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    Why are some states in the US, such as Massachussetts and Virginia, still called commonwealths?

    Question #75200. Asked by neon000. (Jan 30 07 9:41 AM)


    skysmom65

    		Body politic founded on law for the common “weal,” or good. The term was often used by 17th-century writers to signify an organized political community, its meaning thus being similar to the modern meaning of state or nation. Today it primarily refers to the Commonwealth. Four U.S. states (Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) call themselves commonwealths, a distinction in name only. Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth rather than a state since 1952; its residents, though U.S. citizens, have only a nonvoting representative in Congress and pay no federal taxes.

    http://www.answers.com/commonwealths

    Jan 30 07, 9:56 AM

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