States of the United States

The **United States of America** consists of fifty states (i.e. states) that can operate in some degree of independence from the U.S. federal government.

## Contents

* 1Map
* 2State structure of the states
* 3Some facts
* 4Joining as a state
* 5Future states
* 6List of states
* 7Other areas
* 8See

## State structure of the states

The states have their own constitutions, and it should be republican and democratic. This means that the states must each be governed as a republic and the leaders must be democratically elected. Furthermore, the trias politica must be enshrined in the constitution. Connecticut already had a constitution based on these principles in the 17th century and it served as inspiration for the Constitution of the United States.

At the head of the executive branch of each state is a *governor, who* is directly elected by the voters in the state. See also the list of current governors of the United States. In 49 of the 50 states (all states except Nebraska) there is a bicameral legislature for the legislature. The higher one is called senate. The lower one has diverse names such as *Texas House of Representatives* or *California State Assembly*. The states, in turn, are divided into counties. The degree of autonomy of these counties varies greatly by state.

Each state has its own rules regarding the election of members to the senate. Typically, senators have longer terms than members of the state's House of Representatives.

See further at the relevant state.

## Some facts

The smallest state is Rhode Island, the largest is Alaska. Alaska also has the lowest population density and New Jersey the highest. Wyoming has the fewest residents and California the most.

The first thirteen states to join were the thirteen former English colonies. Delaware was the first to ratify the United States Constitution in 1787, becoming the first state to join the U.S. The other colonies soon followed. Since then, four states have not called themselves a state but a commonwealth. This has no legal meaning other than a state, it is a reference to the time when these territories were still English colonies. After this, the territory of the US was expanded to the west and new states were established. Four states were first an independent republic before they joined. These were Vermont, Texas, California (just three weeks) and Hawaii. Hawaii was also a kingdom before that time and was the last state to join in 1959.

Most states have an English, Spanish or indigenous name. The latter may be corruptions of the names used by the original inhabitants of the area. A number of states are named after European monarchs. In seven states, the name is Latinized. A few states have a French name and the origin of six states is not certain. This is also the case with Rhode Island, which may have a Dutch origin.

Only one state has been named after a former president, namely Washington. There were several plans in the 19th century to name a state after Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, but this did not happen.

The states all have a nickname that says something about history, landscape or population. In addition, the states have all kinds of other typical things, such as an official flower, bird, dance, drink and mineral.

## Join as state

Accession of a new state is done by permission from the U.S. Congress. Many states were first ruled as territory before joining. In time, such an area then indicated to the Conges that it wanted to join. Often a constituent assembly was first held in the state itself at which the constitution of the newly formed state was drawn up. Sometimes the boundary of the area was first adjusted. Congress is obliged to allow a state to join for no reason, and accession was often the result of a political compromise. In the antebellum period prior to the American Civil War, it was customary for a northern and then a southern state to join in order to balance the balance between the north and south. During the American Civil War, the state of Nevada was allowed to win extra votes for the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. Examples of states that applied but never joined as such are the State of Franklin, the State of Sequoyah (inhabited by the Indians of the five civilized tribes) and the State of Deseret (a large area in the western U.S. established by the Mormons).

## Future states

New states may join in the future. Two examples that are seriously discussed are:

* **Puerto Rico:** This island has been an American protectorate since 1899 and has had self-government and its own constitution since 1959. The question of whether Puerto Rico should become a state is sensitive both in the US and on the island itself. A number of referendums have been held over the years on accession. In 2012, 2017 and 2020, the people of Puerto Rico voted to join. However, there is also a large part of the population that is in favour of the status quo and independence.
* **Washington D.C.:** Already in the 18th century it was decided that the capital of the United States should be a neutral district and that this city should not be in a state. The federal government has more power over government here. For a long time, residents did not have democratic city government, were not allowed to vote in the U.S. presidential election and had no representation in Congress. This changed in the second half of the twentieth century and since then the city has its own democratic city government, three electors for the presidential elections and a representative in the House of Representatives who has only the right to speak. In both 1993 and 2020, the district applied to be allowed to join as a state. Possibly this new state will then be named **State of New Columbia**, or **Washington, Douglass Commonwealth**.

In addition, there is sometimes talk of splitting up states, because of the high number of inhabitants or because there are cultural or economic differences within such a state. This has happened only once in the country's history when West Virginia seceded from Virginia during the American Civil War.

## Other areas

In addition to the fifty states, other territories belong to the United States:

* Washington D.C. (federal district)
* Puerto Rico, a commonwealth
* Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth
* American Samoa
* U.S. Virgin Islands
* Guam
* United *States Minor Outlying Islands*)