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Four states in the United States officially designate themselves "commonwealths":

* Kentucky is designated a Commonwealth by the Kentucky Constitution and is known as the "Commonwealth of Kentucky".

* Massachusetts is a Commonwealth, declaring itself such in its constitution, which states that "The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individuals: it is a social compact, by which the whole people covenants with each citizen, and each citizen with the whole people, that all shall be governed by certain laws for the common good."

* Pennsylvania uses the term "Commonwealth" loosely. The "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" is its official title.

* Virginia has been known as the "Commonwealth of Virginia" since before joining the United States.

Today the term is more general and means a political community.

The type of community indicated by the term commonwealth varies. For instance, in different contexts it might indicate:

* a political unit founded in law by agreement of the people for the common good;
* a federated union of constituent states;
* a community of sovereign states;
* a republic;
* a democratic constitutional monarchy;

2007-12-03 19:09:28 · answer #1 · answered by BeachBum 7 · 0 0

there is not any such element as a US Commonwealth. PR and Guam have been ceded to the U. S. by using Spain after the Spanish American conflict, and are defined by using the U. S. government as unincorporated based territories. the U. S. states of Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia confer with themselves as Commonwealth States, however the term is used traditionally and has no criminal or constitutional meaning. would desire to the united kingdom exchange into area of the U. S.? No, of path no longer. Your question is idiotic.

2016-09-30 08:17:27 · answer #2 · answered by graybill 4 · 0 0

it did when they were being founded 200+ years ago. Now practically speaking there is no difference between these "commonwealth" states and the other 46 states. The only difference is that in legal forms and some governmental bodies they change the word "state" to "commonwealth". Other than that, it's potatoe vs. potato, so to speak.

2007-11-30 05:08:09 · answer #3 · answered by kallista 3 · 1 0

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