Commonwealth (united States)

Four , 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. While the term "commonwealth" has the same legal and economic meaning as "state", the four regions that chose to designate themselves commonwealths probably did so as a reference to the earlier Commonwealth Period in England which ended in 1660 , when that nation was not ruled by a King .

Although the republican/anti-monarchist meaning has come to be conventional meaning for the word, it does have a slightly different origin. The term Commonwealth became popular in the time period of England that was so named. However, that period of English history was marked by several important political writings and events that led to that name. This period, the time between the reign of Charles I and Charles II, was arguably either a republic (with parliament) or more popularly, a military dictatorship lead by Cromwell. This period featured several influencial works, like Hobbes' Leviathan. These new works brought out the idea of the social contract, and the government serving the commongood, or bound by a common bond. The term commonwealth was used at the time as a preferred term to refer to states. However, its origin is based in the social contract, and so a government that is a commonwealth would be one that serves the people. This term was spread through various English explorations, into the US and Australia and elsewhere.

Its different meannings come from how it has spread. For example one of its meanings is a state the has allied itself as a protectorate of another, ex. Puerto Rico and the US. In the case of three of the commonwealths in the United States, the term has two connotations. Massachusetts and Virginia (Kentucky by extension) are commonwealths for two reasons. One they are the oldest of the american colonies and were primarily settled at the height of the Commonwealth period in England and the abovementioned definition of the word. Second, they abide by the common law. The first reason is in and of itself not enough for John Adams and his contemporaries to have rolled the term over into the new states 150 years after they were applied. The term meant that the States in question would follow the common law of England uptil 1776 as if it were their own.

The Common Law is a complex set of laws the arose from hundreds of years of judicial decisions in England. Beyond its particular provisions, it stands for the principle that law is evolving, that courts are bound in someway by the decisions of the predecessors, and more importantly, Stare Decis. Massachusetts and Virginia as commonwealths were crucial and instrumental in bringing this principle to the new world and maintaining it despite the violent throes of revolution and the upheaval of the young nation.

COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY

''See Kentucky as a Commonwealth .''

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

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." {Link without Title}

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

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, our first state constitution referred to Pennsylvania 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

''See Why is Virginia a Commonwealth? .''

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