Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
https://www.pa.gov/
Commonwealth States
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded
for the common good.
The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century
In the 17th century, the definition of "commonwealth" expanded from its original sense of "public welfare" or "commonweal" to mean "a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a republic or democratic state"
Four states in the United States that refer to themselves as commonwealths:
Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia
The commonwealths are just like any other state in their politics and laws, and there is no difference in their relationship to the nation as a whole.
In addition to Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the United States has two other commonwealths, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands,
but they are different.
They are not states and have only a nonvoting representative in Congress.
While residents of these islands have U.S. citizenship, they pay no federal income taxes, though they do pay other kinds of federal taxes.