U.S.

state
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"American states" redirects here. For the international organization, see
Organization of American States.
State
Also known as:
Commonwealth
(the self-designation of four states)
Map of USA States with names white.svg
Category Federated state
Location United States
Number 50
Populations Smallest: Wyoming, 576,851
Largest: California, 39,538,223[1]
Areas Smallest: Rhode Island, 1,545 square miles (4,000 km2)
Largest: Alaska, 665,384 square miles (1,723,340 km2)[2]
Government
State government
Subdivisions
County (or equivalent)
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are
currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental
jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its
sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans
are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside.[3]
State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is
required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of
court orders (such as paroled convicts and children of divorced spouses who are
sharing custody).

State governments in the U.S. are allocated power by the people (of each respective
state) through their individual state constitutions. All are grounded in republican
principles (this being required by the federal constitution), and each provides for
a government, consisting of three branches, each with separate and independent
powers: executive, legislative, and judicial.[4] States are divided into counties
or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local governmental authority but
are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state,
and states also create other local governments.

States, unlike U.S. territories, possess many powers and rights under the United
States Constitution. States and their citizens are represented in the United States
Congress, a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the House of
Representatives. Each state is also entitled to select a number of electors (equal
to the total number of representatives and senators from that state) to vote in the
Electoral College, the body that directly elects the president of the United
States. Additionally, each state has the opportunity to ratify constitutional
amendments, and, with the consent of Congress, two or more states may enter into
interstate compacts with one another. The police power of each state is also
recognized.

Historically, the tasks of local law enforcement, public education, public health,
intrastate commerce regulation, and local transportation and infrastructure, in
addition to local, state, and federal elections, have generally been considered
primarily state responsibilities, although all of these now 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 and incorporation, 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 the federal government and the rights of
individuals.

The Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the
Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776 by the Thirteen
Colonies, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50. Each new
state has been admitted on an equal footing with the existing states.[5] While the
Constitution does not explicitly discuss the issue of whether states have the power
to secede from the Union, shortly after the Civil War, the U.S. Supreme Court, in
Texas v. White, held that a state cannot unilaterally do so.[6][7]

Contents
1 List
2 Background
3 Governments
3.1 Constitutions
3.1.1 Executive
3.1.2 Legislative
3.1.3 Judicial
3.2 Unitarism
4 Relationships
4.1 Interstate
4.2 With the federal government
4.3 With other countries
5 Admission into the Union
6 Proposed additions
6.1 Puerto Rico
6.2 Washington, D.C.
7 Secession from the Union
8 Name origins
9 Geography
9.1 Borders
9.2 Regional grouping
10 See also
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
List
Further information on each U.S. state: List of states and territories of the
United States
See also: List of U.S. state abbreviations
The 50 U.S. states, in alphabetical order, along with each state's flag:

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

Map of USA with state names 2.svg

Background
The 13 original states came into existence in July 1776 during the American
Revolutionary War (1775–1783), as the successors of the Thirteen Colonies, upon
agreeing to the Lee Resolution[8] and signing the United States Declaration of
Independence.[9] Prior to these events each state had been a British colony;[8]
each then joined the first Union of states between 1777 and 1781, upon ratifying
the Articles of Confederation, the first U.S. constitution.[10][11] Also during
this period, the newly independent states developed their own individual state
constitutions, among the earliest written constitutions in the world.[12] Although
different in detail, these state constitutions shared features that would be
important in the American constitutional order: they were republican in form, and
separated power among three branches, most had bicameral legislatures, and
contained statements of, or a bill of rights.[13] Later, from 1787 to 1790, each of
the states also ratified a new federal frame of government in the Constitution of
the United States.[14] In relation to the states, the U.S. Constitution elaborated
concepts of federalism.[15]

Governments
Main article: State governments of the United States
Further information: Comparison of U.S. state governments
This article is part of a series on
Political divisions of
the United States
Coat of arms of the United States
First level
State (Commonwealth)
Federal districtTerritory (Commonwealth)
Indian reservation (list) / Hawaiian home land / Alaska Native tribal entity /
Pueblo / Off-reservation trust land / Tribal Jurisdictional Area
Second level
County / Parish / BoroughUnorganized Borough / Census area / Villages / District
(USVI) / District (AS)
Consolidated city-countyIndependent cityMunicipality
Unorganized atoll
State-recognized tribes
Third level
Township
Cities, towns, and villagesCoterminous municipality
Census-designated place
BarrioChapter
Fourth level
Ward
Other areas
Protected areas (Conservation district, National monument, National park)
Congressional district
Homeowner association
Associated state
Military baseFederal enclave
Unincorporated areaGhost town
Flag of the United States.svg
United States portal
vte
Under U.S. constitutional law, the 50 individual states and the United States as a
whole are each sovereign jurisdictions.[16] The states are not administrative
divisions of the country; the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
reserves to the states or to the people all powers of government not delegated to
the federal government.

Consequently, each of the 50 states reserves the right to organize its individual
government in any way (within the broad parameters set by the U.S. Constitution and
the Republican Guarantee enforced by Congress) deemed appropriate by its people,
and to exercise all powers of government not delegated to the federal government by
the Constitution.[17] A state, unlike the federal government, has un-enumerated
police power, that is the right to generally make all necessary laws for the
welfare of its people.[18] As a result, while the governments of the various states
share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and
substance. No two state governments are identical.

Constitutions
The government of each state is structured in accordance with its individual
constitution. Many of these documents are more detailed and more elaborate than
their federal counterpart. The Constitution of Alabama, for example, contains
310,296 words – more than 40 times as many as the U.S. Constitution.[19] In
practice, each state has adopted a three-branch frame of government: executive,
legislative, and judicial (even though doing so has never been required).[19][20]

Early on in American history, four state governments differentiated themselves from

the others in their first constitutions by choosing to self-identify as
Commonwealths rather than as states: Virginia, in 1776;[21] Pennsylvania, in 1777;
Massachusetts, in 1780; and Kentucky, in 1792. Consequently, while these four are
states like the other states, each is formally a commonwealth because the term is
contained in its constitution.[22] The term, commonwealth, which refers to a state
in which the supreme power is vested in the people, was first used in Virginia
during the Interregnum, the 1649–60 period between the reigns of Charles I and
Charles II during which parliament's Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector established
a republican government known as the Commonwealth of England. Virginia became a
royal colony again in 1660, and the word was dropped from the full title; it went
unused until reintroduced in 1776.[21]

Executive
Further information: Governor (United States)
In each state, the chief executive is called the governor, who serves as both head
of state and head of government. All governors are chosen by direct election. The
governor may approve or veto bills passed by the state legislature, as well as
recommend and work for the passage of bills, usually supported by their political
party. In 44 states, governors have line item veto power.[23] Most states have a
plural executive, meaning that the governor is not the only government official in
the state responsible for its executive branch. In these states, executive power is
distributed amongst other officials,[24] elected by the people independently of the
governor—such as the lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, secretary
of state, and others.

Elections of officials in the United States are generally for a fixed term of
office. The constitutions of 19 states allow for citizens to remove and replace an
elected public official before the end of their term of office through a recall
election.[25] Each state follows its own procedures for recall elections, and sets
its own restrictions on how often, and how soon after a general election, they may
be held. In all states, the legislatures can remove state executive branch
officials, including governors, who have committed serious abuses of their power
from office. The process of doing so includes impeachment (the bringing of specific
charges), and a trial, in which legislators act as a jury.[25]

Legislative
Further information: State legislature (United States)
The primary responsibilities of state legislatures are to enact state laws and
appropriate money for the administration of public policy.[23] In all states, if
the governor vetoes a bill (or a portion of one), it can still become law if the
legislature overrides the veto (repasses the bill), which in most states requires a
two-thirds vote in each chamber.[23] In 49 of the 50 states the legislature
consists of two chambers: a lower house (variously called the House of
Representatives, State Assembly, General Assembly or House of Delegates) and a
smaller upper house, in all states called the Senate. The exception is the
unicameral Nebraska Legislature, which has only a single chamber.[26] Most states
have a part-time legislature (traditionally called a citizen legislature). Ten
state legislatures are considered full-time; these bodies are more similar to the
U.S. Congress than are the others.[27]

Members of each state's legislature are chosen by direct election. In Baker v. Carr
(1962) and Reynolds v. Sims (1964), the U.S. Supreme Court held that all states are
required to elect their legislatures in such a way as to afford each citizen the
same degree of representation (the one person, one vote standard). In practice,
most states elect legislators from single-member districts, each of which has
approximately the same population. Some states, such as Maryland and Vermont,
divide the state into single- and multi-member districts. In this case, multi-
member districts must have proportionately larger populations, e.g., a district
electing two representatives must have approximately twice the population of a
district electing just one. The voting systems used across the nation are: first-
past-the-post in single-member districts, and multiple non-transferable vote in
multi-member districts.
In 2013, there were a total of 7,383 legislators in the 50 state legislative
bodies. They earned from $0 annually (New Mexico) to $90,526 (California). There
were various per diem and mileage compensation.[28]

Judicial
Further information: State court (United States)
States can also organize their judicial systems differently from the federal
judiciary, as long as they protect the federal constitutional right of their
citizens to procedural due process. Most have a trial-level court, generally called
a District Court, Superior Court or Circuit Court, a first-level appellate court,
generally called a Court of Appeal (or Appeals), and a Supreme Court. Oklahoma and
Texas have separate highest courts for criminal appeals. Uniquely, in New York
State, the trial court is called the Supreme Court; appeals go up first to the
Supreme Court's Appellate Division, and from there to the Court of Appeals.

State court systems exercise broad, plenary, and general jurisdiction, in contrast
to the federal courts, which are courts of limited jurisdiction. The overwhelming
majority of criminal and civil cases in the United States are heard in state
courts. Each year, roughly 30 million new cases are filed in state courts and the
total number of judges across all state courts is about 30,000—for comparison, 1
million new cases are filed each year in federal courts, which have about 1,700
judges.[29]

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, a former French colony, which draws large parts of
its legal system from French civil law.

Only a few states choose to have the judges on the state's courts serve for life
terms. In most states, the judges, including the justices of the highest court in
the state, are either elected or appointed for terms of a limited number of years
and are usually eligible for re-election or reappointment.

Unitarism
All states are unitary states, not federations or aggregates of local governments.
Local governments within them are created by and exist by virtue of state law, and
local governments within each state are subject to the central authority of that
particular state. State governments commonly delegate some authority to local units
and channel policy decisions down to them for implementation.[30] In a few states,
local units of government are permitted a degree of home rule over various matters.
The prevailing legal theory of state preeminence over local governments, referred
to as Dillon's Rule, holds that,

A municipal corporation possesses and can exercise the following powers and no
others: First, those granted in express words; second, those necessarily implied or
necessarily incident to the powers expressly granted; third, those absolutely
essential to the declared objects and purposes of the corporation—not simply
convenient but indispensable; fourth, any fair doubt as to the existence of power
is resolved by the courts against the corporation—against the existence of the
powers.[31]

Each state defines for itself what powers it will allow local governments.
Generally, four categories of power may be given to local jurisdictions:

Structural – power to choose the form of government, charter and enact charter
revisions,
Functional – power to exercise local self-government in a broad or limited manner,
Fiscal – authority to determine revenue sources, set tax rates, borrow funds and
other related financial activities,
Personnel – authority to set employment rules, remuneration rates, employment
conditions and collective bargaining.[32]
Relationships
Interstate
Each state admitted to the Union by Congress since 1789 has entered it on an equal
footing with the original states in all respects.[33] With the growth of states'
rights advocacy during the antebellum period, the Supreme Court asserted, in Lessee
of Pollard v. Hagan (1845), that the Constitution mandated admission of new states
on the basis of equality.[34] With the consent of Congress, states may enter into
interstate compacts, agreements between two or more states. Compacts are frequently
used to manage a shared resource, such as transportation infrastructure or water
rights.[35]

Under Article IV of the Constitution, which outlines the relationship between the
states, each state is 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 most contracts and criminal judgments, and before 1865, slavery status. Under
the Extradition Clause, a state must extradite people located there who have fled
charges of "treason, felony, or other crimes" in another state if the other state
so demands. The principle of hot pursuit of a presumed felon and arrest by the law
officers of one state in another state are often permitted by a state.[36]

The full faith and credit expectation does have exceptions, some legal
arrangements, such as professional licensure and marriages, may be state-specific,
and until recently states have not been found by the courts to be required to honor
such arrangements from other states.[37] Such legal acts are nevertheless often
recognized state-to-state according to the common practice of comity. States are
prohibited from discriminating against citizens of other states with respect to
their basic rights, under the Privileges and Immunities Clause.

With the federal government

Further information: Federalism in the United States
Under Article IV, each state is guaranteed a form of government that is grounded in
republican principles, such as the consent of the governed.[38] This guarantee has
long been at the forefront of the debate about the rights of citizens vis-à-vis the
government. States are also guaranteed protection from invasion, and, upon the
application of the state legislature (or executive, if the legislature cannot be
convened), from domestic violence. This provision was discussed during the 1967
Detroit riot but was not invoked.

Ownership of federal lands in the 50 states

The Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution,
federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute
the supreme law of the land.[39] It provides that state courts are bound by the
supreme law; in case of conflict between federal and state law, the federal law
must be applied. Even state constitutions are subordinate to federal law.[40]

States' rights are understood mainly with reference to the Tenth Amendment. The
Constitution delegates some powers to the national government, and it forbids some
powers to the states. The Tenth Amendment reserves all other powers to the states,
or to the people. Powers of the U.S. Congress are enumerated in Article I, Section
8, for example, the power to declare war. Making treaties is one power forbidden to
the states, being listed among other such powers in Article I, Section 10.

Among the Article I enumerated powers of Congress is the power to regulate

commerce. Since the early 20th century, the Supreme Court's interpretation of this
"Commerce Clause" has, over time, greatly expanded the scope of federal power, at
the expense of powers formerly considered purely states' matters. The Cambridge
Economic History of the United States says, "On the whole, especially after the
mid-1880s, the Court construed the Commerce Clause in favor of increased federal
power."[41] In 1941, the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Darby upheld the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938, holding that Congress had the power under the Commerce
Clause to regulate employment conditions.[42] Then, one year later, in Wickard v.
Filburn, the Court expanded federal power to regulate the economy by holding that
federal authority under the commerce clause extends to activities which may appear
to be local in nature but in reality effect the entire national economy and are
therefore of national concern.[43] For example, Congress can regulate railway
traffic across state lines, but it may also regulate rail traffic solely within a
state, based on the reality that intrastate traffic still affects interstate
commerce. Through such decisions, argues law professor David F. Forte, "the Court
turned the commerce power into the equivalent of a general regulatory power and
undid the Framers' original structure of limited and delegated powers."
Subsequently, Congress invoked the Commerce Clause to expand federal criminal
legislation, as well as for social reforms such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Only within the past couple of decades, through decisions in cases such as those in
U.S. v. Lopez (1995) and U.S. v. Morrison (2000), has the Court tried to limit the
Commerce Clause power of Congress.[44]

Another enumerated congressional power is its taxing and spending power.[45] An

example of this is the system of federal aid for highways, which include the
Interstate Highway System. The system is mandated and largely funded by the federal
government and serves the interests of the states. By threatening to withhold
federal highway funds, Congress has been able to pressure state legislatures to
pass various laws.[citation needed] An example is the nationwide legal drinking age
of 21, enacted by each state, brought about by the National Minimum Drinking Age
Act. Although some objected that this infringes on states' rights, the Supreme
Court upheld the practice as a permissible use of the Constitution's Spending
Clause in South Dakota v. Dole 483 U.S. 203 (1987).

As prescribed by Article I of the Constitution, which establishes the U.S.

Congress, each state is represented in the Senate (irrespective of population size)
by two senators, and each is guaranteed at least one representative in the House.
Both senators and representatives are chosen in direct popular elections in the
various states. (Prior to 1913, senators were elected by state legislatures.) There
are presently 100 senators, who are elected at-large to staggered terms of six
years, with one-third of them being chosen every two years. Representatives are
elected at large or from single-member districts to terms of two years (not
staggered). The size of the House—presently 435 voting members—is set by federal
statute. Seats in the House are distributed among the states in proportion to the
most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census.[46] The borders of these
districts are established by the states individually through a process called
redistricting, and within each state all districts are required to have
approximately equal populations.[47]

Citizens in each state plus those in the District of Columbia indirectly elect the
president and vice president. When casting ballots in presidential elections they
are voting for presidential electors, who then, using procedures provided in the
12th amendment, elect the president and vice president.[48] There were 538 electors
for the most recent presidential election in 2020; the allocation of electoral
votes was based on the 2010 census.[49] Each state is entitled to a number of
electors equal to the total number of representatives and senators from that state;
the District of Columbia is entitled to three electors.[50]

While the Constitution does set parameters for the election of federal officials,
state law, not federal, regulates most aspects of elections in the U.S., including
primaries, the eligibility of voters (beyond the basic constitutional definition),
the running of each state's electoral college, as well as the running of state and
local elections. All elections—federal, state, and local—are administered by the
individual states, and some voting rules and procedures may differ among them.[51]

Article V of the Constitution accords states a key role in the process of amending
the U.S. Constitution. Amendments may be proposed either by Congress with a two-
thirds vote in both the House and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention
called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures.[52] To become part of the
Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by either—as determined by Congress—the
legislatures of three-quarters of the states or state ratifying conventions in
three-quarters of the states.[53] The vote in each state (to either ratify or
reject a proposed amendment) carries equal weight, regardless of a state's
population or length of time in the Union.

With other countries

U.S. states are not sovereign in the Westphalian sense in international law which
says that each State has sovereignty over its territory and domestic affairs, to
the exclusion of all external powers, on the principle of non-interference in
another State's domestic affairs, and that each State (no matter how large or
small) is equal in international law.[54] Additionally, the 50 U.S. states do not
possess international legal sovereignty, meaning that they are not recognized by
other sovereign States such as, for example, France, Germany or the United Kingdom.
[54] The federal government is responsible for international relations, but state
and local government leaders do occasionally travel to other countries and form
economic and cultural relationships.

Admission into the Union

Main article: Admission to the Union

U.S. states by date of statehood:

1776–1790   1791–1796
1803–1819   1820–1837
1845–1859   1861–1876
1889–1896   1907–1912
1959

The order in which the original 13 states ratified the Constitution, then the order
in which the others were admitted to the Union
Article IV also grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the
Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states
has expanded from the original 13 to 50. Each new state has been admitted on an
equal footing with the existing states.[34] Article IV also forbids the creation of
new states from parts of existing states without the consent of both the affected
states and Congress. This caveat was designed to give Eastern states that still had
Western land claims (including Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia), to have a
veto over whether their western counties could become states,[33] and has served
this same function since, whenever a proposal to partition an existing state or
states in order that a region within might either join another state or to create a
new state has come before Congress.

Most of the states admitted to the Union after the original 13 were formed from an
organized territory established and governed by Congress in accord with its plenary
power under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2.[55] The outline for this process was
established by the Northwest Ordinance (1787), which predates the ratification of
the Constitution. In some cases, an entire territory has become a state; in others
some part of a territory has.

When the people of a territory make their desire for statehood known to the federal
government, Congress may pass an enabling act authorizing the people of that
territory to organize a constitutional convention to write a state constitution as
a step toward admission to the Union. Each act details the mechanism by which the
territory will be admitted as a state following ratification of their constitution
and election of state officers. Although the use of an enabling act is a
traditional historic practice, a number of territories have drafted constitutions
for submission to Congress absent an enabling act and were subsequently admitted.
Upon acceptance of that constitution and meeting any additional Congressional
stipulations, Congress has always admitted that territory as a state.

In addition to the original 13, six subsequent states were never an organized
territory of the federal government, or part of one, before being admitted to the
Union. Three were set off from an already existing state, two entered the Union
after having been sovereign states, and one was established from unorganized
territory:

California, 1850, from land ceded to the United States by Mexico in 1848 under the
terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.[56][57][58]
Kentucky, 1792, from Virginia (District of Kentucky: Fayette, Jefferson, and
Lincoln counties)[56][57][59]
Maine, 1820, from Massachusetts (District of Maine)[56][57][59]
Texas, 1845, previously the Republic of Texas[56][57][60]
Vermont, 1791, previously the Vermont Republic (also known as the New Hampshire
Grants and claimed by New York)[56][57][61]
West Virginia, 1863, from Virginia (Trans-Allegheny region counties) during the
Civil War[57][59][62]
Congress is under no obligation to admit states, even in those areas whose
population expresses a desire for statehood. Such has been the case numerous times
during the nation's history. In one instance, Mormon pioneers in Salt Lake City
sought to establish the state of Deseret in 1849. It existed for slightly over two
years and was never approved by the United States Congress. In another, leaders of
the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole) in
Indian Territory proposed to establish the state of Sequoyah in 1905, as a means to
retain control of their lands.[63] The proposed constitution ultimately failed in
the U.S. Congress. Instead, the Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory were both
incorporated into the new state of Oklahoma in 1907. The first instance occurred
while the nation still operated under the Articles of Confederation. The State of
Franklin existed for several years, not long after the end of the American
Revolution, but was never recognized by the Confederation Congress, which
ultimately recognized North Carolina's claim of sovereignty over the area. The
territory comprising Franklin later became part of the Southwest Territory, and
ultimately of the state of Tennessee.

Additionally, the entry of several states into the Union was delayed due to
distinctive complicating factors. Among them, Michigan Territory, which petitioned
Congress for statehood in 1835, was not admitted to the Union until 1837, due to a
boundary dispute with the adjoining state of Ohio. The Republic of Texas requested
annexation to the United States in 1837, but fears about potential conflict with
Mexico delayed the admission of Texas for nine years.[64] Statehood for Kansas
Territory was held up for several years (1854–61) due to a series of internal
violent conflicts involving anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions. West Virginia's
bid for statehood was also delayed over slavery and was settled when it agreed to
adopt a gradual abolition plan.[65]

Further information: Historic regions of the United States and List of U.S. state
partition proposals
Proposed additions
Further information: 51st state
Puerto Rico
Main articles: Political status of Puerto Rico and Proposed political status for
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, an unincorporated U.S. territory, refers to itself as the
"Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" in the English version of its constitution, and as
"Estado Libre Asociado" (literally, Associated Free State) in the Spanish version.
As with all U.S. territories, its residents do not have full representation in the
United States Congress. Puerto Rico has limited representation in the U.S. House of
Representatives in the form of a Resident Commissioner, a delegate with limited
voting rights in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, but no
voting rights otherwise.[66]

A non-binding referendum on statehood, independence, or a new option for an

associated territory (different from the current status) was held on November 6,
2012. Sixty one percent (61%) of voters chose the statehood option, while one third
of the ballots were submitted blank.[67][68]

On December 11, 2012, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico enacted a concurrent
resolution requesting the President and the Congress of the United States to
respond to the referendum of the people of Puerto Rico, held on November 6, 2012,
to end its current form of territorial status and to begin the process to admit
Puerto Rico as a state.[69]

Another status referendum was held on June 11, 2017, in which 97% percent of voters
chose statehood. Turnout was low, as only 23% of voters went to the polls, with
advocates of both continued territorial status and independence urging voters to
boycott it.[70]

On June 27, 2018, the H.R. 6246 Act was introduced on the U.S. House with the
purpose of responding to, and comply with, the democratic will of the United States
citizens residing in Puerto Rico as expressed in the plebiscites held on November
6, 2012, and June 11, 2017, by setting forth the terms for the admission of the
territory of Puerto Rico as a state of the Union.[71] The act has 37 original
cosponsors between Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
[72]

On November 3, 2020, Puerto Rico held another referendum. In the non-binding

referendum, Puerto Ricans voted in favor of becoming a state. They also voted for a
pro-statehood governor, Pedro Pierluisi.[73]

Washington, D.C.
Main article: District of Columbia statehood movement
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. As it
is not a state, the district does not have representation in the Senate and has a
non-voting delegate in the House; neither does it have a sovereign elected
government. Additionally, before ratification of the 23rd Amendment in 1961,
district citizens did not get the right to vote in presidential elections.

The strong majority of 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. In November 2016,
Washington, D.C. residents voted in a statehood referendum in which 86% of voters
supported statehood for Washington, D.C.[74] For statehood to be achieved, it must
be approved by Congress.[75]

Secession from the Union

Main article: Secession in the United States
The Constitution is silent on the issue of whether a state can secede from the
Union. Its predecessor, the Articles of Confederation, stated that the United
States "shall be perpetual." The question of whether or not individual states held
the unilateral right to secession was a passionately debated feature of the
nations' political discourse from early in its history and remained a difficult and
divisive topic until the American Civil War. In 1860 and 1861, 11 southern states
each declared secession from the United States and joined to form the Confederate
States of America (CSA). Following the defeat of Confederate forces by Union armies
in 1865, those states were brought back into the Union during the ensuing
Reconstruction era. The federal government never recognized the sovereignty of the
CSA, nor the validity of the ordinances of secession adopted by the seceding
states.[6][76]

Following the war, the United States Supreme Court, in Texas v. White (1869), held
that states did not have the right to secede and that any act of secession was
legally void. Drawing on the Preamble to the Constitution, which states that the
Constitution was intended to "form a more perfect union" and speaks of the people
of the United States in effect as a single body politic, as well as the language of
the Articles of Confederation, the Supreme Court maintained that states did not
have a right to secede. The court's reference in the same decision to the
possibility of such changes occurring "through revolution, or through consent of
the States," essentially means that this decision holds that no state has a right
to unilaterally decide to leave the Union.[6][76]

Name origins
Further information: List of state and territory name etymologies of the United
States

A map showing the source languages of state names

The 50 states have taken their names from a wide variety of languages. Twenty-four
state names originate from Native American languages. Of these, eight are from
Algonquian languages, seven are from Siouan languages, three are from Iroquoian
languages, one is from Uto-Aztecan languages and five others are from other
indigenous languages. Hawaii's name is derived from the Polynesian Hawaiian
language.

Of the remaining names, 22 are from European languages. Seven are from Latin
(mainly Latinized forms of English names) and the rest are from English, Spanish
and French. Eleven states are named after individual people, including seven named
for royalty and one named after a President of the United States. The origins of
six state names are unknown or disputed. Several of the states that derive their
names from names used for Native peoples have retained the plural ending of "s".

Geography
Borders
The borders of the 13 original states were largely determined by colonial charters.
Their western boundaries were subsequently modified as the states ceded their
western land claims to the Federal government during the 1780s and 1790s. Many
state borders beyond those of the original 13 were set by Congress as it created
territories, divided them, and over time, created states within them. Territorial
and new state lines often followed various geographic features (such as rivers or
mountain range peaks), and were influenced by settlement or transportation
patterns. At various times, national borders with territories formerly controlled
by other countries (British North America, New France, New Spain including Spanish
Florida, and Russian America) became institutionalized as the borders of U.S.
states. In the West, relatively arbitrary straight lines following latitude and
longitude often prevail due to the sparseness of settlement west of the Mississippi
River.

Once established, most state borders have, with few exceptions, been generally
stable. Only two states, Missouri (Platte Purchase) and Nevada grew appreciably
after statehood. Several of the original states ceded land, over a several-year
period, to the Federal government, which in turn became the Northwest Territory,
Southwest Territory, and Mississippi Territory. In 1791, Maryland and Virginia
ceded land to create the District of Columbia (Virginia's portion was returned in
1847). In 1850, Texas ceded a large swath of land to the federal government.
Additionally, Massachusetts and Virginia (on two occasions), have lost land, in
each instance to form a new state.

There have been numerous other minor adjustments to state boundaries over the years
due to improved surveys, resolution of ambiguous or disputed boundary definitions,
or minor mutually agreed boundary adjustments for administrative convenience or
other purposes.[56] Occasionally, either Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court has had
to settle state border disputes. One notable example is the case New Jersey v. New
York, in which New Jersey won roughly 90% of Ellis Island from New York in 1998.
[77]

Once a territory is admitted by Congress as a state of the Union, the state must
consent to any changes pertaining to the jurisdiction of that state and Congress.
[78] The only potential violation of this occurred when the legislature of Virginia
declared the secession of Virginia from the United States at the start of the
American Civil War and a newly formed alternative Virginia legislature, recognized
by the federal government, consented to have West Virginia secede from Virginia.

Further information: How the States Got Their Shapes

Regional grouping
Further information: List of regions of the United States
States may be grouped in regions; there are many variations and possible groupings.
Many are defined in law or regulations by the federal government. For example, the
United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions.
[79] The Census Bureau region definition (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) is
"widely used ... for data collection and analysis,"[80] and is the most commonly
used classification system.[81][82][83] Other multi-state regions are unofficial,
and defined by geography or cultural affinity rather than by state lines.

See also
Insular area
ISO 3166-2:US
Local government in the United States
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Further reading
Stein, Mark, How the States Got Their Shapes, New York : Smithsonian Books/Collins,
2008. ISBN 978-0-06-143138-8
External links
Information about All States from UCB Libraries GovPubs
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)
State and Territorial Governments on USA.gov
StateMaster – statistical database for U.S. states
50states.com – States and Capitals
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