   #copyright

U.S. state

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American Geography

   A state of the United States is any one of the fifty subnational
   entities referred to as a state (although four officially favour the
   term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, under
   the provisions of the United States Constitution form the United States
   of America. The separate state governments and the United States
   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. The idea is that by ratifying the
   Constitution, each state (a) transfers certain sovereign powers to the
   federal government; (b) agrees to share other powers; and (c)
   exclusively retains the remainder for itself. The tasks of education,
   health, transportation, and other infrastructure are generally the
   responsibility of the states. All states transferred, shared, and kept
   the same powers.

   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.
   Map of the United States with state names
   Enlarge
   Map of the United States with state names

Legal relationship

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.

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. 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.
   U.S. states by date of statehood
   Enlarge
   U.S. states by date of statehood

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.

Admission of states into the union

   The order in which the original 13 states ratified the constitution,
   then the order in which the others were admitted to the union
   Enlarge
   The order in which the original 13 states ratified the constitution,
   then the order in which the others were admitted to the union

   Since the ratification of the Constitution, 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 favour 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 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 Church
   of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' dominance in the territory, and
   particularly with the Mormon elite's then-current practice of polygamy.

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.

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 Hawaii, formerly the Kingdom of Hawaii, 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 US Army took over.

   See also Official names of the states of the USA.

State governments

   States are free to organize their state governments any way they like,
   as long as they conform to the rather minimal requirements in the U.S.
   Constitution. In the executive branch, this means that each state
   government has its own unique set of departments and agencies. For an
   excellent example of the resulting complexity, see Department of Motor
   Vehicles.

   All state legislatures but Nebraska's are bicameral, meaning that they
   have two houses (one upper and one lower). 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. 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.

New states on the horizon?

   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 favour 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. However, questions
   persist over the District's government's ability to successfully manage
   its finances. 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. It seems likely that the District will gain a voting
   member of the House of Representatives at some point, while the
   question of Senators for the District is unresolved.

   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.

   There are also some more or less active proposals to form new states
   out of parts of existing states. A perennial minority in the Upper
   Peninsula of Michigan, express interest in seceding from the Lower
   Peninsula and forming a new state known as "Superior", although such
   expressions are generally not taken seriously. Another minority group
   in Northern California and Southern Oregon would like to create the
   State of Jefferson.

Origin of states' names

   U.S. state name etymologies
   Enlarge
   U.S. state name etymologies

   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.)

   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 coloniser in of the area.

   Native American

          Many states' names are those of Native American tribes or are
          from Native American languages: Nebraska, Kansas, 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.

   Spanish

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

   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. 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.

   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.

   Origin Unknown

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

List of states

   The states, with their U.S. postal abbreviations, traditional
   abbreviations, capitals, most populous cities, and flags are as
   follows. For a complete list of non-state dependent areas and other
   territory under control of the United States, see United States
   dependent areas.
   Postal Traditional State Capital Most Populous City Flag
   AL Ala. Alabama Montgomery Birmingham
   AK Alaska Alaska Juneau Anchorage
   AZ Ariz. Arizona Phoenix Phoenix
   AR Ark. Arkansas Little Rock Little Rock
   CA Cal. or Calif. California Sacramento Los Angeles
   CO Colo. Colorado Denver Denver
   CT Conn. Connecticut Hartford Bridgeport
   DE Del. Delaware Dover Wilmington
   FL Fla. Florida Tallahassee Jacksonville
   GA Ga. Georgia Atlanta Atlanta
   HI Hawaii Hawaii Honolulu Honolulu
   ID Idaho Idaho Boise Boise
   IL Ill. Illinois Springfield Chicago
   IN Ind. Indiana Indianapolis Indianapolis
   IA Iowa Iowa Des Moines Des Moines
   KS Kan. or Kans. Kansas Topeka Wichita
   KY Ky. Kentucky Frankfort Louisville
   LA La. Louisiana Baton Rouge New Orleans *
   ME Maine Maine Augusta Portland
   MD Md. Maryland Annapolis Baltimore
   MA Mass. Massachusetts Boston Boston
   MI Mich. Michigan Lansing Detroit
   MN Minn. Minnesota Saint Paul Minneapolis
   MS Miss. Mississippi Jackson Jackson
   MO Mo. Missouri Jefferson City Kansas City
   MT Mont. Montana Helena Billings
   NE Neb. Nebraska Lincoln Omaha
   NV Nev. Nevada Carson City Las Vegas
   NH N.H. New Hampshire Concord Manchester
   NJ N.J. New Jersey Trenton Newark
   NM N.M. New Mexico Santa Fe Albuquerque
   NY N.Y. New York Albany New York City
   NC N.C. North Carolina Raleigh Charlotte
   ND N.D., N.Dak., or No. Dak. North Dakota Bismarck Fargo
   OH Ohio Ohio Columbus Columbus
   OK Okla. Oklahoma Oklahoma City Oklahoma City
   OR Ore. or Oreg. Oregon Salem Portland
   PA Penn. or Penna. Pennsylvania Harrisburg Philadelphia
   RI R.I. Rhode Island Providence Providence
   SC S.C. South Carolina Columbia Columbia
   SD S.D. or S.Dak. South Dakota Pierre Sioux Falls
   TN Tenn. Tennessee Nashville Memphis
   TX Tex. or Texas Texas Austin Houston
   UT Utah Utah Salt Lake City Salt Lake City
   VT Vt. Vermont Montpelier Burlington
   VA Va. Virginia Richmond Virginia Beach
   WA Wash. Washington Olympia Seattle
   WV W.Va. West Virginia Charleston Charleston
   WI Wis. or Wisc. Wisconsin Madison Milwaukee
   WY Wyo. Wyoming Cheyenne Cheyenne

   * Prior to Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was the most populous city in
   Louisiana. Since Katrina the population of Baton Rouge has increased
   substantially; as well, the population of New Orleans has suffered a
   sharp decrease. Figures based on the latest U.S. Census in 2000 will
   show New Orleans as the largest.

Trivia

Names

     * Georgia can refer to either a U.S. state or to an independent
       country in the Caucasus.
     * The name New York can refer to any one of three geographical
       levels: a state, a city in that state, or a county (coterminous
       with the borough of Manhattan) in that city.
     * Hawaii can refer to the name of either the State of Hawaii, or the
       Island of Hawaii.
     * Washington is a state, a city corresponding to the District of
       Columbia (and thus not part of any state), and a number of cities
       and counties in various states. See the list of places named for
       George Washington.
     * The state of Washington is the only state named after a U.S.
       President.
     * The official name of Rhode Island is "the State of Rhode Island and
       Providence Plantations."
     * In many jurisdictions outside of the United States, the capital
       city shares part or all of its name with the larger political unit
       of which it is the capital. However, only two U.S. states have
       state capitals named for the state: Oklahoma, with its capital
       Oklahoma City, and Indiana, with its capital Indianapolis (polis
       meaning "city" in Greek). Iowa City was the first state capital of
       Iowa, but the capital was later moved to Des Moines.
     * Maine is the only state with a monosyllabic name. California,
       Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina each have 5
       syllables.
     * Q is the only letter not to appear in the name of a state. J and Z
       each appear in the name of exactly one state (respectively, New
       Jersey and Arizona).
     * Two state names can be typed with one hand on a QWERTY keyboard
       Texas (left) and Ohio (right).
     * Arkansas is the only state in which the pronunciation of the name
       is specified by law.
     * South Dakota is the only state in which the names of the state and
       the capital do not share any letters. (The capital is Pierre).
     * Four states have the same initial letter as their capital: Delaware
       (Dover), Hawaii (Honolulu), Indiana (Indianapolis) and Oklahoma
       (Oklahoma City).

Geography

     * Michigan is made up of two large, unconnected (except for a bridge)
       peninsulas.
     * Alaska has the longest coastline
     * Kentucky is the only state to have a portion of its land completely
       surrounded by other states. Tennessee and Missouri surround part of
       Kentucky because of a bend in the Mississippi River. See Kentucky
       Bend.
     * Colorado and Wyoming are bounded by two circles of latitude and two
       meridians each, i.e. they appear to be rectangles in a cylindrical
       map projection.
     * Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are the only states whose borders are
       made up of only straight lines (taking meridians and circles of
       latitude as straight lines) and, thus, the only states whose
       borders completely ignore natural features.
     * Every state—except Hawaii, which has no land boundaries—has
       straight lines as at least part of its boundaries. These are
       usually combined with rivers (see river borders of U.S. states),
       ridge lines, and other natural boundaries. Pennsylvania and
       Delaware are unique in that their common border is an arc of a
       circle, see The Twelve-Mile Circle.
     * The lower peninsula of Michigan is shaped like a mitten; Louisiana
       is shaped like a boot; Oklahoma is shaped somewhat like a cooking
       pot when viewed from the side. The western border of Montana
       strongly resembles the profile of a face.
     * Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Nebraska, Oklahoma,
       and Texas have panhandles. West Virginia has two panhandles.
     * Alabama, Missouri, New Mexico, and Mississippi have bootheels.
     * Alaska and Hawaii are the only states that are not physically
       connected to other states; Maine is the only state that borders
       only one other state ( New Hampshire). Missouri and Tennessee each
       border eight other states, the most for any state.
     * Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah are the only four states to
       share a common border, known as the " Four Corners."
     * Oklahoma's Cimarron County is the only county in the United States
       to border four other states: Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and
       Kansas.
     * Contrary to appearances given by the stereographic projection,
       Minnesota is the northernmost of the forty-eight contiguous United
       States. A northern spur of the state, the Northwest Angle, contains
       a portion of Lake of the Woods. At one time, it was thought that
       Lake of the Woods contained the headwaters of the Mississippi River
       (which are now known to be at Lake Itasca).
     * Washington and Minnesota are the only states where access between
       portions of which is only possible through another country. Point
       Roberts, Washington, is the tip of a peninsula from British
       Columbia, Canada, that extends south of the 49th parallel north to
       fall within U.S. territory. The only land access to Minnesota's
       Northwest Angle is by going through Canada. Neither has a bridge
       connecting them with the rest of the United States.
     * Alaska is the northernmost state and the westernmost state. Some
       would argue that it is also the easternmost state, as the Aleutian
       island chain crosses the 180º line of longitude.
     * The southernmost point is Ka Lae, Hawaii; Ballast Key, Florida, is
       the southernmost point in the contiguous 48 states. Key West is
       sometimes incorrectly believed to hold the later distinction, since
       Ballast Key is privately owned, while Key West has a large
       population. Key West is indeed the southernmost city in the 48
       contigious states, and contains the southernmost point visitable by
       the general public. See extreme points of the United States.

Subdivision of Texas to form new states

   The joint resolution which admitted the Republic of Texas to the Union
   as a state guaranteed Texas the right to divide itself up into up to
   five states. This clause is something of an anomaly—conventional wisdom
   in Texas has it that this is a right that the state may still exercise
   at any time. However, 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. Once it chose to enter the
   union as a single state, it became subject to the usual rules regarding
   its subdivision into multiple states. As there is no organized movement
   today to divide Texas into multiple states, the point is largely
   academic.

Grouping of the states in regions

   U.S. Census Bureau regions:The West, The Midwest, The South and The
   Northeast. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales,
   and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian
   Islands are omitted from this map.
   Enlarge
   U.S. Census Bureau regions:
   The West, The Midwest, The South and The Northeast. Note that Alaska
   and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands
   and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this
   map.

   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.

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

     * Traditional U.S. state abbreviations
     * 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 trees
     * List of fictional U.S. states

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