actually predated the ratification of the Constitution.

However, Congress has ultimate authority over the admission of new states, and is not bound to follow this procedure. A few U.S. states outside of the original 13 have been admitted that were never organized territories of the federal government:

• Vermont, an unrecognized but de facto independent republic until its admission in 1791
• Kentucky, a part of Virginia until its admission in 1792
• Maine, a part of Massachusetts until its admission in 1820 following the Missouri Compromise
• Texas, a recognized independent republic until its admission in 1845
• California, created as a state (as part of the Compromise of 1850) out of the unorganized territory of the Mexican Cession in 1850 without ever having been a separate organized territory itself
• West Virginia, created from areas of Virginia that rejoined the union in 1863, after the 1861 secession of Virginia to the Confederate States of America

Congress is also under no obligation to admit states even in those areas whose population expresses a desire for statehood. For instance, the Republic of Texas requested annexation to the United States in 1836, but fears about the conflict with Mexico that would result delayed admission for nine years. Utah Territory was denied admission to the union as a state for decades because of discomfort with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' dominance in the territory, and particularly with the Mormon elite's then-current practice of polygamy.

[edit] Secession

The Constitution is silent on the issue of the secession of a state from the union. The Articles of Confederation had stated that the earlier union of the colonies "shall be perpetual," and the preamble to the Constitution states that Constitution was intended to "form a more perfect union." In 1860 and 1861, several states attempted to secede, but were brought back into the Union by force of arms during the Civil War. Subsequently, the federal judicial system, in the case of Texas v. White, established that states do not have the right to secede without the consent of the other states.

[edit] Naming issues: Commonwealths, republics, and states

Four of the states bear the formal title of Commonwealth: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. In these cases, this is merely a name and has no legal effect. Somewhat confusingly, two U.S. territories — Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas — are also referred to as commonwealths, and do have a legal status different from the states.

The Republic of Texas was an independent nation for nine years, and the Republic of Hawaiʻi, formerly the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, was also an independent nation. There is debate over whether Vermont was ever an independent nation; however it was the first future state to write its own Constitution. The so-called "California Republic" was actually a flag raised by Americans in the town of Sonoma after they expelled the local Mexican official. Ten days later the U.S. Army took over.

See also List of official names of the states of the USA.

[edit] State governments

States are free to organize their state governments any way they like, as long as they conform to the sole requirement of the U.S. Constitution that they have "a Republican Form of Government". In practice, each state has adopted a three branch system of government generally along the sames lines as that of the federal government—though this is not a requirement. There is nothing that could stop a state from adopting a parliamentary system—with a fusion of powers, as opposed to a separation of powers—if it so choses.

Despite the fact that each state has chosen to use the federal model to follow, there are some significant differences in some states. One of the most notable is that of the Nebraska legislature. 49 of the 50 states' legislatures are bicameral, meaning that they have two houses (one upper and one lower). Nebraska's unicameral legislature is the sole exception. Some states, such as Florida, have in effect a plural executive, with members of the executive branch elected directly by the people and serving as equal members of the state cabinet alongside the governor. And only a few states choose to have their judicial branch leaders—their judges on the state's courts—serve for life terms.

The most substantial difference between states is that many rural states have part-time legislatures, while the states with the highest populations tend to have full-time legislatures. In Baker v. Carr, the U.S. Supreme Court held that all states are required to have legislative districts which are proportional in terms of population.

Also, states can organize their judicial systems differently from the federal judiciary, as long as due process is protected. See state court and state supreme court for more information. Most have a trial level court, generally called a District Court or Superior Court, a first-level appellate court, generally called a Court of Appeal (or Appeals), and a Supreme Court. However, Texas has a separate highest court for criminal appeals. New York is notorious for its unusual terminology, in that the trial court is called the Supreme Court. Appeals are then taken to the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, and from there to the Court of Appeals. Most states base their legal system on British Common law, with the notable exception of Louisiana which is based partially on the French Civil law.

[edit] New states on the horizon?

See also: 51st state

Today, there are very few U.S. territories left that might potentially become new states. In light of recent events, the most likely candidate may be Puerto Rico. The commonwealth's government has organized several referenda on the question of status over the past several decades, though Congress has not recognized these as binding; all shown resulted in narrow victories for the status quo over statehood, with independence supported by only a small number of voters. In December 2005, a presidential task force proposed a new set of referenda on the issue; if Congress votes in line with the task force's recommendation, it would pave the way for the first Congressionally mandated votes on status in the island, and, potentially, statehood, by 2010.

The intention of the Founding Fathers was that the United States capital should be at a neutral site, not giving favor to any existing state; as a result, the District of Columbia was created in 1800 to serve as the seat of government. The inhabitants of the District do not have full representation in Congress or a sovereign elected government (they were allotted presidential electors by the 23rd amendment, and have a non-voting delegate in Congress). Some residents of the District support statehood of some form for that jurisdiction—either statehood for the whole district or for the inhabited part, with the remainder remaining under federal jurisdiction. While statehood is always a live political question in the District, the prospects for any movement in that direction in the immediate future seem dim. Instead, an emphasis on continuing Home Rule in the District while also giving the District a vote in Congress is gaining support.  :See also: District of Columbia voting rights

For the remaining permanently inhabited U.S. non-state jurisdictions—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa—the prospects of statehood are remote. All have relatively small populations—Guam, with the most inhabitants, has a population less than 35 percent that of Wyoming, the least populous state—and have governments that are heavily reliant on federal funding.

Constitutionally, a state may only be divided into more states with the approval both of Congress and of the state's legislature, as was the case when Maine was split off from Massachusetts. The idea that a Congressional joint resolution from 1845 might serve as a sort of advanced Congressional approval for a move to divide Texas today seems unlikely to pass muster. In fact, the clause in question was almost certainly intended to give Texas the option of entering the union as more than one state. As there is no organized movement today to divide Texas into multiple states, the point is largely academic.

[edit] Origin of states' names

State names speak to the circumstances of their creation. (See the lists of U.S. state name etymologies and U.S. county name etymologies for more detail.)

[edit] British

Southeastern states on the Atlantic coast originated as British colonies named after British monarchs: Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. Some northeastern states, also former British colonies, take their names from places in the British Isles: New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York. Pennsylvania, meaning "Penn's woods," in Latin, takes its name from the father of its founder, William Penn. Delaware is named after Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, an early colonist and governor of the Jamestown Colony.

[edit] Native American

Many states' names are those of Native American tribes or are from Native American languages: Nebraska, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Mississippi, Texas, Utah, Ohio, Michigan, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, Alaska, and others. Additionally, the name of Idaho was presented as a Native American word by eccentric lobbyist George M. Willing, though it was later revealed that he made it up. Indiana means literally "land of Indians". Hawaii is a Polynesian name.

[edit] Spanish

Because they are on territories previously controlled by Spain or Mexico, many states in the southeast and southwest have Spanish names. They include Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, Nevada, Montana and Texas. California is also believed to be of Spanish origin, though this is not entirely clear (see Origin of the name California).

[edit] French

Because it was previously a French colony, Louisiana is named after Louis XIV (the King of France at the time). Maine is also named after the historical French province of Maine, although another theory states "Maine" stems from "mainland," differentiating it from the outlying islands. Vermont is derived from the French term for "green mountains", a reference to its mountainous but forested terrain. Illinois while named for the Illiniwek, is the French name for the Illiniwek and can thus be said to have joint French and Native American origin.

[edit] Other

Formally referred to as the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Rhode Island likely gained its name through the supposed similarity of Aquidneck Island (the body of land known as Rhode Island, which contains the city of Newport and the towns of Portsmouth and Middletown) to the Greek Isle of Rhodes. Providence Plantations, which makes reference to the mainland that surrounds Narragansett Bay, was named by its religious founders for God's divine providence. The state of Washington was named after George Washington.

[edit] Origin Unknown

The origin of Oregon is unknown, although various theories exist, but is most likely to be of Native American origin.

[edit] Grouping of the states in regions

States may be grouped in regions; there are endless variations and possible groupings, as most states are not defined by obvious geographic or cultural borders. For further discussion of regions of the U.S., see the list of regions of the United States.

[edit] State lists

• List of U.S. state capitals
• List of current and former capital cities within U.S. states
• List of U.S. states' largest cities

• List of U.S. states by date of statehood
• List of U.S. states that were never territories
• List of U.S. state name etymologies
• List of state legislatures in the United States

• List of U.S. states by area
• List of U.S. states by elevation
• List of U.S. states by GDP (nominal)
• List of U.S. states by GDP per capita (nominal)
• List of U.S. states by population
• List of U.S. states by population density
• List of U.S. states by time zone
• List of U.S. states by unemployment rate

• List of U.S. state residents names

• List of U.S. states by traditional abbreviation
• U.S. postal abbreviations
• U.S. state temperature extremes
• Codes: FIPS state code, ISO 3166-2:US

• Lists of U.S. state insignia
  • List of U.S. state amphibians
  • List of U.S. state beverages
  • List of U.S. state birds
  • List of U.S. state butterflies
  • List of U.S. state colors
  • List of U.S. state dances
  • List of U.S. state dinosaurs
  • List of U.S. state fish
  • List of U.S. state flags
  • List of U.S. state flowers
  • List of U.S. state foods
  • List of U.S. state fossils
  • List of U.S. state grasses
  • List of U.S. state insects
  • List of U.S. state license plates
  • List of U.S. state mammals
  • List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, stones and gemstones
  • List of U.S. state mottos
  • List of U.S. state nicknames
  • List of U.S. state reptiles
  • List of U.S. state seals
  • List of U.S. state slogans
  • List of U.S. state soils
  • List of U.S. state songs
  • List of U.S. state sports
  • List of U.S. state tartans
  • List of U.S. state trees
• List of fictional U.S. states

[edit] See also

• United States Declaration of Independence (text)
• Declaration of Independence (United States)
• United States Constitution
• Extreme points of the United States
• Geography of the United States
• List of regions of the United States
• Political divisions of the United States
• Organized incorporated territories of the United States
• United States territory
• United States territorial acquisitions
• List of U.S. counties that share names with U.S. states
• States' rights
• State Quarters
• 51st state

[edit] External links

• Tables with areas, populations, densities and more (in order of population)
• Tables with areas, populations, densities and more (alphabetical)
• Origin of State Names
• Rick's Search Assistant - Web links & addresses for many state agencies, e.g., Motor Vehicles, Corporate Records, Attorneys General
• United States Postal Service
• State and Territorial Governments on FirstGov.gov
• StateMaster - statistical database for US States.

[edit] References

v • d • e Political divisions of the United States
States	Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming
Federal District	Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia)
Territories	American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · U.S. Virgin Islands
Outlying Islands	Baker Island · Howland Island · Jarvis Island · Johnston Atoll · Kingman Reef · Midway Atoll · Navassa Island · Palmyra Atoll · Wake Island