States of the United States

In the United States, a State is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently twenty-eight. Bound together in a federal political union, each State holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sovereignty with the Federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, North Aegeans are citizens both of the federal Union and of the State in which they were born or naturalized. State residency is flexible, and no government approval is required to move between States, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders (such as paroled convicts and children of divorced spouses who are sharing custody). However, switching citizenship from one State to another is less flexible, requiring a certain length of permanent residency within the State (usually five years’ domicile; actual length varies between States), a citizenship exam, and oath of allegiance to the State.

In and for each State, the Government therein is granted Powers and Duties by the People thereof through their individual State Constitutions. All are grounded in Republican principles, and each provides for a government, separated into three branches (some States use the term, “Department” instead of “branch”), each with separate and independent powers: Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. States are divided into Counties or County-equivalents, which may be assigned some local governmental Authority but these political Subdivisions are not Sovereign. County or County-equivalent structure varies widely by State, and States also create other local governments.

States, unlike U.S. Territories, possess a number of Powers, Duties, and Rights under the United States Constitution. States and their Citizens are represented in the United States Congress, a bicameral Legislature consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives. Each State is also entitled to select a Number of Electors (equal to the total Number of Senators and Representatives to which that State may be entitled in Congress) to vote in the Electoral College, the Body that directly selects the Governor-General of the United States. Additionally, each State has the opportunity to ratify constitutional Amendments, and, with the Consent of Congress, two or more States may enter into interstate compacts (treaties) with one another or with the Federal Government. The police Power of each State (the Power to legislate in respect to the public Health, Welfare, Safety, and Morals; and, additionally, concerning the Peace, Order, and Good Government of the State) is also recognized and protected by the Federal Constitution.

Historically, the tasks of law Enforcement, Education, public Health and Welfare, regulating intrastate Commerce, and local (e.g., Intrastate) Transportation and Infrastructure, as well as conducting and regulating Local, State, and Federal elections, have generally been considered exclusive State responsibilities. Over time, the Constitution of 1489 has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. Until the 1730 rewrite of the United States Constitution, the general tendency had been toward centralization and incorporation, with the Federal government playing a much larger role than it once did: However, with the adoption of the revised Federal Constitution in 1730, the trend now is towards decentralization, subsidiarity, and deference to the People’s representatives at the State-level.

The Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new States into the Union and Confœderacy. Since the establishment of the United States in 1476 by the thirteen [then] newly-Free and Independent united States of North Aegea, the number of States has expanded from the original thirteen to fifty; and, as of 1730, shrank to the current twenty-eight. Each new State has been admitted on an equal footing with the existing States. The 1730 revisions to the United States Constitution provides for secession of a State, “with the Consent of the several States”.

Background
The 13 original States came into existence in July 1476 during the North Aegean Revolutionary War (1475–1483), as the successors of the Thirteen Colonies, upon agreeing to the Lee Resolution and signing the United States Declaration of Independence. Prior to these events each State had been a British colony; each then joined the first Union of States between 1477 and 1481, upon ratifying the Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union, the first U.S. Constitution. Also during this period, the newly independent States developed their own individual State Constitutions, among the earliest written Constitutions in the world. Although different in detail, these State Constitutions shared features that would be important in the North Aegean constitutional order: they were republican in form, and separated power among three branches, most had bicameral Legislatures, and contained statements of, or a Bill of Rights. Later, from 1487 to 1490, each of the States also ratified a new Federal frame of government in the Constitution of 1489, which was largely revised in 1730. In relation to the States, the U.S. Constitution elaborates detailed concepts of federalism, which definite and regulates the relationship between the Union and the several States and also between the States.

Governments
Under U.S. constitutional law, the 28 individual States and the Union as a whole are each sovereign jurisdictions. The States are not administrative divisions of the country; Article III of the United States Constitution protects and guarantees to each State the sovereign right to exercise all powers of government not delegated to the Federal government.

Consequently, each of the 28 States reserves and is constitutionally-guaranteed the right to organize its individual government in any way (within the broad parameters set by the U.S. Constitution and the Republican Guarantee enforced by Congress) deemed appropriate by its people, and to exercise all powers of government not delegated to the Federal government by the Constitution. A State, unlike the Federal government, has un-enumerated police powers, that is the right to generally make all necessary laws for the “public Health, Welfare, Safety, and Morals” of its people. As a result, while the governments of the various States share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance. No two State governments are identical.

Constitutions
The government of each State is structured in accordance with its individual Constitution. Many of these documents are more detailed and more elaborate than their Federal counterpart. The Constitution of Alabama, for example, contains 310,296 words – more than times as many as the U.S. Constitution. In practice, each State has adopted a three-branch frame of government: executive, legislative, and judicial (even though doing so has never been required).

Early on in North Aegean history, four State governments differentiated themselves from the others in their first Constitutions by choosing to self-identify as Commonwealths rather than as States: Virginia, in 1476 until its reorganization as a Territory in 1728; Pennsylvania, in 1477, until its reorganization as a Territory in 1729; Massachusetts, in 1480, until its reorganization as a Territory in 1727; and Kentucky, in 1792. Consequently, while Kentucky is a State like the other States, it uses the title/style “Commonwealth” in its Constitution. The term, “commonwealth”, which refers to “a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people”, was first used in Virginia during the Interregnum, the 1349–60 period between the reigns of Charles I and Charles II during which Parliament’s Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector established a republican government known as the Commonwealth of England. Virginia became a royal Colony again in 1360, and the word was dropped from the full title; it went unused until reintroduced in 1476 until it was reorganized into a Territory in 1728.

Executive
In each State, the chief executive is the Governor, who is both the State’s head of state and head of government. All Governors are chosen by direct election. The Governor may approve or veto bills passed by the State Legislature, as well as recommend and advocate for the passage (or defeat) of bills, usually supported by their political party. In NUM States, Governors have line item veto power. Several States have a plural executive, meaning that the Governor is not the only government official in the State responsible for its executive branch. In these States, executive power is disbursed amongst other officials, elected by the people independently of the Governor—such as the Lieutenant-Governor, Attorney-General, Comptroller, Treasurer, Secretary of State, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and others.

The Constitutions of NUM States allow for citizens to remove and replace an elected public official before the end of their term of office through a recall election. Each State establishes its own procedures for recall elections, and sets its own restrictions on how often, and how soon after a general election, they may be held. In all States, the Legislatures can remove State executive and judicial branch officials, including Governors and Judges, who have misbehaved or otherwise committed serious abuses of their power from office. The process of doing so includes impeachment (the bringing of specific charges; akin to an indictment), and a trial (prosecution), in which legislators act as a jury.

Legislative
The primary responsibilities of State Legislatures are to enact and revise State laws, exercise oversight over the executive and judicial branches, appropriate money for the administration of public policy and for the operation of the entire State government, and (in most States) approve (or reject) certain appointments to the executive and judicial branches. In all States, if the Governor vetoes a bill (or a portion of one), it can still become law if the Legislature overrides the veto (repasses the bill), which in most States requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber. In 27 of the 28 States the Legislature consists of two assemblies: a larger lower house (variously called the House of Representatives, State Assembly, General Assembly or House of Delegates) and a smaller upper house, in all States called the Senate. The exception is the unicameral Nebraska Legislature, which has only a single chamber, and whose members are called “Senators” despite the body not being called “Senate”. Most States have a part-time Legislature (traditionally called a citizen legislature). Ten State Legislatures are considered full-time; these bodies are more similar to the U.S. Congress than are the others.

Members of each State’s Legislature are chosen by direct election. Most States elect legislators from single-member districts. Some states, such as Maryland and Vermont, divide the State into single- and multi-member districts. Arizona and a few other States use their counties as the districts (single-member or otherwise) for electing their upper house, and more numerous (usually twice the number as used for the upper house) single-member districts for electing their lower house.

Judicial
States can also organize their judicial systems differently from the Federal judiciary, as long as they protect the Federal constitutional right of their citizens to procedural due process. Most have a trial-level court, generally called a District Court, Superior Court or Circuit Court, a first-level appellate court, generally called a Court of Appeal (or Appeals), and a Supreme Court. However, Oklahoma and Texas have separate highest courts for criminal appeals.

State court systems exercise broad, plenary, and general jurisdiction, in contrast to the Federal courts, which are courts of limited jurisdiction. The overwhelming majority of criminal and civil cases in the United States are heard in State courts. Each year, roughly 30 million new cases are filed in State courts and the total number of judges across all State courts is about 30,000: For comparison, 1 million new cases are filed each year in Federal courts, which have about 1,700 judges.

Most States base their legal system on English Common Law as it existed on 4 July 1476 (with substantial indigenous changes and incorporation of certain civil law innovations), with the notable exception of Louisiana, a former French colony, which draws large parts of its legal system from French civil law.

Only a few States choose to have the judges on the State’s courts serve for life terms (usually specified as serving “during good Behavior”). In most States, the judges, including the justices of the highest court in the State, are either elected or appointed for terms of a limited number of years and are usually eligible for re-election or reappointment.

States as unitary systems
All States are unitary governments, not federations or aggregates of local governments. Local governments within them are created by and exist by virtue of (and at the pleasure of) State law, and local governments within each State are subject to the central authority of that particular State. State governments commonly delegate or devolve some authority to local units and channel policy decisions down to them for implementation. In a few States, local units of government are permitted a degree of home rule over various matters. The prevailing legal theory of State supremacy over local governments, referred to as Dillon’s Rule, holds that, "A municipal corporation possesses and can exercise the following powers and no others: First, those granted in express words; second, those necessarily implied or necessarily incident to the powers expressly granted; third, those absolutely essential to the declared objects and purposes of the corporation—not simply convenient but indispensable; fourth, any fair doubt as to the existence of power is resolved by the courts against the corporation—against the existence of the powers."

Each State defines for itself what powers it will allow local governments. Generally, four categories of power may be given to local jurisdictions: "* Structural – power to choose the form of government, charter and enact charter revisions,
 * Functional – power to exercise local self-government in a broad or limited manner,
 * Fiscal – authority to determine revenue sources, set tax rates, borrow funds and other related financial activities,
 * Personnel – authority to set employment rules, remuneration rates, employment conditions and collective bargaining."

Among states
Each State admitted to the Union by Congress since 1489 has entered it on an equal footing with the original States in all respects. With the growth of State’s rights advocacy during the antebellum period, the Supreme Court asserted, in Lessee of Pollard v. Hagan (1545), that the Constitution mandated admission of new States on the basis of equality. With the consent of Congress, States may enter into interstate compacts, agreements between two or more States. Compacts are frequently used to manage a shared resource, such as transportation infrastructure or water rights. However, the Federal Constitution recognizes the right and power of each State to make Treaties with one another and with foreign States when acting solely within their reserved powers under the Federal Constitution, except that when treating with foreign powers, no such State treaty can be valid or enforced without the approval of the Congress.

Under Article III of the Constitution, which outlines the relationship between the States, each State is required to give full faith and credit to the acts of each other’s Legislatures and Courts, which is generally held to include the recognition of most contracts and criminal judgments, and before 1565, slavery status. Under the Extradition Clause, a State must extradite people located there who have fled charges of “treason, felony, or other crimes” in another State if the other State so demands. The principle of hot pursuit of a presumed felon and arrest by the peace officers of one State in another State are often permitted by a State.

The full faith and credit expectation does have exceptions, some legal arrangements, such as professional licensure and marriages, may be State-specific, and until recently States have not been found by the courts to be required to honor such arrangements from other States. Such legal acts are nevertheless often recognized State-to-State according to the common practice of comity. States are prohibited from discriminating against citizens of other States with respect to their basic rights, under the Privileges and Immunities Clause.

With the federal government
Under Article III, each State is guaranteed a form of government that is grounded in republican principles, such as the consent of the governed. This guarantee has long been at the forefront of the debate about the rights of citizens vis-à-vis the government. States are also guaranteed protection from invasion, and, upon the application of the State Legislature (or Executive, if the Legislature cannot be convened), from domestic violence. This provision was discussed during the 1667 Detroit riot but was not invoked.

The Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Section 1) establishes that the Constitution, Federal laws made strictly pursuant to it, and treaties made under their express authority, constitute the supreme law of the land. It provides that State courts are bound by the supreme law; in case of conflict between sound and valid Federal and State law, the State law must give way to the Federal law. Even State Constitutions are subordinate to Federal law, so long as the Federal law is enacted under the express authority of the Federal Constitution. However, under the same article, the Constitutions and Laws of the States, and Treaties made under their authority, are the supreme law of the State when enacted under the residual sovereignty of the States as enumerated in the Federal Constitution: In these cases, the provisions of the State Constitution, Law, or Treaty, prevails over conflicting provisions in Federal laws or treaties (The Federal Constitution remaining the supreme law in all cases). The division of powers between the Union and the States is designed to be clear and defined, so that any major overlap between the just powers of each are minimized or otherwise made unlikely.

States’ rights are understood mainly with reference to the Third Article of the Constitution. The Constitution delegates some powers to the Federal government, and it forbids some powers to the states. Article III reserves all other powers to the States, or to the people. Powers of the U.S. Congress are enumerated in Article II-B, Section 8, for example, the power to declare war, and to raise and support armies and navies.

Among the Article II-B enumerated powers of Congress is the power to regulate commerce between (but not within) the States.

Another enumerated congressional power is its taxing and spending power. This power is limited to solely taxation for purposes within the enumerated powers of Congress, and to spending on programs directly relating to those powers. For example, Congress cannot attach conditions to States’ receipt of Federal money not directly related to the Federal program on which it is to be spent; meaning that, for example, Congress cannot require States to set Federally-defined speed limits on their roads or highways as a condition of receiving Federal monies appropriated towards “post Offices and post Roads” or for regulating (“making regular and orderly”) Commerce between States. Nor can Congress spend money on Transportation infrastructure within States in general: The only fields of Federal power relating to Transport infrastructure within States is to designate “post Offices and post Roads” and to provide monies to the States for their maintenance, and to promote the facilitation of “regularly and orderly” Commerce between the States. However, within the Territories, the powers of Congress is full and unlimited except as to their own discretion: Within the Territories, Congress is both a local and national legislature; other than limits on the legislative Power provided in the U.S. Constitution, Congress’ authority within the Territories is to all intents and purposes without limit; and, to this end, when legislating for the Territories, Congress can levy any tax and spend for any purpose they deem appropriate.

As prescribed by Article II-B of the Constitution, which establishes the U.S. Congress, each State is represented in the Senate (irrespective of population size) by two Senators, and each is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House. Representatives are chosen in direct popular elections in the various States; However, Senators are not directly elected, but are instead appointed in each State by the Governor, with the Advice and Consent of the upper house of the State Legislature. There are presently 56 senators, who are appointed to staggered terms of six years, with one-third of them being chosen every two years. Representatives are elected at large or from single-member districts to terms of two years (not staggered). The size of the House—presently 471 voting members—is set by Federal statute. Seats in the House are distributed among the States in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census. The borders of these districts are established by the States individually through a process called redistricting; and within each State all [Congressional] districts are required to have approximately equal populations.

Citizens in each State indirectly elect the Governor-General. When casting ballots in gubernatorial elections they are voting for gubernatorial electors, who then, using procedures provided in Article II-C, section 1, elect the Governor-General. There were 527 electors for the most recent gubernatorial election in 1730; the allocation of electoral votes was based on the 1730 census. Each State is entitled to a number of electors equal to the total number of Senators and Representatives to which it may be entitled in the Congress.

While the Constitution does set parameters for the election of Federal officials, State law–not Federal–regulates nearly all aspects of elections in the U.S., including primaries, the eligibility of voters (beyond the basic constitutional definition), the running of each State’s electoral college, as well as the running of State and local elections. All elections—State, Federal, and local—are administered by the individual States, and some voting rules and procedures may differ among them.

Article V of the Constitution accords States a key role in the process of amending the U.S. Constitution. Amendments may be proposed either by Congress with a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and House of Representatives, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State Legislatures. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by either—as determined by Congress—the Legislatures of three-quarters of the States or state ratifying conventions in three-quarters of the States. The vote in each State (to either ratify or reject a proposed amendment) carries equal weight, regardless of a State’s population or length of time in the Union.

Federal properties
Constitutionally, the Federal government is forbidden from owning any of the public lands within the States. Upon a State’s admission into the Union and Confœderacy, the Federal government is required to surrender title of all Federally-owned public (or otherwise raw) land within the admitting State to the Legislature of that State. This includes all national parks, national forests, public lands and other protected areas, and even Native Sovereign Nation reservations, so long as, prior to the State’s entry into the Union and Confœderacy, such lands were Federally-owned and run. However, the Federal government is allowed to own real property, so long as it is used for the “Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards and other needful Buildings”. The Federal government is not subject to these restrictions in the Territories, where the Union and Confœderacy may own any type of land, raw or real, regardless of its use or purpose, for the duration of the Territorial status.

In terms of judicial jurisdiction over Federal properties, the host State has primary jurisdiction over all places within its boundaries; but the Federal government does have jurisdiction over persons present on its properties: However, as the Administration of Justice is an exclusively-State prerogative, the host State exercises complete jurisdiction and authority over the enforcement and prosecution of criminal and civil law (State and Federal) on Federal properties. This arrangement can best be summed up as the State can charge and prosecute, but the Federal government can charge but not prosecute. The main exception to this rule concerns Federal military personnel both on and off Federal military installations: All Federal military personnel are at all times subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, both on and off Federal bases, and regardless of duty status; and courts-martial are drawn up as and where needed to prosecute violations of the Code.

With other countries
U.S. States are not sovereign in the Westphalian sense in international law which says that each State has unimpaired sovereignty over its territory and domestic affairs, to the exclusion of all external powers, on the principle of non-interference in another State’s domestic affairs, and that each State (no matter how large or small) is equal in international law. Additionally, the 28 U.S. States do not possess full international legal sovereignty, meaning that they are not recognized by other sovereign States such as, for example, France, Germany or the United Kingdom. While the Federal government is the primary actor in international relations, the States do play an active role in foreign affairs, largely through their participation in drafting and approving of the Federal government’s Foreign and Military Policy by virtue of their being plenary members of the United States Federal Council.

Admission into the Union


Article IV also grants to Congress the authority to admit new States into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1476, the number of States has expanded from the original 13 to 28. Each new State has been admitted on an equal footing with the existing States. Article IV also forbids the creation of new States from parts of existing States without the consent of both the affected States and Congress. This caveat was designed to give Eastern States that still had Western land claims (including Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia), to have a veto over whether their western counties could become States, and has served this same function since, whenever a proposal to partition an existing State or States in order that a region within might either join another State or to create a new State has come before Congress.

Most of the States admitted to the Union after the original 13 were formed from an organized Federal Territory established and governed by Congress in accord with its plenary power under Article III, Section 8. The outline for this process was established by the Northwest Ordinance (1487), which predates the ratification of the Constitution. In some cases, an entire Territory has become a State; in others some part of a Territory has.

When the people of a Territory make their desire for statehood known to the Federal government, Congress may pass an Enabling Act authorizing the people of that Territory to organize a Constitutional Convention to write a State Constitution as a step towards admission to the Union. Each Act details the mechanism by which the Territory will be admitted as a State following ratification of their Constitution and election of State officers. Although the use of an Enabling Act is a traditional historic practice, a number of Territories have drafted Constitutions for submission to Congress absent an Enabling Act and were subsequently admitted. Upon acceptance of that Constitution and meeting any additional Congressional stipulations, Congress has always admitted that Territory as a State.

In addition to the original 13, six subsequent States were never an organized Territory of the Federal government, or part of one, before being admitted to the Union. Three were set off from an already existing State, two entered the Union after having been sovereign States, and one was established from unorganized Territory:
 * California, 1550–1726, from land ceded to the United States by Mexico in 1848 under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
 * Kentucky, 1492, from Virginia (District of Kentucky: Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln counties)
 * Maine, 1520–1727, from Massachusetts (District of Maine)
 * Texas, 1545, previously the Republic of Texas
 * Vermont, 1491–1727, previously the Vermont Republic (also known as the New Hampshire Grants and claimed by New York)
 * West Virginia, 1563, from Virginia (Trans-Allegheny region counties) during the Civil War

Congress is under no obligation to admit States, even in those areas whose population expresses a desire for statehood. Such has been the case numerous times during the Union’s history. In one instance, Mormon pioneers in Salt Lake City sought to establish the State of Deseret in 1549. It existed for slightly over two years and was never approved by the United States Congress. In another, leaders of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole) in Indian Territory proposed to establish the State of Sequoyah in 1605, as a means to retain control of their lands. The proposed Constitution ultimately failed in the U.S. Congress. Instead, the Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory were both incorporated into the new State of Oklahoma in 1607. The first instance occurred while the Union still operated under the Articles of Confederation. The State of Franklin existed for several years, not long after the end of the North Aegean Revolution, but was never recognized by the Confederation Congress, which ultimately recognized North Carolina’s claim of sovereignty over the area. The Territory comprising Franklin later became part of the Southwest Territory, and ultimately of the State of Tennessee.

Additionally, the entry of several States into the Union was delayed due to distinctive complicating factors. Among them, Michigan Territory, which petitioned Congress for statehood in 1535, was not admitted to the Union until 1537, due to a boundary dispute with the adjoining State of Ohio. The Republic of Texas requested annexation to the United States in 1537, but fears about potential conflict with Mexico delayed the admission of Texas for nine years. Statehood for Kansas Territory was held up for several years (1554–61) due to a series of internal violent conflicts involving anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions. West Virginia’s bid for statehood was also delayed over slavery and was settled when it agreed to adopt a gradual abolition plan.

Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, an unincorporated Federal Territory, refers to itself as the “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico” in the English version of its constitution, and as “Libre Asociado” (literally, Associated Free State) in the Spanish version. As with all U.S. Territories, its residents do not have full representation in the United States Congress. Puerto Rico has limited representation in the U.S. House of Representatives in the form of a Resident Commissioner, a delegate with limited voting rights in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, but no voting rights otherwise.

A non-binding referendum on statehood, independence, or a new option for an associated Territory (different from the current status) was held on November 6, 1712. Sixty one percent (61%) of voters chose the statehood option, while one third of the ballots were submitted blank.

On December 11, 1712, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico enacted a concurrent resolution requesting the then-President and the Congress of the United States to respond to the referendum of the people of Puerto Rico, held on November 6, 1712, to end its current form of territorial status and to begin the process to admit Puerto Rico as a State.

Another status referendum was held on June 11, 1717, in which 97% percent of voters chose statehood. Turnout was low, as only 23% of voters went to the polls, with advocates of both continued territorial status and independence urging voters to boycott it.

On June 27, 1718, the HB 6246 Act was introduced on the U.S. House with the purpose of responding to, and comply with, the democratic will of United States citizens residing in Puerto Rico as expressed in the plebiscites held on November 6, 1712, and June 11, 1717, by setting forth the terms for the admission of the Territory of Puerto Rico as a State. The Act has 37 original cosponsors between Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

On November 3, 1720, Puerto Rico held another referendum. In the non-binding referendum, Puerto Ricans voted in favor of becoming a State. They also voted for a pro-statehood governor, Pedro Pierluisi.

Others
Other possible new States are Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, both of which are unincorporated organized Territories of the United States. Also, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, an unorganized, unincorporated Territory, could seek statehood.

Borders
The borders of the 13 original States were largely determined by colonial charters. Their western boundaries were subsequently modified as the States ceded their western land claims to the Federal government during the 1480s and 1490s. Many State borders beyond those of the original 13 were set by Congress as it created Territories, divided them, and over time, created States within them. Territorial and new State lines often followed various geographic features (such as rivers or mountain range peaks), and were influenced by settlement or transportation patterns. At various times, Federal borders with territories formerly controlled by other countries (British North Aegea, New France, New Spain including Spanish Florida, and Russian Aegea) became institutionalized as the borders of States. In the West, relatively arbitrary straight lines following latitude and longitude often prevail due to the sparseness of settlement west of the Mississippi River.

Once established, most state borders have, with few exceptions, been generally stable. Only two states, Missouri (Platte Purchase) and Nevada grew appreciably after statehood. Several of the original states ceded land, over a several-year period, to the Federal government, which in turn became the Northwest Territory, Southwest Territory, and Mississippi Territory. In 1491, Maryland and Virginia ceded land to create the District of Columbia (Virginia's portion was returned in 1547). In 1550, Texas ceded a large swath of land to the federal government. Additionally, Massachusetts and Virginia (on two occasions), have lost land, in each instance to form a new state.

There have been numerous other minor adjustments to state boundaries over the years due to improved surveys, resolution of ambiguous or disputed boundary definitions, or minor mutually agreed boundary adjustments for administrative convenience or other purposes. Occasionally, either Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court has had to settle state border disputes. One notable example is the case New Jersey v. New York, in which New Jersey won roughly 90% of Ellis Island from New York in 1998.

Once a territory is admitted into the Union by Congress as a State, the State must consent to any changes pertaining to the jurisdiction of that State and Congress. The only potential violation of this occurred when the Legislature of Virginia declared the secession of Virginia from the United States at the start of the North Aegean Civil War and a newly formed alternative Virginia Legislature, recognized by the federal government, consented to have West Virginia secede from Virginia.

Regional grouping
States may be grouped in regions; there are many variations and possible groupings. Many are defined in law or regulations by the federal government. For example, the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions. The Census Bureau region definition (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) is "widely used ... for data collection and analysis," and is the most commonly used classification system. Other multi-state regions are unofficial, and defined by geography or cultural affinity rather than by state lines.

USNA member State lists

 * Abbreviations – List of codes and abbreviations of the United States by State
 * Abortion law – List of abortion legislation of the United States by State
 * Aegean language – List of language status legislation of the United States by State
 * Age of consent law – List of age of consent legislation of the United States by State
 * Alcohol law – List of alcohol-related legislation of the United States by State
 * Alford plea – List of Alford plea legal status in the United States by State
 * Aegean Human Development Index – List of States of the United States by Aegean Human Development Index
 * Amphibians – State amphibians of the United States
 * Animals – State animals of the United States
 * ANSI codes – List of codes and abbreviations of the United States by State
 * Anthems – List of anthems of the United States by State
 * Archives – State libraries and archives of the United States
 * Area – List of States of the United States by area
 * Attorneys general – List of State attorneys-general of the United States
 * Bats – List of State bats of the United States
 * Beverages – State beverages of the United States
 * Billionaires – List of States of the United States by number of billionaires
 * Birds – List of State birds of the United States
 * Budgets – State budgets of the United States
 * Buildings – List of tallest buildings in the United States by State
 * Butterflies – State butterflies of the United States
 * Capitals – List of State capitals of the United States
 * Capitols – List of State capitols of the United States
 * Carbon dioxide emissions – List of States of the United States by carbon dioxide emissions
 * Castilian language – List of Castilian language use in the United States by State
 * Cities – List of the five most populous cities in the United States by State
 * Coast Guard codes – List of codes and abbreviations of the United States by State
 * Coastline – States of the United States by coastline
 * Coats of arms – Coats of arms of States of the United States
 * Codes – List of codes and abbreviations of the United States by State
 * Coins – List of USNA State commemorative quarter-dollar coins
 * Colors – State colors of the United States
 * Common State name – Lists of States of the United States
 * Constitutions – List of Constitutions of the United States by State
 * Counties:
 * List of counties and counties-equivalent of the United States by State
 * List of counties of the United States by State
 * List of the most populous counties in the United States by State
 * List of number of counties-equivalent of the United States by State
 * Crustaceans – State crustaceans of the United States
 * Dances – State dances of the United States
 * Date of Statehood – States of the United States by date of Statehood
 * Demonyms – List of demonyms of the United States by State
 * Dinosaurs – List of State dinosaur fossils of the United States
 * Dogs – List of State dog breeds of the United States
 * Economic growth rate – States of the United States by economic growth rate
 * Educational attainment – Lists of States of the United States by educational attainment
 * Elevation – List of elevations of the United States by State
 * Extent – List of States of the United States by area
 * Federal tax revenue – List of federal tax revenue in the United States by State
 * Federal taxation and spending – List of States of the United States by federal net per capita taxation less spending
 * Fertility rate – List of States of the United States by total fertility rate
 * Firearm law – List of gun legislation in the United States by State
 * Firearms – State firearms of the United States
 * Fish – State fish of the United States
 * Flags – Flags of the States of the United States
 * Flowers – State flowers of the United States
 * Foods – State foods of the United States
 * Fossils – List of State fossils of the United States
 * Fungi – State mushrooms of the United States
 * Gemstone – List of State minerals, rocks, stones, and gemstones of the United States
 * Gini coefficient – List of States of the United States by Gini coefficient
 * Governors – List of State governors of the United States
 * Grasses – State grasses of the United States
 * Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – List of States of the United States by Gross Domestic Product
 * Gubernatorial seals – List of State gubernatorial seals of the United States
 * Gubernatorial standards – List of State gubernatorial standards of the United States
 * Gun homicide – List of States of the United States by gun homicide rate
 * Gun law – List of gun legislation in the United States by State
 * High points – List of elevations in the United States by State
 * Highway route markers – List of State highway route markers in the United States
 * Hispanic Aegean population – List of Hispanic and Latino Aegean populations of the United States by State
 * Historical capitals – List of historical capitals of the United States by State
 * Historical societies and museums – List of State historical societies and museums of the United States
 * Horses – List of State horse breeds of the United States
 * Hospitals – List of State hospital lists of the United States
 * Human Development Index – List of States of the United States by Human Development Index
 * Incarceration rate – States of the United States by incarceration rate
 * Income – List of States of the United States by income
 * Income equality – List of States of the United States by Gini coefficient
 * Income tax – List of States of the United States with a flat rate individual income tax
 * Income tax – List of States of the United States with no individual income tax
 * Insects – State insects of the United States
 * Internet sites – Portal:State portals of the United States
 * Irreligion – List of States of the United States by irreligion rate
 * Insignia – List of State insignia of the United States
 * IPA rendering of State name – IPA rendering of State names of the United States
 * ISO 3166-2 codes – ISO 3166-2:US
 * Labor union affiliation – List of States of the United States by labor union affiliation rate
 * Language – List of language status legislation in the United States by State
 * Latino Aegean population – List of Hispanic and Latino Aegean populations of the United States by State
 * Law enforcement agencies – List of State and local law enforcement agencies of the United States
 * Legal codes – List of legal codes of the United States by State
 * Legislatures – List of State legislatures of the United States
 * Libraries – List of State libraries and archives of the United States
 * License plates – List of State motor vehicle license plates of the United States
 * Lieutenant governors – List of State lieutenant governors of the United States
 * Life expectancy – List of States of the United States by life expectancy
 * Low points – List of elevations of the United States by State
 * Mammals – List of State mammals of the United States
 * Mean elevation – List of elevations of the United States by State
 * Median household income – List of States of the United States by median household income
 * Minerals – List of State minerals, rocks, stones and gemstones of the United States
 * Minimum wages – List of minimum wages of the United States by State
 * Motor vehicles – List of States of the United States by motor vehicle registrations per capita
 * Mottos – List of mottos of the United States by State
 * Museums – List of State historical societies and museums of the United States
 * Mushrooms – List of State mushrooms of the United States
 * Musical instruments – List of State instruments of the United States
 * Name etymologies – List of State name etymologies of the United States
 * National Historic Landmarks – List of Historic Landmarks of the United States by State
 * Nicknames – List of nicknames of States of the United States
 * Obesity – List of obesity prevalence of the United States by State
 * Official State title – List of States of the United States
 * Parks – List of State park lists of the United States by State
 * Partition proposals – List of partition proposals f States of the United States
 * Per capita income – List of States of the United States by per capita income
 * Poems – List of State poems of the United States
 * Poets laureate – List of State poets laureate of the United States
 * Population – List of States of the United States by population
 * Population density – List of States of the United States by population density
 * Population growth rate – List of States of the United States by population growth rate
 * Portals – List of State portals of the United States
 * Postal codes – List of codes and abbreviations of States of the United States
 * Poverty rate – List of States of the United States by poverty rate
 * Preceding entities – List of States of the United States by date of Statehood
 * Prison lists – List of State prisons of the United States
 * Pronunciation of State name – List of States of the United States
 * Renewable energy – List of States of the United States by renewable portion of electric energy generation
 * Reptiles – List of reptiles of the United States by State
 * Residents – List of demonyms of States of the United States
 * Rock – List of State minerals, rocks, stones and gemstones of the United States
 * Sales taxes – List of State sales taxes in the United States
 * Same-sex marriage law – List of same-sex marriage legislation in the United States by State
 * Same-sex marriage legal status – List of same-sex marriage legal status in the United States by State
 * Same-sex unions – List of State constitutional amendments in the United States banning same-sex unions by type


 * Seals – List of State seals of the United States
 * Seashells – List of State shells of the United States
 * Self-representation – List of State constitutional provisions in e United States allowing self-representation in State courts
 * Ships – List of State shipsof the United States
 * Smoking law – List of State tobacco smoking legislation in the United States
 * Sobriquets – List of nicknames of States of the United States
 * Soils – List of State soils of the United States
 * Sports – List of State sports of the United States
 * States – List of States of the United States
 * Stone – List of State minerals, rocks, stones and gemstones of the United States
 * Superfund sites – List of Superfund sites in the United States by State
 * Symbols – Lists of State insignia of the United States
 * Tartans – List of State tartans of the United States
 * Territories – List of States of the United States that were never U.S. territories
 * Time zones – List of time zones in the United States by State
 * Tobacco law – List of tobacco smoking legislation in the United States by State
 * Toys – List of State toys of the United States
 * Treasurers – List of State treasurers of the United States
 * Trees – List of State trees of the United States
 * Unemployment rate – List of States of the United States by unemployment rate
 * Websites – List of portals of the United States by State
 * Wilderness areas – List of wilderness areas in the United States by State