U.S. states | |
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Also known as: Commonwealth (in four states) |
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Category | Federated state |
Location | ![]() |
Number | 50 |
Populations | 584,153 (Wyoming) – 38,802,500 (California)[1] |
Areas | 1,214 square miles (3,140 km2) (Rhode Island) – 663,268 square miles (1,717,860 km2) (Alaska)[2] |
Government | State government |
Subdivisions | County (or equivalent) |
Administrative divisions of the United States |
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First level |
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Second level |
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Third level |
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Fourth level |
Other areas |
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A state of the United States of America is one of the 50 constituent political entities that shares its sovereignty with the United States federal government. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the federal government, Americans are citizens of both 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 covered by certain types of court orders (e.g., paroled convicts and children of divorced spouses who are sharing custody). States range in population from just under 600,000 (Wyoming) to over 38 million (California). Four—Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia—use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.
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. State governments are allocated power by the people (of each respective state) through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in republican principles, and each provides for a government, consisting of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.[4]
States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution; among them ratifying constitutional amendments. Historically, the tasks of local law enforcement, public education, public health, regulating intrastate commerce, and local transportation and infrastructure have generally been considered primarily state responsibilities, although all of these now have significant federal funding and regulation as well. Over time, the U.S. 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.
States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each state is represented by two Senators, and at least one Representative, while additional representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census.[5] Each state is also entitled to select a number of electors to vote in the Electoral College, the body that elects the President of the United States, equal to the total of Representatives and Senators from that state.[6]
The Constitution grants to Congress[7] 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.[8] Alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of whether states have the power to secede from the Union; however, shortly after the Civil War, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, held that a state cannot unilaterally do so.[9][10]
Contents
States of the United States
The 50 U.S. states (in alphabetical order), along with state flag and date each joined the union:
Alabama • December 14, 1819
Alaska • January 3, 1959
Arizona • February 14, 1912
Arkansas • June 15, 1836
California • September 9, 1850
Colorado • August 1, 1876
Connecticut • January 9, 1788
Delaware • December 7, 1787
Florida • March 3, 1845
Georgia • January 2, 1788
Hawaii • August 21, 1959
Idaho • July 3, 1890
Illinois • December 3, 1818
Indiana • December 11, 1816
Iowa • December 28, 1846
Kansas • January 29, 1861
Kentucky • June 1, 1792
Louisiana • April 30, 1812
Maine • March 15, 1820
Maryland • April 28, 1788
Massachusetts • February 6, 1788
Michigan • January 26, 1837
Minnesota • May 11, 1858
Mississippi • December 10, 1817
Missouri • August 10, 1821
Montana • November 8, 1889
Nebraska • March 1, 1867
Nevada • October 31, 1864
New Hampshire • June 21, 1788
New Jersey • December 18, 1787
New Mexico • January 6, 1912
New York • July 26, 1788
North Carolina • November 21, 1789
North Dakota • November 2, 1889
Ohio • March 1, 1803
Oklahoma • November 16, 1907
Oregon • February 14, 1859
Pennsylvania • December 12, 1787
Rhode Island • May 29, 1790
South Carolina • May 23, 1788
South Dakota • November 2, 1889
Tennessee • June 1, 1796
Texas • December 29, 1845
Utah • January 4, 1896
Vermont • March 4, 1791
Virginia • June 25, 1788
Washington • November 11, 1889
West Virginia • June 20, 1863
Wisconsin • May 29, 1848
Wyoming • July 10, 1890
Governments
As each state is itself a sovereign entity, it reserves the right to organize its individual government in any way (within the broad parameters set by the U.S. Constitution) deemed appropriate by its people. 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. In practice, each state has adopted a three-branch system of government, modeled after the federal government, and consisting of three branches (although the three-branch structure is not required): executive, legislative, and judicial.[11][12]
Executive
In each state, the chief executive is called the governor, who serves as both head of state and head of government. The governor may approve or veto bills passed by the state legislature, as well as push for the passage of bills supported by the party of the Governor. In 43 states, governors have line item veto power.[13]
Most states have a "plural executive" in which two or more members of the executive branch are elected directly by the people. Such additional elected officials serve as members of the executive branch, but are not beholden to the governor and the governor cannot dismiss them. For example, the attorney general is elected, rather than appointed, in 43 of the 50 U.S. states.
Legislative
The legislatures of 49 of the 50 states are made up of two chambers: a lower house (termed the House of Representatives, State Assembly, General Assembly or House of Delegates) and a smaller upper house, always termed the Senate. The exception is the unicameral Nebraska Legislature, which is composed of only a single chamber.
Most states have part-time legislatures, while six of the most populated states have full-time legislatures. However, several states with high population have short legislative sessions, including Texas and Florida.[14]
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 choose to 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 which 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. If the governor vetoes legislation, all legislatures may override it, usually, but not always, requiring a two-thirds majority.
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.[15]
Judicial
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 or Superior Court, a first-level appellate court, generally called a Court of Appeal (or Appeals), and a Supreme Court. However, Oklahoma and Texas have separate highest courts for criminal appeals. In New York State the trial court is called the Supreme Court; appeals are then taken to the Supreme Court's 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, 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 of the 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.
Policies
- Property law
- Education
- Estate and inheritance law
- Commerce laws of ownership and exchange
- Banking and credit laws
- Labor law and professional licensure
- Insurance laws
- Family laws
- Morals laws
- Public health and quarantine laws
- Public works laws, including eminent domain
- Building codes
- Corporations law
- Land use laws
- Water and mineral resource laws
- Judiciary and criminal procedure laws
- Electoral laws, including parties
- Civil service laws
Relationships
Among states
Each state admitted to the Union by congress since 1789 has entered it on an equal footing with the original States in all respects.[16] 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.[17]
Under Article Four of the United States 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 legal contracts and criminal judgments, and before 1865, slavery status. Regardless of the Full Faith and Credit Clause, 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.[18]
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. 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.[19]
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.[20]
With the federal government
Every state is guaranteed[21] a form of government that is grounded in republican principles, such as the consent of the governed.[22] This guarantee has long been at the fore-front 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.
Since the early 20th century, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States to allow greatly expanded scope of federal power over time, 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."[23] In Wickard v. Filburn 317 U.S. 111 (1942), 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.[24]
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 has an impact on interstate commerce. In recent years, the Court has tried to place limits on the Commerce Clause in such cases as United States v. Lopez and United States v. Morrison.[clarification needed]
Another example of congressional power is its spending power—the ability of Congress to impose taxes and distribute the resulting revenue back to the states (subject to conditions set by Congress).[25] 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 also serves the interests of the states. By threatening to withhold federal highway funds, Congress has been able to pressure state legislatures to pass a variety of 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).
Admission into the Union
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20160414043746im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/US_states_by_date_of_statehood_RWB_dates.svg/350px-US_states_by_date_of_statehood_RWB_dates.svg.png)
Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution 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.[26] It 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 (there were 4 in 1787), to have a veto over whether their western counties could become states,[27] 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 have been created from organized territories established and governed by Congress in accord with its plenary power under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2.[28] 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 towards 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 upon 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, prior to 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.[29][30][31]
- Kentucky, 1792, from Virginia (District of Kentucky: Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln counties)[29][30][32]
- Maine, 1820, from Massachusetts (District of Maine)[29][30][32]
- Texas, 1845, previously the Republic of Texas[29][30][33]
- Vermont, 1791, previously the Vermont Republic (also known as the New Hampshire Grants and claimed by New York)[29][30][34]
- West Virginia, 1863, from Virginia (Trans-Allegheny region counties) during the Civil War[30][32][35]
Congress is 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 1837, but fears about potential conflict with Mexico delayed the admission of Texas for nine years.[36]
Once established, most state borders have been generally stable, with exceptions including the formation of the Northwest Territory in 1787 and the Southwest Territory in 1790 from various portions of the original states, the cession by Maryland and Virginia of land to create the District of Columbia in 1791 (Virginia's portion was returned in 1847), and the creation of states from other states, including the creation of Kentucky and West Virginia from Virginia, and Maine from Massachusetts. However, there have been numerous 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.[29] 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.[37]
Possible new states
There are several U.S. territories that might become new states.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico referred 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 any non-state territory of the United States, its residents do not have voting representation in the federal government. Puerto Rico has limited representation in the U.S. Congress 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, and no voting rights otherwise.[38]
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.[39][40]
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.[41]
Washington, D.C.
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. 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.
Unrecognized entities
- The State of Franklin existed for four years not long after the end of the American Revolution, but was never recognized by the union, which ultimately recognized North Carolina's claim of sovereignty over the area. A majority of the states were willing to recognize Franklin, but the number of states in favor fell short of the two-thirds majority required to admit a territory to statehood under the Articles of Confederation. The territory comprising Franklin later became part of the state of Tennessee.
- The State of Superior was a proposed state formed out of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Several prominent legislators including local politician Dominic Jacobetti formally attempted this legislation in the 1970s, with no success. As a state, it would have had, by far, the smallest population, and remaining so through the present day. Its 320,000 residents would equal only 60% of Wyoming's population, and less than 50% of Alaska's population.
- The State of Deseret was a provisional state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by the Mormon settlers in Salt Lake City. The provisional state existed for slightly over two years and was never accepted by the United States Congress. Its name was derived from the word for "honeybee" in the Book of Mormon. Its territory included most of what is now Utah and Nevada.
- The State of Sequoyah began in the early 1900s during a meeting of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw and Seminole Native American nations. At the time, the eastern part of what would later become Oklahoma encompassed the Indian Territory. The proposed constitution ultimately failed in the U.S. Congress, which balked at adding two new western states. Instead, the Indian Territory was incorporated into the new state of Oklahoma in 1907, yet many of Sequoyah's principles lived on.
- The State of Absaroka, aka "state that never was," grew out of the political discontent of the Great Depression. Frustrated with the U.S. government, a group of politicians and businessmen, led by former minor league baseball player A.R. Swickard, planned to create a new state called Absaroka. Their statehood movement began in 1939. The proposed state included large swaths of Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota, and encompassed famous landmarks such as the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. Despite its initial popularity, the statehood movement's novelty quickly wore off, and an official proposal for secession was never drafted. The movement was unsuccessful and fairly short-lived.[42]
- The States of Jefferson
- On July 24, 1859, voters defeated the formation of the proposed State of Jefferson in the Southern Rocky Mountains. On October 24, 1859, voters instead approved the formation of the Jefferson Territory, which was superseded by the Territory of Colorado on February 28, 1861.
- In 1915, a second State of Jefferson was proposed for the northern third of Texas but failed to obtain majority approval by the Texas Senate.
- In 1941, a third State of Jefferson was proposed in the mostly rural area of southern Oregon and northern California, but was cancelled as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This proposal has been raised several times since.
- The States of Lincoln
- Lincoln is another state that has been proposed multiple times. It generally consists of the eastern portion of Washington state and the panhandle of the northern portion of Idaho. It was originally proposed by Idaho in 1864 to include just the panhandle of Idaho, and again in 1901 to include eastern Washington. Proposals have come up in 1996, 1999, and 2005.
- Lincoln is also the name of a failed state proposal after the American Civil War in 1869. It consisted of the area south and west of Texas' Colorado River.
Secession
The Constitution is silent on the issue of the secession of a state from the union. However, its predecessor document, the Articles of Confederation, stated that the United States "shall be perpetual." The question of whether or not individual states held the right to unilateral secession remained a difficult and divisive one until the American Civil War. In 1860 and 1861, eleven southern states seceded, but following their defeat in the American Civil War were brought back into the Union during the Reconstruction Era. The federal government never recognized the secession of any of the rebellious states.[9][43]
Following the Civil War, the United States Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, 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. However, 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.[9][43]
Commonwealths
Four states—Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia —adopted Constitutions early in their post-colonial existence identifying themselves as commonwealths, rather than states. These commonwealths are states, but legally, each is a commonwealth because the term is contained in its constitution.[44] As a result, “commonwealth” is used in all public and other state writings, actions or activities within their bounds.
The term, 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. When Virginia adopted its first constitution on June 29, 1776, it was reintroduced.[45] Pennsylvania followed suit when it drew up a constitution later that year, as did Massachusetts, in 1780, and Kentucky, in 1792.[44]
Somewhat confusingly, the U.S. territories of the Northern Marianas and Puerto Rico are also referred to as commonwealths, and that designation does have a legal status different from that of the 50 states. Both of these commonwealths are unincorporated territories of the United States.
Origins of states' names
Twenty-four of the states' 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 from Latin (mainly Latinized forms of English names), the rest are from English, Spanish and French. Eleven states are named after people, including seven named for royalty and one named after an American president. The origins of six state names are unknown or disputed.
Geography
Regional grouping
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.
Borders
The northern and southern borders of the Thirteen Colonies on the East Coast were largely determined by colonial charters and anchoring coastal settlements. The western boundaries were determined by the limits of transportation, the infeasibility of settling areas dominated by Native Americans and foreign powers, and the decision to create new states out of western territories.
River borders between states are common. At various times, national borders with territories formerly controlled by other countries (namely the British colonies of Canada, New France, New Spain including Spanish Florida, and Russian America) became institutionalized as the borders of U.S. states. Alaska was formerly the colony of Russian America.
Most borders beyond the Thirteen Colonies were created by Congress as it created territories, divided them, and turned them into states as they became more populated. Territorial and new state lines followed various geographic features, economic units, and the pattern of settlement. In the West, relatively arbitrary straight lines following latitude and longitude often prevail, due to the sparseness of settlement west of the Mississippi River.
Faster transportation also meant that larger states were more feasible to govern from a single capital. Vermont, California, and Texas were each briefly independent nations, as was Hawaii for a more extensive period of time. Some states were previously part of other states, including Maine, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Occasionally the United States Congress or the United States Supreme Court have settled state border disputes.
Statistical areas
References
- ^ "Table 1: Annual Estimates for the Resident Populations of the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico". Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ "United States Summary: 2000" (PDF). U.S. Census 2000. U. S. Census Bureau. April 2004. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ^ Erler, Edward. "Essays on Amendment XIV: Citizenship". The Heritage Foundation.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About the Minnesota Legislature". Minnesota State Legislature.
- ^ Kristin D. Burnett. "Congressional Apportionment (2010 Census Briefs C2010BR-08)" (PDF). U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration.
- ^ Elhauge, Einer R. "Essays on Article II: Presidential Electors". The Heritage Foundation.
- ^ Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution
- ^ "Doctrine of the Equality of States". Justia.com.
- ^ a b c Aleksandar Pavković, Peter Radan, Creating New States: Theory and Practice of Secession, p. 222, Ashgate Publishing, 2007.
- ^ "Texas v. White 74 U.S. 700 (1868)". Justia.com.
- ^ "State & Local Government". whitehouse.gov. The White House.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About the Minnesota Legislature". Minnesota State Legislature.
- ^ "Gubernatorial Veto Authority with Respect to Major Budget Bill(s)". National Conference of State Legislatures.
- ^ http://www.reformcal.com/citleg_historical.pdf
- ^ Wilson, Reid (August 23, 2013). "GovBeat:For legislators, salaries start at zero". Washington Post (Washington, DC). pp. A2. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ Forte, David F. "Essays on Article IV: New States Clause". The Heritage Guide to the Constitution. The Heritage Foundation.
- ^ "Doctrine of the Equality of States". Justia.com. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
- ^ Adam Liptak (March 17, 2004). "Bans on Interracial Unions Offer Perspective on Gay Ones". New York Times.
- ^ "Hot Pursuit Law & Legal Definition". USLegal, Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- ^ deGolian, Crady. "Interstate Compacts: Background and History". Council on State Governments. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution
- ^ Ernest B. Abbott; Otto J. Hetzel (2010). Homeland Security and Emergency Management: A Legal Guide for State and Local Governments. American Bar Association. p. 52.
- ^ Stanley Lewis Engerman (2000). The Cambridge economic history of the United States: the colonial era. Cambridge University Press. p. 464. ISBN 978-0-521-55307-0.
- ^ David Shultz (2005). Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court. Infobase Publishing. p. 522. ISBN 978-0-8160-5086-4.
- ^ "Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 8". Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Doctrine of the Equality of States". Justia.com.
- ^ Forte, David F. "Essays on Article IV: New States Clause". The Heritage Guide to the Constitution. The Heritage Foundation.
- ^ "Property and Territory: Powers of Congress". Justia.com.
- ^ a b c d e f Stein, Mark (2008). How the States Got Their Shapes. New York: Collins (HarperCollinsPublishers) [Smithsonian Books]. pp. xvi + 334. ISBN 9780061431395.
- ^ a b c d e f "Official Name and Status History of the several States and U.S. Territories". TheGreenPapers.com.
- ^ "California Admission Day September 9, 1850". CA.gov. California Department of Parks and Recreation.
- ^ a b c Michael P. Riccards, "Lincoln and the Political Question: The Creation of the State of West Virginia" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, 1997 online edition
- ^ Holt, Michael F. (200). The fate of their country: politicians, slavery extension, and the coming of the Civil War. New York: Hill and Wang. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-8090-4439-9.
- ^ "The 14th State". Vermont History Explorer. Vermont Historical Society.
- ^ "A State of Convenience: The Creation of West Virginia, Chapter Twelve, Reorganized Government of Virginia Approves Separation". Wvculture.org. West Virginia Division of Culture and History.
- ^ Richard Bruce Winders (2002). Crisis in the Southwest: the United States, Mexico, and the struggle over Texas. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 82, 92. ISBN 978-0-8420-2801-1.
- ^ "THE ELLIS ISLAND VERDICT: THE RULING; High Court Gives New Jersey Most of Ellis Island". New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
- ^ "Rules of the House of Representatives" (PDF). Retrieved July 25, 2010.
- ^ "Puerto Ricans favor statehood for first time". CNN. November 7, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- ^ "Puerto Ricans opt for statehood". Fox News. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- ^ The Senate and the House of Representative of Puerto Rico Concurrent Resolution
- ^ Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Wyoming. Wyoming: A Guide to Its History, Highways, and People. Oxford University Press. 1941.
- ^ a b Texas v. White, 74 U.S. 700 (1868) at Cornell University Law School Supreme Court collection.
- ^ a b "Why is Massachusetts a Commonwealth?". Mass.Gov. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
- ^ Salmon, Emily J.; Edward D. C. Campbell, Jr., eds. (1994). The Hornbook of Virginia History (4th ed.). Richmond, VA: Virginia Office of Graphic Communications. p. 88. ISBN 0-88490-177-7.
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
- U.S. States: Comparisons, rankings, demographics
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