U.S. state Category Federated state Location United States Number 50 Government State government Administrative divisions of the United States First level States

--- Commonwealth --- Indian reservation --- Territories Second level County

Consolidated citycounty Third level Cities towns and villages

Civil township

A U.S. state (abbreviation of United States state) is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile.1 Four states use the official title of commonwealth rather than state. State citizenship is 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 these two levels of government. By ratifying the Constitution the people transferred certain limited sovereign powers to the federal government from their states. Under the Tenth Amendment all powers not delegated to the U.S. government nor prohibited to the states are retained by the states or the people. Historically the tasks of public safety (in the sense of controlling crime) public education public health transportation and infrastructure have generally been considered primarily state responsibilities although all of these now have significant federal funding and regulation as well (based largely upon the Commerce Clause the Taxing and Spending Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution).

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 as well as the rights of individual persons.

Congress may admit new states on an equal footing with existing ones; this last happened in 1959 with the admission of Alaska and Hawaii. The Constitution is silent on the question of whether states have the power to unilaterally leave or secede from the Union but the Supreme Court has ruled23 secession to be unconstitutional a position driven in part by the outcome of the American Civil War. Contents 1 List of states 2 Federal power 3 Governments 3.1 Executive 3.2 Legislative 3.3 Judicial 4 Relationships 5 Admission into the union 5.1 Possible new states 5.1.1 Puerto Rico 5.1.1.1 History 5.1.2 Washington D.C. 5.2 Unrecognized entities 6 Secession 7 Commonwealths 8 Origin of states' names 9 Regional grouping 10 Borders 11 Lists 12 See also 13 References 14 Further reading 15 External links List of states

The following table lists each of the 50 states of the United States with the following information: The state name The preferred pronunciation of the common state name as transcribed with the International Phonetic Alphabet (see Help:IPA for English for a key) The United States Postal Service (USPS) two-character state abbreviation4 (also used as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 3166-2 country subdivision code) An image of the official state flag The date the state ratified the United States Constitution or was admitted to the Union The total land and water area of the state The United States Census 2010 of state population as of 02010-04-01 April 1 20105 The state capital The most populous incorporated place or Census Designated Place within the state as of 02008-07-01 July 1 2008 as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau6 Preceding entity of the state in which it does not account for the Ordinance of Secession during the American Civil War of 13 states 11 of which formed the Confederate States of America and the subsequent restoration of those states to representation in Congress (sometimes called "readmission") between 1866 and 1870 or the end of the reconstruction era of the United States.

The 50 United States of America Name IPA USPS Flag Date Area (sq mi) Population (2010update) Capital Most populous city Preceding entity Alabama /lbm/ AL 01819-12-14 December 14 1819 0000000000135765000000000352419 sq mi (135765 km2) 4779736 Montgomery Birmingham Alabama Territory Alaska /lsk/ AK 01959-01-03 January 3 1959 00000000017178540000000003663267 sq mi (1717854 km2) 710231 Juneau Anchorage Alaska Territory Arizona /rzon/ AZ 01912-02-14 February 14 1912 00000000002952540000000003113998 sq mi (295254 km2) 6392017 Phoenix Phoenix Arizona Territory Arkansas /rkns/ AR 01836-06-15 June 15 1836 0000000000137002000000000352897 sq mi (137002 km2) 2915918 Little Rock Little Rock Arkansas Territory California /klfrnj/ CA 01850-09-09 September 9 1850 00000000004239700000000003163700 sq mi (423970 km2) 37253956 Sacramento Los Angeles Directly admitted from Mexican Cession Colorado /klrdo/ CO 01876-08-01 August 1 1876 00000000002698370000000003104185 sq mi (269837 km2) 5029196 Denver Denver Colorado Territory Connecticut /kntkt/ CT 01788-01-09 January 9 1788 000000000001435600000000035543 sq mi (14356 km2) 3574097 Hartford Bridgeport7 Connecticut Colony then sovereign state in Confederation Delaware /dlwr/ DE 01787-12-07 December 7 1787 000000000000645200000000032491 sq mi (6452 km2) 897934 Dover Wilmington Lower Counties on Delaware then sovereign state in Confederation Florida /flrd/ FL 01845-03-03 March 3 1845 0000000000170304000000000365755 sq mi (170304 km2) 18801310 Tallahassee Jacksonville8 Florida Territory Georgia /drd/ GA 01788-01-02 January 2 1788 0000000000153909000000000359425 sq mi (153909 km2) 9687653 Atlanta Atlanta Province of Georgia then sovereign state in Confederation Hawaii /hwa.i/ HI 01959-08-21 August 21 1959 0000000000028311000000000310931 sq mi (28311 km2) 1360301 Honolulu Honolulu Territory of Hawaii Idaho /adho/ ID 01890-07-03 July 3 1890 0000000000216632000000000383642 sq mi (216632 km2) 1567582 Boise Boise Idaho Territory Illinois /ln/ IL 01818-12-03 December 3 1818 0000000000141998000000000354826 sq mi (141998 km2) 12830632 Springfield Chicago Illinois Territory formed from the Northwest Territory Indiana /ndin/ IN 01816-12-11 December 11 1816 0000000000094321000000000336418 sq mi (94321 km2) 6483802 Indianapolis Indianapolis Indiana Territory formed from the Northwest Territory Iowa /a.w/ IA 01846-12-28 December 28 1846 0000000000145743000000000356272 sq mi (145743 km2) 3046355 Des Moines Des Moines Iowa Territory Kansas /knzs/ KS 01861-01-29 January 29 1861 0000000000213096000000000382277 sq mi (213096 km2) 2853118 Topeka Wichita Kansas Territory Kentucky9 /kntki/ KY 01792-06-01 June 1 1792 0000000000104659000000000340409 sq mi (104659 km2) 4339367 Frankfort Louisville Split off from Virginia with that state's consent. The former huge Kentucky County Louisiana /luizin/ LA 01812-04-30 April 30 1812 0000000000135382000000000352271 sq mi (135382 km2) 4533372 Baton Rouge New Orleans Territory of Orleans Maine /men/ ME 01820-03-15 March 15 1820 0000000000091646000000000335385 sq mi (91646 km2) 1328361 Augusta Portland Split off from Massachusetts with that state's consent (the former District of Maine) Maryland /mrlnd/ MD 01788-04-28 April 28 1788 0000000000032133000000000312407 sq mi (32133 km2) 5773552 Annapolis Baltimore10 Province of Maryland then sovereign state in Confederation Massachusetts9 /mstusts/ MA 01788-02-06 February 6 1788 0000000000027336000000000310554 sq mi (27336 km2) 6547629 Boston Boston Province of Massachusetts Bay then sovereign state in Confederation Michigan /mn/ MI 01837-01-26 January 26 1837 0000000000253793000000000397990 sq mi (253793 km2) 9883640 Lansing Detroit Michigan Territory formed from the Northwest Territory Minnesota /mnsot/ MN 01858-05-11 May 11 1858 0000000000225181000000000386943 sq mi (225181 km2) 5303925 Saint Paul Minneapolis Minnesota Territory Mississippi /msspi/ MS 01817-12-10 December 10 1817 0000000000125443000000000348434 sq mi (125443 km2) 2967297 Jackson Jackson Mississippi Territory formed from land donated to the U.S. by Georgia Missouri /mzri mzr/ MO 01821-08-10 August 10 1821 0000000000180533000000000369704 sq mi (180533 km2) 5988927 Jefferson City Kansas City11 Missouri Territory Montana /mntn/ MT 01889-11-08 November 8 1889 00000000003811560000000003147165 sq mi (381156 km2) 989415 Helena Billings Montana Territory Nebraska /nbrsk/ NE 01867-03-01 March 1 1867 0000000000200520000000000377420 sq mi (200520 km2) 1826341 Lincoln Omaha Nebraska Territory Nevada /nvd/ NV 01864-10-31 October 31 1864 00000000002863670000000003110567 sq mi (286367 km2) 2700551 Carson City Las Vegas Nevada Territory New Hampshire /nu hmpr/ NH 01788-06-21 June 21 1788 000000000002421700000000039350 sq mi (24217 km2) 1316470 Concord Manchester12 Province of New Hampshire then sovereign state in Confederation New Jersey /nu drzi/ NJ 01787-12-18 December 18 1787 000000000002260800000000038729 sq mi (22608 km2) 8791894 Trenton Newark13 Province of New Jersey then sovereign state in Confederation New Mexico /nu mksko/ NM 01912-01-06 January 6 1912 00000000003151940000000003121697 sq mi (315194 km2) 2059179 Santa Fe Albuquerque New Mexico Territory New York /nu jrk/ NY 01788-07-26 July 26 1788 0000000000141299000000000354556 sq mi (141299 km2) 19378102 Albany New York City14 Province of New York then sovereign state in Confederation North Carolina /nr krlan/ NC 01789-11-21 November 21 1789 0000000000139509000000000353865 sq mi (139509 km2) 9535483 Raleigh Charlotte Province of North Carolina then sovereign state in Confederation North Dakota /nr dkot/ ND 01889-11-02 November 2 1889 0000000000183272000000000370762 sq mi (183272 km2) 672591 Bismarck Fargo Dakota Territory Ohio /oha.o/ OH 01803-03-01 March 1 1803 0000000000116096000000000344825 sq mi (116096 km2) 11536504 Columbus Columbus15 Northwest Territory land donated to the U.S. by Pennsylvania Virginia and New York Oklahoma /oklhom/ OK 01907-11-16 November 16 1907 0000000000181195000000000369960 sq mi (181195 km2) 3751351 Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory Oregon /rn/ OR 01859-02-14 February 14 1859 0000000000255026000000000398466 sq mi (255026 km2) 3831074 Salem Portland Oregon Territory Pennsylvania9 /pnslvenj/ PA 01787-12-12 December 12 1787 0000000000119283000000000346055 sq mi (119283 km2) 12702379 Harrisburg Philadelphia Province of Pennsylvania then sovereign state in Confederation Rhode Island16 /rd alnd/ RI 01790-05-29 May 29 1790 000000000000314000000000031210 sq mi (3140 km2) 1052567 Providence Providence Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations then sovereign state South Carolina /sa krlan/ SC 01788-05-23 May 23 1788 0000000000082931000000000332020 sq mi (82931 km2) 4625364 Columbia Columbia17 Province of South Carolina then sovereign state in Confederation South Dakota /sa dkot/ SD 01889-11-02 November 2 1889 0000000000199905000000000377184 sq mi (199905 km2) 814180 Pierre Sioux Falls Dakota Territory Tennessee /tnsi/ TN 01796-06-01 June 1 1796 0000000000109247000000000342181 sq mi (109247 km2) 6346105 Nashville Memphis18 Formed from western land donated to the U.S. by North Carolina Texas /tkss/ TX 01845-12-29 December 29 1845 00000000006962410000000003268820 sq mi (696241 km2) 25145561 Austin Houston19 Republic of Texas Utah /jut/ UT 01896-01-04 January 4 1896 0000000000219887000000000384899 sq mi (219887 km2) 2763885 Salt Lake City Salt Lake City Utah Territory Vermont /vrmnt/ VT 01791-03-04 March 4 1791 000000000002492300000000039623 sq mi (24923 km2) 625741 Montpelier Burlington Province of New York and New Hampshire Grants (ownership disputed); Vermont Republic Virginia9 /vrdnj/ VA 01788-06-25 June 25 1788 0000000000110785000000000342774 sq mi (110785 km2) 8001024 Richmond Virginia Beach20 Colony of Virginia then sovereign state in Confederation Washington /wtn/ WA 01889-11-11 November 11 1889 0000000000184827000000000371362 sq mi (184827 km2) 6724540 Olympia Seattle Washington Territory West Virginia /wst vrdnj/ WV 01863-06-20 June 20 1863 0000000000062755000000000324230 sq mi (62755 km2) 1852994 Charleston Charleston Divided off from Virginia with the questionable consent of that state Wisconsin /wsknsn/ WI 01848-05-29 May 29 1848 0000000000169639000000000365498 sq mi (169639 km2) 5686986 Madison Milwaukee Wisconsin Territory formed from the Northwest Territory Wyoming /waom/ WY 01890-07-10 July 10 1890 0000000000253348000000000397818 sq mi (253348 km2) 563626 Cheyenne Cheyenne Wyoming Territory Federal power original research The Supreme Court of the United States has interpreted the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States which has expanded the scope of federal power. 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."21 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 are local in character.22 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. In recent years the Court has tried to place limits on the Commerce Clause in cases like United States v. Lopez and United States v. Morrison. Another source of Congressional power is its spending powerthe ability of Congress to impose uniformclarification neededcitation needed taxes across the nation and then distribute the resulting revenue back to the states (subject to 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 as upheld in South Dakota v. Dole Congress has been able to pressure 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.citation needed Governments States are free to organize their individual governments any way they like so long as they conform to the sole requirement of the U.S. Constitution that they have "a Republican Form of Government". (This means that each State government must be a republic; it is not a reference to the Republican Party which was not founded until 1854over 60 years after the Constitution was ratified.) In practice each State has adopted a three-branch system of government (with legislative executive and judiciary branches) generally along the same lines as that of the Federal government though this is not a requirement. Despite the fact that every state has chosen to follow the Federal model of government there are significant differences in some states. Executive See also: Governor (United States) While there is only one federal president who then selects his own Cabinet responsible to him most states have a "plural executive" in which various members of the executive branch are elected directly by the people. Thus they serve as members of the executive branch who are not beholden to the governor and cannot be dismissed by him or her. The governor may veto legislation. In forty four states governors have line item veto power. Legislative See also: State legislature (United States) The legislatures of 49 of the 50 states are made up of two chambers: a lower house (termed the House of Representatives State 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.23 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. This is the standard commonly known as "one person one vote". In practice most states choose to elect legislators from single-member districts each of which has approximately the same population. Some states like Maryland and Vermont divide the state into single- and multi-member districts in which case a district electing two representatives must have approximately twice the population of a district electing just one and so on. If the governor vetoes legislation all legislatures may override it usually but not always requiring a two-thirds majority. Judicial See also: State court (United States) and state supreme court States can also organize their judicial systems differently from the federal judiciary as long as they protect the 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. 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. Also just few states choose to have their judges on the state's courts serve for life terms. Most of the state judges including the justices on the highest court in the state are either elected or appointed for terms of a limited number of years such as five years. They can often be then re-elected or reappointed if their performance has been judged to be satisfactory. Relationships Under Article Four of the United States 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 before 1865 slavery 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. Four states use the official name of commonwealth rather than state.24 However this is merely a paper distinction and the U.S. Constitution uniformly refers to all of them as "States" such as in Article One Section 2 Clause 1 of the Constitution concerning the U.S. House of Representatives in which Representatives are to be elected by the people of the "States". Furthermore Article One Section 3 Clause 1 concerning the U.S. Senate allocates to each "State" two Senators. However each of the four above-mentioned "Commonwealths" counts as a State. Admission into the union This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009) U.S. states by date of statehood   17761790   17911799   18001819   18201839   18401859   18601879   18801899   19001950   1950 The order in which the original 13 states ratified the constitution then the order in which the others were admitted to the union. (Click to see animation) Since the establishment of the United States the number of states has expanded from the original thirteen to fifty. The U.S. Constitution is rather laconic on the process by which new states could be added noting only that "New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union" and forbidding a new state to be created out of the territory of an existing state or the merging of two or more states into one without the consent of both Congress and all the state legislatures involved. In practice most of the states admitted to the union after the original thirteen have been formed from Territories of the United States (that is land under the sovereignty of the Federal government but not part of any state) that were organized (given a measure of self-rule by the Congress subject to the Congress plenary powers under the territorial clause of Article IV sec. 3 of the U.S. Constitution).25 The exceptions to this process have included three states that were carved out of the land of their original state with the permission (in one case questionable permission) of its legislature: Vermont the 14th state; Kentucky the 15th state; West Virginia the 36th state; and then Texas which had been the independent Republic of Texas for a decade the 34th state; and California which was admitted to the Union in 1850 directly from newly-acquired land from Mexico. Generally speaking the organized government of a territory made known the sentiment of its population in favor of statehood. Congress then directed that government to organize a constitutional convention to write a State Constitution. Upon acceptance of that Constitution Congress has always admitted that territory as a state. The broad outlines in this process were established by the Northwest Ordinance (1787) which predated the ratification of the Constitution. However Congress has ultimate authority over the admission of new states and is not bound to follow this procedure. A few U.S. states (outside of the original 13) that were never organized territories of the federal government have been admitted: Vermont an unrecognized but de facto independent republic until its admission in 1791 Kentucky a part of Virginia until its admission in 1792 Maine a part of Massachusetts until its admission in 1820 following the Missouri Compromise Texas a recognized independent republic until its admission in 1845 California created as a state (as part of the Compromise of 1850) out of the unorganized territory of the Mexican Cession in 1850 without ever having been a separate organized territory itself West Virginia created from areas of Virginia that rejoined the union in 1863 after the 1861 secession of Virginia to the Confederate States of America Congress is also 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 the conflict with Mexico that would result delayed admission for nine years.26 Once established state borders have been largely stable. There have been exceptions such as the cession by Maryland and Virginia of land to create the District of Columbia (Virginia's portion was later returned) and the creation of states from other states including the creation of Kentucky and West Virginia from Virginia Maine from Massachusetts and Tennessee from North Carolina. Possible new states See also: 51st state Politics of Puerto Rico Political status of Puerto Rico and District of Columbia voting rights Today there are several U.S. territories left that might potentially become new states. Puerto Rico The most likely candidate for statehood might be Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico called itself the "Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" in the English version of its constitution and as "Estado Libre Asociado" in the Spanish version. The islands ultimate status has not been determined as of 2011update. As with any non-state territory of the United States its residents do not have voting representation in the United States government. Puerto Rico has limited representation in the U.S. Congress in the form of a Resident Commissioner a nonvoting delegate.27 History Puerto Rico has been under U.S. sovereignty for over a century. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917. The U.S. Congress directed the Puerto Rican government to organize a constitutional convention to write the Puerto Rico Constitution in 1951. Like the U.S. States Puerto Rico has a republican form of government organized pursuant to a constitution adopted by its people and a bill of rights. The Approval of that constitution by Puerto Rico's electorate the U.S. Congress and the U.S. President occurred in 1952. The rights privileges and immunities attendant to the United States Citizens are "respected in Puerto Rico to the same extent as though Puerto Rico were a state of the union" through the express extension by the U.S. Congress in 1948 of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the U.S. Constitution.28 President George H. W. Bush issued a memorandum on November 30 1992 to heads of executive departments and agencies establishing the current administrative relationship between the federal government and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This memorandum directs all federal departments agencies and officials to treat Puerto Rico administratively as if it were a state insofar as doing so would not disrupt federal programs or operations.29 The commonwealth's government has organized several referenda on the question of status over the past several decades though Congress has not recognized these as binding; all shown resulted in narrow victories for the status quo over statehood. On December 23 2000 President Bill Clinton signed executive Order 13183 which established the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status and the rules for its membership. Section 4 of executive Order 13183 (as amended by executive Order 13319) directs the task force to "report on its actions to the President ... on progress made in the determination of Puerto Ricos ultimate status".30 President George W. Bush signed an additional amendment to Executive Order 13183 on December 3 2003 which established the current co-chairs and instructed the task force to issue reports as needed but no less than once every two years. In December 2005 the presidential task force proposed a new set of referendums on the issue; if Congress votes in line with the task force's recommendation it would pave the way for the first congressionally mandated votes on status in the island and (potentially) statehood by 2012. The task force's December 2007 status report reiterated and confirmed the proposals made in 2005.303132 President Barack Obama appointed a new Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status.33 In March 2011 it recommended that all relevant partiesthe President Congress and the leadership and people of Puerto Ricowork to ensure that Puerto Ricans are able to express their will about status options and have that will acted upon by the end of 2012 or soon thereafter.34 The report further recommends "... if efforts on the Island do not provide a clear result in the short term the President should support and Congress should enact self-executing legislation that specifies in advance for the people of Puerto Rico a set of acceptable status options including the Statehood that the United States is politically committed to fulfilling. This legislation should commit the United States to honor the choice of the people of Puerto Rico (provided it is one of the status options specified in the legislation) and should specify the means by which such a choice would be made. The Task Force recommends that by the end of 2012 the Administration develop draft and work with Congress to enact the proposed legislation."34 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 jurisdictioneither statehood for the whole district or for the inhabited part with the remainder remaining under federal jurisdiction. While statehood is always a live political question in the District the prospects for any movement in that direction in the immediate future seem dim. According to Article IV Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution "New states may be admitted by the Congress into this union; but no new states shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states or parts of states without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress."35 This was the case when Maine was split off from Massachusetts; and when West Virginia was split from Virginia during the Civil War. When Texas was admitted to the union in 1845 it was much larger than any other state and was specifically granted the right to divide itself into as many as five separate states.36 Unrecognized entities See also: Historical regions of the United States 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. State 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 Congress. 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. State 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 or 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 U.S. Civil War in 1869. It consisted of the area south and west of Texas' Colorado River. State of Superior 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 320000 residents would equal only 60% of Wyoming's population and less than 50% of Alaska's population. State of Deseret 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. 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 of America "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. 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 of America 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.23 Commonwealths Main article: Commonwealth (U.S. state) 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 it has no legal effect. 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. Origin of states' names State names speak to the circumstances of their creation. See the lists of U.S. state name etymologies and U.S. county name etymologies. Regional grouping U.S. Census Bureau regions: The West The Midwest The South and The Northeast. 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 North 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. 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. Lists Washington Oregon California Idaho Nevada Utah Arizona Montana Wyoming Colorado New Mexico North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas OK Texas Minnesota Iowa MO AR Louisiana Wisconsin IL Michigan IN Ohio KY TN MS AL Maine Vermont New Hampshire Massachusetts Connecticut Rhode Island New York PA New Jersey DC Maryland Delaware WV Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Alaska Hawaii List of capitals in the United States List of U.S. state constitutions List of U.S. state legislatures List of U.S. state name etymologies List of U.S. state residents names List of U.S. state tax levels List of U.S. states by area List of U.S. states by coastline List of U.S. states by date of statehood List of U.S. states by elevation List of U.S. states by fertility rate List of U.S. states by GDP (nominal) List of U.S. states by GDP per capita (nominal) List of U.S. states by income equality List of U.S. states by population List of U.S. states by population density List of U.S. states by time zone List of U.S. states by traditional abbreviation List of U.S. states by unemployment rate List of U.S. states that were never territories List of U.S. states' largest cities U.S. postal abbreviations U.S. state temperature extremes Codes: FIPS state code ISO 3166-2:US Lists of U.S. state insignia: List of U.S. state amphibians List of U.S. state beverages List of U.S. state birds List of U.S. state butterflies List of U.S. state colors List of U.S. state crustaceans List of U.S. state dances List of U.S. state demonyms List of U.S. state dinosaurs List of U.S. state fish List of U.S. state flags List of U.S. state flowers List of U.S. state foods List of U.S. state fossils List of U.S. state grasses List of U.S. state insects List of U.S. state instruments List of U.S. state license plates List of U.S. state mammals List of U.S. state minerals rocks stones and gemstones List of U.S. state mottos List of U.S. state nicknames List of U.S. state poems List of U.S. state Poet Laureates List of U.S. state reptiles List of U.S. state seals List of U.S. state shells List of U.S. state ships List of U.S. state slogans List of U.S. state soils List of U.S. state songs List of U.S. state sports List of U.S. state tartans List of U.S. state toys List of U.S. state trees See also United States portal United States census statistical areas by state district or territory AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY AS MP PR GU VI 50 State Quarters 51st state Extreme points of the United States Geography of the United States List of fictional U.S. states List of regions of the United States List of U.S. counties that share names with U.S. states Organized incorporated territories of the United States Political divisions of the United States States' rights United States Constitution United States Declaration of Independence United States Declaration of Independence (text) United States territorial acquisitions Territorial evolution of the United States United States territory Territories of the United States Comparison of U.S. state governments References See the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. a b Aleksandar Pavkovi Peter Radan Creating New States: Theory and Practice of Secession p. 222 Ashgate Publishing Ltd. 2007. a b Texas v. White 74 U.S. 700 (1868) at Cornell University Law School Supreme Court collection. "Official USPS Abbreviations". United States Postal Service. 1998. http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/abbreviations.html. Retrieved 2007-02-26.  "POPULATION CHANGE DATA PROVIDED BY U.S. CENSUS 2010". United States Census Bureau Population Division. 02010-12-21 December 21 2010. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/popchange.csv. Retrieved 02010-12-21 December 21 2010.  "Resident Population Estimates of Incorporated Places Only: April 1 2000 to July 1 2008" (CSV). 2008 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau Population Division. 02009-07-01 July 1 2009. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/files/SUB-EST2008-IP.csv. Retrieved 02009-10-01 October 1 2009.  The Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic Combined Statistical Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Connecticut. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Florida. a b c d Officially called a 'Commonwealth'. Baltimore City and the 12 Maryland counties of the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia Combined Statistical Area form the most populous metropolitan region in Maryland. The City of Saint Louis and the 8 Missouri counties of the St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington Combined Statistical Area form the most populous metropolitan region in Missouri. The 5 southeastern New Hampshire counties of the Boston-Worcester-Manchester Combined Statistical Area form the most populous metropolitan region in New Hampshire. The 13 northern New Jersey counties of the New York-Newark-Bridgeport Combined Statistical Area form the most populous metropolitan region in New Jersey. New York City is the most populous city in the United States. The Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Ohio. Full name is State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Combined Statistical Area is the most populous metropolitan area in South Carolina. The Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Columbia Combined Statistical Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Tennessee. The Dallas-Fort Worth Combined Statistical Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Texas. The 10 Virginia counties and 6 Virginia cities of the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia Combined Statistical Area form the most populous metropolitan region in Virginia. Stanley Lewis Engerman (2000). The Cambridge economic history of the United States: the colonial era. Cambridge University Press. p. 464. ISBN 9780521553070. http://books.google.com/booksid6sDXBGMbrWkC.  David Shultz (2005). Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court. Infobase Publishing. p. 522. ISBN 9780816050864. http://books.google.com/booksidIf6Oo9H3YsC.  1 a. Third Constitution of Kentucky (1850) Article 2 Section 1 ff. Other portions of the same Constitution refer to the "State of Kentucky". b. Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Preamble. c. Constitution of Pennsylvania Preamble. d. Constitution of Virginia (1971) Article IV Section 1. U.S. Const. art. IV 3 cl. 2 ("The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States..."). Richard Bruce Winders (2002). Crisis in the Southwest: the United States Mexico and the struggle over Texas. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 82 92. ISBN 9780842028011. http://books.google.com/booksidmcc9EciebFYC.  "Rules of the House of Representatives" (PDF). http://www.rules.house.gov/ruleprec/110th.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-25.  48 U.S.C.  737 Privileges and immunities. "Political Status of Puerto Rico: Options for Congress". Congressional Research Service. http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL3293320090804.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-19.  a b "''Report By the President's Task Force On Puerto Rico's Status (December 2007)''" (PDF). http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/2007-report-by-the-president-task-force-on-puerto-rico-status.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-25.  "Report By the President's Task Force On Puerto Rico's Status (December 2005)" (PDF). http://charma.uprm.edu/angel/PuertoRico/reportestatus.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-25.  H.R. 2499  Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009 H.R. 2499 AMENDMENTS TO EXECUTIVE ORDERS 13183 a b REPORT BY THE PRESIDENTS TASK FORCE ON PUERTO RICOS STATUS March 2011 Page 23 Recommendation No. 1 "Article IV LII / Legal Information Institute". Law.cornell.edu. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleiv.html#section3. Retrieved 2010-07-25.  "Texas Dividing into Five States". snopes.com. http://www.snopes.com/history/american/texas.asp. Retrieved 2010-07-25.  Further reading Stein Mark How the States Got Their Shapes New York : Smithsonian Books/Collins 2008. ISBN 9780061431388 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 US States. 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