U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 subnational entities of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government (four states use the official title of commonwealth rather than state). Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. 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. Under the Tenth Amendment, all powers not explicitly transferred 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 states' powers and sovereignty (in relation to that of the federal government) and their power over individuals.

Federal power

Since the 1930s, the Supreme Court of the United States has interpreted the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States in an expansive way that has dramatically expanded the 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, based 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 impose uniform taxes across the nation and then distribute the resulting revenue back to the states (subject to strict conditions set by Congress). A classic example of this is the system of "federal-aid highways", which includes the Interstate Highway System. The system is mandated and largely 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 that this infringes on states' rights, the Supreme Court has upheld the practice as a permissible use of the Constitution's Spending Clause.

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 same lines as that of the federal government—though this is not a requirement.

Despite the fact that each state has chosen to follow the federal model, there are significant differences in some states. One of the most notable is that of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature, which, unlike the legislatures of the other 49 states, has only one house. While there is only one federal president, who then selects a Cabinet responsible to him, most states have 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.

A key 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. Texas, the second largest state in population, is a notable exception to this: excepting special sessions, the Texas Legislature is limited by law to 140 calendar days out of every two years. 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.

States can also 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 state 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 English common law (with substantial indigenous changes and incorporation of certain civil law innovations), with the notable exception of Louisiana, which draws large parts of its legal system from French civil law.

Relationships 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.

States called commonwealths

Main article: Commonwealth (United States)

Four of the states bear the formal title of commonwealth: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. In these cases, this is merely a historically based 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 (both are unincorporated territories).

List of states

Template:USA imagemap with state names

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

1. The common state name
2. The preferred pronunciation of the common state name as transcribed with the International Phonetic Alphabet (see Help:IPA for English for a key)
3. The United States Postal Service (USPS) two-character state abbreviation
   (also used as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 3166-2 country subdivision code)
4. An image of the official state flag
5. The date the state ratified the United States Constitution or was admitted to the Union
6. The United States Census Bureau estimate of state population as of July 1, 2007
7. The state capital
8. The most populous incorporated place or Census Designated Place within the state as of 2007-07-01, as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau

The 50 United States of America

Official State Name	Common	IPA	USPS	Flag	Date	Population	Capital	Most Populous City
State of Alabama	Alabama	Template:IPA	AL	File:Flag of Alabama.svg	181912141819-12-14	04,627,851	Montgomery	Birmingham
State of Alaska	Alaska	Template:IPA	AK	File:Flag of Alaska.svg	195901031959-01-03	00,683,478	Juneau	Anchorage
State of Arizona	Arizona	Template:IPA	AZ	File:Flag of Arizona.svg	191202141912-02-14	06,338,755	Phoenix	Phoenix
State of Arkansas	Arkansas	Template:IPA	AR	File:Flag of Arkansas.svg	183606151836-06-15	02,834,797	Little Rock	Little Rock
State of California	California	Template:IPA	CA	File:Flag of California.svg	185009091850-09-09	36,553,215	Sacramento	Los Angeles
State of Colorado	Colorado	Template:IPA	CO	File:Flag of Colorado.svg	187608011876-08-01	04,861,515	Denver	Denver
State of Connecticut	Connecticut	Template:IPA	CT	File:Flag of Connecticut.svg	178801091788-01-09	03,502,309	Hartford	Bridgeport
State of Delaware	Delaware	Template:IPA	DE	File:Flag of Delaware.svg	178712071787-12-07	00,864,764	Dover	Wilmington
State of Florida	Florida	Template:IPA	FL	File:Flag of Florida.svg	184503031845-03-03	18,251,243	Tallahassee	Jacksonville
State of Georgia	Georgia	Template:IPA	GA	File:Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg	178801021788-01-02	09,544,750	Atlanta	Atlanta
[[Hawaii|State of Hawaii Template:Unicode]] (Hawaiian)	Hawaii	Template:IPA	HI	File:Flag of Hawaii.svg	195908211959-08-21	01,283,388	Honolulu	Honolulu
State of Idaho	Idaho	Template:IPA	ID	File:Flag of Idaho.svg	189007031890-07-03	01,499,402	Boise	Boise
State of Illinois	Illinois	Template:IPA	IL	File:Flag of Illinois.svg	181812031818-12-03	12,852,548	Springfield	Chicago
State of Indiana	Indiana	Template:IPA	IN	File:Flag of Indiana.svg	181612111816-12-11	06,345,289	Indianapolis	Indianapolis
State of Iowa	Iowa	Template:IPA	IA	File:Flag of Iowa.svg	184612281846-12-28	02,988,046	Des Moines	Des Moines
State of Kansas	Kansas	Template:IPA	KS	File:Flag of Kansas.svg	186101291861-01-29	02,775,997	Topeka	Wichita
Commonwealth of Kentucky	Kentucky	Template:IPA	KY	File:Flag of Kentucky.svg	179206011792-06-01	04,241,474	Frankfort	Louisville
State of Louisiana État de LouisianeTemplate:Fact (French)	Louisiana	Template:IPA	LA	File:Flag of Louisiana.svg	181204301812-04-30	04,293,204	Baton Rouge	New Orleans
State of Maine	Maine	Template:IPA	ME	File:Flag of Maine.svg	182003151820-03-15	01,317,207	Augusta	Portland
State of Maryland	Maryland	Template:IPA	MD	File:Flag of Maryland.svg	178804281788-04-28	05,618,344	Annapolis	Baltimore
Commonwealth of Massachusetts	Massachusetts	Template:IPA	MA	File:Flag of Massachusetts.svg	178802061788-02-06	06,449,755	Boston	Boston
State of Michigan	Michigan	Template:IPA	MI	File:Flag of Michigan.svg	183701261837-01-26	10,071,822	Lansing	Detroit
State of Minnesota	Minnesota	Template:IPA	MN	File:Flag of Minnesota.svg	185805111858-05-11	05,197,621	Saint Paul	Minneapolis
State of Mississippi	Mississippi	Template:IPA	MS	File:Flag of Mississippi.svg	181712101817-12-10	02,918,785	Jackson	Jackson
State of Missouri	Missouri	Template:IPA	MO	File:Flag of Missouri.svg	182108101821-08-10	05,878,415	Jefferson City	Kansas City
State of Montana	Montana	Template:IPA	MT	File:Flag of Montana.svg	188911081889-11-08	00,957,861	Helena	Billings
State of Nebraska	Nebraska	Template:IPA	NE	File:Flag of Nebraska.svg	186703011867-03-01	01,774,571	Lincoln	Omaha
State of Nevada	Nevada	Template:IPA	NV	File:Flag of Nevada.svg	186410311864-10-31	02,565,382	Carson City	Las Vegas
State of New Hampshire	New Hampshire	Template:IPA	NH	File:Flag of New Hampshire.svg	178806211788-06-21	01,315,828	Concord	Manchester
State of New Jersey	New Jersey	Template:IPA	NJ	File:Flag of New Jersey.svg	178712181787-12-18	08,685,920	Trenton	Newark
State of New Mexico	New Mexico	Template:IPA	NM	File:Flag of New Mexico.svg	191201061912-01-06	01,969,915	Santa Fe	Albuquerque
State of New York	New York	Template:IPA	NY	File:Flag of New York.svg	178807261788-07-26	19,297,729	Albany	New York
State of North Carolina	North Carolina	Template:IPA	NC	File:Flag of North Carolina.svg	178911211789-11-21	09,061,032	Raleigh	Charlotte
State of North Dakota	North Dakota	Template:IPA	ND	File:Flag of North Dakota.svg	188911021889-11-02	00,639,715	Bismarck	Fargo
State of Ohio	Ohio	Template:IPA	OH	File:Flag of Ohio.svg	180303011803-03-01	11,466,917	Columbus	Columbus
State of Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Template:IPA	OK	File:Flag of Oklahoma.svg	190711161907-11-16	03,617,316	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma City
State of Oregon	Oregon	Template:IPA	OR	File:Flag of Oregon.svg	185902141859-02-14	03,747,455	Salem	Portland
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	Template:IPA	PA	File:Flag of Pennsylvania.svg	178712121787-12-12	12,432,792	Harrisburg	Philadelphia
State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations	Rhode Island	Template:IPA	RI	File:Flag of Rhode Island.svg	179005291790-05-29	01,057,832	Providence	Providence
State of South Carolina	South Carolina	Template:IPA	SC	File:Flag of South Carolina.svg	178805231788-05-23	04,407,709	Columbia	Columbia
State of South Dakota	South Dakota	Template:IPA	SD	File:Flag of South Dakota.svg	188911021889-11-02	00,796,214	Pierre	Sioux Falls
State of Tennessee	Tennessee	Template:IPA	TN	File:Flag of Tennessee.svg	179606011796-06-01	06,156,719	Nashville	Memphis
State of Texas	Texas	Template:IPA	TX	File:Flag of Texas.svg	184512291845-12-29	23,904,380	Austin	Houston
State of Utah	Utah	Template:IPA	UT	File:Flag of Utah.svg	189601041896-01-04	02,645,330	Salt Lake City	Salt Lake City
State of Vermont	Vermont	Template:IPA	VT	File:Flag of Vermont.svg	179103041791-03-04	00,621,254	Montpelier	Burlington
Commonwealth of Virginia	Virginia	Template:IPA	VA	File:Flag of Virginia.svg	178806251788-06-25	07,712,091	Richmond	Virginia Beach
State of Washington	Washington	Template:IPA	WA	File:Flag of Washington.svg	188911111889-11-11	06,468,424	Olympia	Seattle
State of West Virginia	West Virginia	Template:IPA	WV	File:Flag of West Virginia.svg	186306201863-06-20	01,812,035	Charleston	Charleston
State of Wisconsin	Wisconsin	Template:IPA	WI	File:Flag of Wisconsin.svg	184805291848-05-29	05,601,640	Madison	Milwaukee
State of Wyoming	Wyoming	Template:IPA	WY	File:Flag of Wyoming.svg	189007101890-07-10	00,522,830	Cheyenne	Cheyenne

Grouping of the states in regions

File:Map of USA showing regions.png

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.

External links

• State Resource Guides, from the Library of Congress
• 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
• State and Territorial Governments on USA.gov
• StateMaster - statistical database for US States.
• United States Postal Service
• U.S. States: Comparisons, rankings, demographics

Template:-