Posted by Estelle--MA on 8/1/05 8:42am
Msg #56146

The difference between Commonwealth & State

Another thread earlier discussed got my curiosity up. I was wondering what the difference was between a Commonwealth and a State. Surprisingly, there really isn't that much of a difference.

According to ask.com
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What is the difference between a State and a Commonwealth?

A search on "state difference commonwealth" turned up some useful results. At the About.com: Lawyers site, we learned that there are four commonwealths in the United States: Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky.

The difference between these commonwealths and the other 46 states is in name alone -- they elected to call themselves commonwealths, a term drawn from political theory. The About.com lawyer assured us that, legally, there is no difference between a state and these four commonwealths.

There is, however, another form of commonwealth. The ever-helpful Dictionary.com offers this alternate definition: a "self-governing, autonomous political unit voluntarily associated with the United States, namely, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands." The degree of that dependency varies from place to place, but let's consider Puerto Rico as an example.

There are a few major differences between Puerto Rico and a typical American state:

(1) The Internal Revenue Code does not apply to Puerto Rico.
(2) Puerto Rico has no voting representation in Congress.
(3) Puerto Rican citizens are not allowed to vote in presidential elections.
(4) Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens; they pay social security, can receive federal welfare, and
can serve in the armed forces. But they don't pay federal taxes, and they don't vote in
presidential elections. So far, they've voted to keep it that way. Consider it a limited
partnership.


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Reply by Charles_CA on 8/1/05 11:33am
Msg #56164

Hi Estelle:

I made the comment about states and commonwealths. Actually it was somewhat rhetorical. If you remember I was merely asking if you new the difference and I am glad that you did the research. We should all know where we come from, where we are going and how we are going to get there. This is what I said...

"I don't believe that notaries should be federally regulated. You live in one of 5 commonwealths in the US. Do you know why Massachusetts is called a commonwealth? If you don't you really should research it so that you will know because there are differences between States in the US: some subtle and some not so subtle..."

There are major differences state to state in the US. And I believe it is improtant that we know how our states differ and why. Personally I believe that the federal government usurps states rights as it is but this philosophy is not for this forum.

I moved to Amesbury many years ago and then quickly relocated across the lborder to New Hapmshire because fo the differences in the two states.

Best regards
Charles