Commonwealth vs. State
Before you even begin to discuss the concepts and differences between these designations, you have to first determine where you are located. So, where are you talking about? Commonwealths and States, in domestic law, are pretty much treated the same. So much so that one could say there is no practical difference. As a basic rule, in the United States of America, commonwealths and states are treated the same under the U. S. Constitution.
Like the other comments following, it depends on what kind of commonwealth you're talking about; some consider Puerto Rico a commonwealth (which has some benefits of federal assistance, but restricted voting rights, etc). However, if you're asking about Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, or Pennsylvania (the four "states" in the US that call themselves a commonwealth), in a commonwealth landowners do not possess mineral or oil rights to their land. They don't actually own their land but own its use. However this does not significantly differentiate their structure or self-government in any way from other states in the Union. Other FAQ Framers have offered these opinions:
The above statement simply is not true. Studying the constitutions of most states you will find similar wording regarding the states identity or "sovereignty". To the federal government all states are created equal. The differences come about through actions of the states (or in VA, MA, PA and KY the commonwealth). Relative to the US there is NO difference between a state and a commonwealth although there are certainly differences in how each state is governed.
There is no difference between the two other than terminology.
There are four US states that officially designate themselves as "commonwealths". Arkansas is not one of them.In practice, there's no real difference between a "commonwealth" state and one that just calls itself a state.
Nothing. :] They are the same.
A country that is part of the commonwealth used to be a part of the British empire but now has political independence and state is equivalent to a country. A state can also mean a large area of a country that has a some political and legislative authority, but is not fully independent.
They're both headquartered in the United Kingdom. You're probably thinking of the Commonwealth Dominions/Realms vs. the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth of Nations is an agreement between nations in matters of trade and other relations. The Commonwealth Dominions are all part of the Commonwealth of Nations, but differ in that the British Monarch serves as their head of state, hence, the Queen of England is also the Queen of Canada, Australia, Bahamas, New Zealand, etc.
Kentucky is a commonwealth state, hence the title The Commonwealth of Kentucky.
what is the difference between action verds and state verbs ?
The difference is that an Inaugural address is when the president takes an oath and solemn promise and the other one is when he is telling the condition of the country.
What is the difference between a common wealth and a state?
difference between central and state university
they are two deferent competitions both games are only for the unprofessional players but the commonwealth games are only for countries that used to be in the commonwealth =)
The difference is the Commonwealth Games is only open to the members of the Commonwealth of Nations while the Olympic Games are open to the entire world.
Well there is no British empire as such nowadays. The ex-empire countries are known as commonwealth nations, many of these still have Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state, and have a close relationship with the United Kingdom.
It is a US state named "The Commonwealth of Virginia".
a city state does not have an emperor the difference between a city-state and an empire is that a city-state dose not have a emperor
No. California is a State. Massachusetts is a Commonwealth.
The difference between the state legislature and the congerss is that the state legislature is state legislature while Congress is national legislature.
difference between the observed outcome and the "normal" outcome (the difference between P2 and Q
There is no difference.
City is local and state is with the state. Pay would be the big difference.
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created in 1966.
Missoouri does NOT style itself a commonwealth.
A commonwealth government is one exists to protect the welfare of the citizens as a whole rather than a small priveleged class (like nobility and kings). Four states have the formal title "Commonwealth of..." rather than "State of..."; however there is no real difference between Commonwealths and States in how they operate. The four Commonwealths are Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
A commonwealth state is just an agreement to be a member of the United States.. A commonwealth state has the right to withdraw from the United States and become it's own country if the people in that commonwealth choose to no longer be a member of the U.S.A.
To the best of my knowledge there really isn't one. It is a historical naming issue. In the early days of colonization, commonwealth was practically synonymous with 'republic' or 'state'. Some preferred the term because they liked the implied meaning better. But I do not believe there is any meningful distinction that differentiates a commonwealth from a state. However, in modern parlance, there is a tendency to use the term commonwealth to refer to a government with local autonomy but which is a protectorate of some other nation as is the case with US held territories like Puerto Rico. However this modern spin on the word should not be taken as implying any legal distinction between US states which are commonwealths vs states that are not.