Commonwealth (United States)

This article is about U.S. States that designate themselves as "Commonwealths." For usage relating to U.S. insular areas, see Commonwealth (United States 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. This designation, which has no constitutional impact, emphasizes that they have a "government based on the common consent of the people" as opposed to one legitimized through their earlier Royal Colony status that was derived from the King of Great Britain. The word commonwealth is of English derivation and refers to the common "wealth" or welfare of the public. In common parlance, people do not make the distinction between state or commonwealth.
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