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Commonwealth is a term used by four of the 50states of theUnited States in their full official names:Kentucky,[1]Massachusetts,[2]Pennsylvania,[3] andVirginia.[4] "Commonwealth" is a traditionalEnglish term used to describe a political community as having been founded for thecommon good, and shares some similarities with theLatin phrase "res publica" ('the public thing'), which ultimately is theorigin of the word "republic".[5]
The "commonwealth" appellation is merely stylistic and carries no legal or political significance. The four states that use this term are all in theEastern United States, and prior to the formation of the United States in 1776 wereBritish colonial possessions (at the time, Kentucky was a part ofcolonial Virginia). As such, they share a strong influence of Englishcommon law in some of their laws and institutions.[6][7]
The termcommonwealth does not describe or provide for any specific political status or legal relationship when used by a state.[8] Those that do use it areequal to those that do not. A traditional English term for a political community founded for thecommon good, it is used symbolically to emphasize that these states had a "government based on the common consent of the people".[9] It refers to the common "wealth", or welfare, of the public[10] and is derived from a loose translation of the Latin termres publica.[a] Premodern English used the alternative term "commonwealth" in such sense in place of the now singularly standard term "republic".
Criminal charges in these four states are brought in the name of the Commonwealth.[b]
Besides the four aforementioned states, other states have also on occasion used the term "commonwealth" to refer to themselves:
TwoU.S. territories are also designated ascommonwealths:Puerto Rico and theNorthern Mariana Islands. When used in connection with areas under U.S. sovereignty that are not states, the term broadly describes an area that is self-governing under a constitution of its own adoption and whose right of self-government will not be unilaterally withdrawn by theUnited States Congress.[8]
On September 28, 1786, the residents ofKentucky County began petitioning the Virginia legislature for permission to become a "free and independent state, to be known by the name of theCommonwealth of Kentucky".[13] On June 1, 1792, Kentucky County officially became a state. LikeVirginia, the official title of the elected local prosecutor in each ofKentucky's political subdivisions is the Commonwealth's Attorney and County Attorney, as opposed to State's Attorney in other states or the more standard District Attorney. Kentucky is the only state outside of the originalThirteen Colonies that uses commonwealth in its name.
Massachusetts is officially namedThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts by itsconstitution. The nameState of Massachusetts Bay was used in all acts and resolves up to 1780 and in the first draft of the constitution. The current name can be traced to the second draft of the state constitution, which was written byJohn Adams and ratified in 1780.[14]
In Massachusetts, the termState is occasionally used in an official manner, usually in acompound structure rather than as a standalone noun. This is evident in the names of theMassachusetts State Police, theMassachusetts State House, and theBridgewater State Hospital.
TheSeal of Pennsylvania does not use the term, but legal processes are in the name of the Commonwealth, and it is a traditional official designation used in referring to the state. In 1776,Pennsylvania's first state constitution referred to it as bothCommonwealth andState, a pattern of usage that was perpetuated in the constitutions of 1790, 1838, 1874, and 1968.[15][c] One of Pennsylvania's two intermediateappellate courts is called theCommonwealth Court.
The nameCommonwealth of Virginia dates back to its independence from theKingdom of Great Britain. Virginia's firstconstitution (adopted on June 29, 1776) directed that "Commissions and Grants shall run, In the Name of the commonwealth of Virginia, and bear test by the Governor with the Seal of the Commonwealth annexed." TheSecretary of the Commonwealth still 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". Additionally, the official title of the elected localprosecutor in each of Virginia's political subdivisions is theCommonwealth's Attorney, as opposed toState's Attorney in other states or the more standardDistrict Attorney.
In Virginia, the termstate is sometimes used in an official manner, usually in acompound structure rather than as a standalone noun. This is evident in the names of theVirginia State Corporation Commission, theVirginia State Police, and theVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The state university inRichmond is known asVirginia Commonwealth University; there is also aVirginia State University, located inEttrick.
