http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheSeveralStates

— U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8 "The Congress shall have Power ... To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States..."

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The fifty states that make up the United States of America, plus the District of Columbia (AKA Washington D.C.). In this case, several is used in the sense of "considered separately", rather than in the sense of "a small number of them". The Constitution is full of references to "the several states" where today we might refer to "the individual states".

There is an untrue factoid floating around, mostly in places outside of the US, that there are only 46 "states" and technically four Commonwealths (note the capital C). In actuality, all of the states have long-form titles, and some just happen to use the word "Commonwealth" instead of State. The Commonwealths of Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are all full-fledged states. If anything, it is 50 states and two commonwealths (note the lowercase c): Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, which, as commonwealths and not states, occupy a very different legal status, being similar to overseas territories and generally included with them as Dependencies.

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"State" was initially a synonym for "nation", not "province" as it is now. In the early years, the original thirteen colonies were a loose coalition whose only uniting factor was the desire to be independent from Great Britain. As the central government — which bounced between cities for 27 years before the founding of the District of Columbia in 1801 — grew in power, a war was fought over whether the federal government or the individual states should have the bulk of power. Even today, the issue of states' rights remains divisive in American politics and a chief dividing point between its two major political parties; Democrats support a stronger central government while Republicans favor more autonomy for the states (or so they say, anyways. The reality is... highly debatable, especially nowadays).

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Before we start, a brief note on state borders. Apart from a Welcome sign on each side and possibly a toll booth (on toll roads), there are no practical artificial delineations between the states, though as in other countries, rivers sometimes act as natural borders for states; it's awfully hard to miss the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. On highways, there is often a visitors' bureau, one on each side, with about 100 pamphlets on tourist activities, and usually a volunteer to give directions to these state-revenue-enhancing locales. The differences in state laws and taxes and the absence of intra-U.S. border control create scenarios where you see many stores on one side selling things that are either illegal or more expensive on the other side. The most common of these are fireworks, though casinos, guns, and bulk tobacco products are also quite common. The last one can lead to some strange situations: for instance, usually you expect prices to be higher in a major city than in its surrounding suburbia, but Philadelphia's eastern suburbs are in New Jersey, which has higher taxes than Pennsylvania (but lower than New York), meaning that people can (and do) go into the city to buy things like alcohol and cigarettes at a cheaper price. Finally, while most of these things are legal to buy in one state and take into another (i.e. cheap cigarettes legally purchased in one state may be taken to any other state without breaking any laws at all), there are occasionally exceptions, the most prominent examples being firearms and marijuana. While firearms are legal in some capacity in all fifty states, some states forbid ownership of various firearms, ammunition and magazines by residents, and firearms usually must be purchased in the state of residence;note Federal law mandates that handguns can only be purchased in the buyer's state of residence. Long guns (i.e., rifles and shotguns) can be purchased out of state if the buyer can legally purchase a gun in the seller's state, and the seller can legally sell to a resident of the buyer's state. nonresidents driving through may typically possess firearms legal in their home state, so long as they are unloaded and inaccessible (i.e. in the trunk). Marijuana, however, is illegal to transport across any state line, even if both states permit sale and possession - to say nothing of the fact that possession itself remains illegal in many states, meaning you can cheerfully pay taxes to one state government and be thrown in jail by another if you were to travel in the wrong direction with your new purchase, a situation that applies to almost no other object or substance.note It's illegal on a federal level, so it's illegal in all 50. No matter what their individual laws say, the federal police can still arrest you for its ownership, sale, or use.

Note that the regions below follow the official U.S. Census regions and divisions pictured above. Some definitions may differ, such as Maryland and Delaware being placed in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast instead of the South Atlantic and South below, there sometimes being additional subregions like the Southwest, etc.

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South

Northeast

West

Midwest

U.S. Territories

Caribbean Puerto Rico Postal Code Abbreviation: PR

Motto: "Joannes est nomen ejus" (Latin) ("John is his name")

Demonym: Puerto Rican (formal), Boricua (colloq.)

Capital & Largest City: San Juan

Other Cities of Note: Ponce

Area: 5,324mi2 / 13,791km2

Population: 3,337,177

Current governor: Wanda Vázquez Garced The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a holdover from the Spanish-American War, fought near the turn of the 20th Century to free the people there from Spanish rule. It culturally has more in common with Latin America than the USA, and often sends representatives to world events separate from the American ones, but it's not quite independent. It is the largest of the island territories in both population and size by a huge margin (the other territories combined have less people than Wyoming, the least populous state), and is the most likely to 'graduate' in the near future, but whether that means statehood or independence is a matter of fierce ongoing debate. Two referendums in the '90s showed little support for independence, while almost half the voters supported statehood, and a few more supported an option with the benefits of both statehood and independencethe only option the United States never agreed to. After the turn of the millennium, Congress tried to pass a bill on how the referendum would be held, but couldn't agree on the terms either. In the 2012 elections, the populace finally approved a set of non-binding referendums that stated that they want to become a state, though the sitting governor is an opponent of statehood, not to mention that the introduction of Puerto Rico as a state would reshape the political landscape in ways that would not benefit the GOP, who still control the House. And you thought it would get easier when the island made its mind up. If one were to visit, a working knowledge of Spanish will help (though each younger generation is more fluent in English than the last), as will a working knowledge of metric, since road distances are in kilometers, although speed limits are still in miles per hour. United States Virgin Islands Postal Code Abbreviation: VI

Motto: "United in Pride and Hope"

Demonym: Virgin Islander

Capital & Largest City: Charlotte Amalie

Area: 732mi2 / 1,898km2

Population: 107,268

Current governor: Albert Bryan The Virgin Islands of the United States note Not to be confused with the British Virgin Islands to the east or Spanish Virgin Islands (actually American territory as part of Puerto Rico) to the west are a cluster of Caribbean islands that were bought from the Danes to keep Germany from snapping them up in World War I. The Danish influence is still apparent in the names of the towns, roads, and people's surnames.note Although the most famous Virgin Islander doesn't have a Danish surnamethat would be recently retired NBA star Tim Duncan. The Islands' population is predominantly Afro-Caribbean, with whites and Hispanics as the largest minority groups. Tourism is big here, as you need neither a passport nor working knowledge of another language to get by. Since it's right next to Puerto Rico, it is sometimes suggested that the two territories politically merge should PR become a state ("Puerto Virgo" being a possible name for the new entity), though this doesn't take into account that Virgin Islanders may lose representation in this arrangement, given the huge difference in population between the territories. Nonetheless, they do have the same ZIP code prefixes. Fun trivia: It's the only part of the U.S. that drives on the left, as that's the norm in the region. However, most vehicles have the steering wheel on the left (U.S.-style), rather than the right-side steering wheels typical in most left-driving countries. And due to the territory's ethnic makeup, the University of the Virgin Islands is counted among the US's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Polynesia American Samoa Postal Code Abbreviation: AS

Motto: "Samoa, Let God Be First", "Sāmoa, Muamua Le Atua" (Samoan)

Demonym: American Samoan (official), Samoan (colloquial)

Capital & Largest Village: Pago Pago

Area: 581mi2 / 1,505km2

Population: 51,504

Current governor: Lolo Matalasi Moliga Not to be confused with the independent island nation that is also called Samoa. Has spawned a good amount of players which have appeared in the NFL (87 currently), as well as pro wrestlers and hilarious moments on The Price Is Right. Micronesia Guam Postal Code Abbreviation: GU

Demonym: Guamanian

Capital & Largest City: Hagåtña

Area: 570mi2 / 1,478km2

Population: 167,358

Current governor: Lou Leon Guerrero Separate from the Northern Marianas, Guam is an island in the Asian Pacific under American rule. Invaded in Tom Clancy's novel Debt of Honor, where the Japanese (yes, this is set in modern times, taking Japan Takes Over the World in a less typical direction) cite the fact that the island is a lot closer to Tokyo than San Francisco. Known more among broadcasters as having the farthest affiliates of the American networks (15 hours from Eastern Time); Monday Night Football is truly Tuesday Morning Football here. Northern Mariana Islands Postal Code Abbreviation: MP

Demonym: Northern Mariana Islander (formal), Chamorro (colloquial)

Capital & Largest Island: Saipan

Area: 1,975mi2 / 5,117km2

Population: 52,263

Current governor: Ralph Torres The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are part of the same island chain as Guam, but a separate territory politically. After Spain ceded Guam to the U.S. they tried to sell these islands. When America wouldn't buy them, Spain sold them to Germany. Some time before World War II, Germany gave them to Japan. Afterwards when a number of Pacific islands that had been occupied by Japan where placed under temporary control of the U.S., the Northern Marianas chose to pursue closer ties with the U.S., instead of independence or free association. Covered in Brown Tree Snakes, which have had a devastating effect on the indigenous wildlife and regularly damage infrastructure. Saipan is notorious in Irish sporting culture as the site of a 2002 pre-World Cup training camp held by the Republic's national soccer/football team, during which star midfielder Roy Keane had a bitter falling-out with manager Mick McCarthy and either left or was sent home, depending on the source. The Other Territories Other U.S. territories include: A military base in Cuba called Guantanamo Bay that you've probably heard of. It was where the death in A Few Good Men took place.

The United States Minor Outlying Islands, which have no permanent residents. Located in the Pacific Ocean (except for one in the Caribbean), many of them are protected wildlife sanctuaries and receive little attention. The Sea Wind murders in the mid-'70s occurred on Palmyra Atoll, one of the constituent islands. Interestingly, Palmyra Atoll differs from the other territories that it is an incorporated territory, i.e. it is fully and forever part of the United States, and the entire U.S. Constitution applies. note This is because Palmyra Atoll was formerly part of the Kingdom of Hawaii and was annexed by the U.S. along with the rest of Hawaii, but was specifically excluded from the State of Hawaii in the statehood bill. In the unincorporated territories, note Basically all other U.S. territories outside of the 50 states, D.C. and Palmyra Atoll Congress and the courts decide which parts of the Constitution apply in these territories, and independence is a possibility. For example, anyone (if ever) born on Palmyra Atoll would be a natural-born citizen of the United States by virtue of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, while people born in e.g. Puerto Rico are citizens because Congress says so, note The JonesShafroth Act of 1917 granted citizenship to Puerto Ricans, but natural-born status was not given until 1952 and American Samoans are not citizens (unless they have a citizen parent) but are instead nationals because Congress hasn't come around to giving them citizenship. Wake Island, a former US military base, is one of them. Is officially uninhabited with restricted access. Claimed by the Marshall Islands. Location of a famous WWII battle.



Former U.S. Territories