This article is about U.S. States that designate themselves as "Commonwealths". For usage relating to U.S. insular areas, see Commonwealth (U.S. insular area). For other uses of the term, see Commonwealth.

Four of the constituent states of the United States officially designate themselves Commonwealths: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

In these cases, this is merely a name and has no constitutional impact. They thus emphasize that they have a "government based on the common consent of the people", instead of a government legitimized through their earlier Royal Colony status that was derived from the King of England. The transition occurred in 1776, when the need arose to express a change in their legal status consistent with the Revolutionary War. Kentucky was a county of Virginia at this time, but chose to retain the Commonwealth descriptor when it became a separate state.

Commonwealth of Kentucky

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In 1785, district residents of Kentucky County began petitioning the Virginia legislature for statehood. They wished the County to be recognized as a "free and independent state, to be known by the name of the 'Commonwealth' of Kentucky." On June 4th, 1792, Kentucky County, Virginia became officially the "Commonwealth of Kentucky."

From: Kentucky as a Commonwealth.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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Massachusetts is officially termed "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts" by its constitution.

In the era leading up to 1780, when the state Constitution was ratified, the word Commonwealth was the preferred term among political writers for a whole body of people constituting a nation or state. There may have been some anti-monarchic sentiment informing the use of the word Commonwealth, which was also used to mean "republic."

The name "Commonwealth" for Massachusetts can be traced to the second draft of the state Constitution. The previous draft of the Constitution, and all acts and resolves up to 1780, had used the name "State of Massachusetts Bay." The second draft was written by John Adams and ratified in 1780. In Adams's draft, "Part Two, Frame of Government," states, "…that the people… form themselves into a free, sovereign, and independent body politic, or state by the name of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts." In his "Life and Works," Adams wrote:

"There is, however, a peculiar sense in which the words republic, commonwealth, popular state, are used by English and French writers, who mean by them a democracy, a government in one centre, and that centre a single assembly, chosen at stated periods by the people and invested with the whole sovereignty, the whole legislative, executive and judicial power to be included in a body or by committees as they shall think proper." ^*

After the adoption of the Constitution, the state has always been officially called The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, although residents commonly refer to it both as "the state" and as "the Commonwealth."

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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The word "commonwealth" is of English derivation and refers to the common "weal" or well-being of the public. The State Seal of Pennsylvania does not use the term, but it is a traditional, official designation used in referring to the state, and legal processes are in the name of the Commonwealth. In 1776, Pennsylvania's first state constitution referred to it as both "Commonwealth" and "State," a pattern of usage that was perpetuated in the constitutions of 1790, 1838, 1874, and 1968. Today, "State" and "Commonwealth" are correctly used interchangeably. The distinction between them has been held to have no legal significance.

Source: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/pahist/symbols.asp?secid=31

A detailed history describing the origins of Pennsylvania's government, including its designation as a Commonwealth from colonial times, is available from the Secretary of State's office.

Commonwealth of Virginia

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From "Why is Virginia a Commonwealth?" (Taken directly from ^*)

There is no such entity as the "State" of Virginia. While generally categorized as a state, Virginia has been the "Commonwealth" since independence from Great Britain. Virginia is first of four states that are Commonwealths, to include our daughter Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was formed from Virginia in 1792.

Our first Constitution, adopted on June 29, 1776, directed that "Commissions and Grants shall run, In the Name of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and bear taste by the Governor with the Seal of the Commonwealth annexed." The Secretary of the Commonwealth to this day issues commissions in this manner. Among other references, the Constitution furthermore dictated that criminal indictments were to conclude "against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth."

It is Virginia's Declaration of Rights adopted on June 12, 1776, that sets forth both our rights and philosophy of government. Virginia's founders viewed government as a contract between people who are "created equally free and independent." The underlying theory held that personal sovereignty was given over in order to create a society, which then in turn facilitated individual pursuits. As "all Power is…vested in, and consequently derived from the People," government was created to be the servant of the people.

Of greatest importance, Virginia's founders envisioned that the people would possess certain traits, namely, "a firm Adherence to Justice, Moderation, Temperance, frugality, and Virtue." No concept was more central than that of public or civic virtue. The civically virtuous citizen was self-reliant and self-determinative while recognizing a duty to the general welfare, or common good, of the community. It is the figure of Virtue, standing over the dead body of Tyranny, that dominates the Great Seal of the Commonwealth.

Virginians, as members of the Commonwealth, enjoy a higher degree of sovereignty. The continuing existence of the Commonwealth requires that each citizen be an active participant in government. All citizens must likewise be practitioners of civic virtue, dedicated to conducting themselves in a socially responsible manner.

A state may or may not reflect the will of the people, but a Commonwealth simply cannot exist without the people's express consent. The Commonwealth is an extraordinary form of government based upon collective genius of its citizens. The Commonwealth is distinguished from, and superior to, a mere state by the greatness of the people of Virginia.

-The Honorable Thomas M. Moncure, Jr.

See for yourself at Why is Virginia a Commonwealth?.

See also

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• Commonwealth of England

Forms of government | Government of Kentucky | Kentucky | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania | Virginia