How many are there? My guess is 51, but some sources say different.

Alaska and Hawai'i are seperate states, but what about Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and all of the USA territory in the Pacific?

Are the people in the USA happy with this federal system of states?

The United States contains 50 states. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth.

U.S. STATES
-----------
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
COlorado
Conneticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhoda Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington (NOT to be confused with the U.S. Capitol)
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
----------------

The United States also has a seperate capitol which does not count as a state, but may vote in the Presidential Elections. Washington, D.C.

-----------------

In the terminology of the United States insular areas, a commonwealth is an organized territory that has established with the Federal Government a more highly developed relationship, usually embodied in a written mutual agreement.

There are currently two United States insular areas holding the status of commonwealth, the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico. The Philippine Islands was an insular area that held commonwealth status from March 24, 1934 until July 4, 1946, when the United States recognized the independence and sovereignty of the Philippines (see: Commonwealth of the Philippines).

The term must be distinguished from its usage in the names of the U.S. states of Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, which officially describe themselves as "commonwealths" but hold the same legal and political status as other states of the Union.

Of the U.S. insular areas, the term was first used by Puerto Rico in 1952 as its formal name in English ("Commonwealth of Puerto Rico") since a strict translation of its name in Spanish would have been unacceptable to the U.S. Congress. The formal name in Spanish for Puerto Rico is "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico," which translates exactly into "Free Associated State of Puerto Rico." The name "Estado Libre Asociado" summarizes the aspirations of many of those who want to maintain and even "improve" the relationship with the U.S., with greater autonomy and perhaps sovereignty, albeit with a U.S. passport. It is noted that the Commonwealthers present their status as an association with the United States under common citizenship, common defense and common currency. As of November of 2004, roughly half of the voters appear to have a preference for Commonwealth, the other half being for statehood with the U.S. A small portion (roughly 3 percent) seems to back independence.

When you think about some of the states borders, it doesn't make sense now, but 200 years ago there was no way of knowing how areas would develop. Take the New York City metropolitan area; it basically covers three states - New York, New Jersey and a little piece of Connecticut. When you consider the various layers of governments just related to transportation it would make more sense to form a Metro State.

It's a subject that can cover many aspects and many arguments. Then you have these little states like Rhode Island and Delaware. They could have been absorbed by surrounding states. In many ways it's more historical and traditional. To undo parts of it now would be chaotic and unrealistic. There is talk occasionally about New York City becoming it's own state just to offset the political and financial influence of the rest of the state, which has many rural and suburb areas.

I'm fairly happy with the system of State and Federal government. In theory it would weaken the Feds, but as we have all seen that never really played out as well in real life as it did on paper (e.g. the Civil War).

Love it or leave it, I always say. Try living in Iraq or Iran if you don't like it here.

"Love it or leave it, I always say. Try living in Iraq or Iran if you don't like it here."

Wow, pre-emptive trash talking! I love it!

Anyway, my system I'm fine with.

There are only 48 states on your list.

It left off Idaho and Nevada

Thanks DMC, and all the others who responded!

I hope you don't mean by that comment that.....

Never mind.

In the early decades of our Republic, states rights vs. federal rights were the number one source of political controversy and crises. Some might argue that our Civil War (1861-65) was fought over that issue. Today, few people give much thought to the system of states per se, although in the last 25 years, the general trend is for the Federal government to have a smaller role in society. In Puerto Rico (and perhaps other commonwealths and territories), there's ongoing political agitation over whether they should continue to be commonwealths or territories; should become states of the US, or become independent countries.

Well, I know that Canada has 10 Provinces and 3 Territories and the U.S.A. has 50 States and one Capital District (Washington, D.C.), but what exactly is Puerto Rico anyway? Oh yeah and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam and...?

I wonder if there is any talk about California splitting into two states. It has become so large and has two very distinct areas with their own intersts that it seems logical at some point that it might do that.

Gotta love the American way. How did we come up with our states? By invading indian territory, pushing them farther to the west coast, and naming our recently "acquired" territory after them.

Pssht, because, after all, Britian, Spain, France and Portugal and a slew of others were doing the same thing on a worldwide scale.

At least we learned from the best.

Also, to be accurate, we did buy some lands fair and square (such as the Louisiana Purchase, Florida, etc.) and we beat Mexico out for a whole chunk of land that is now New Mexico, Texas, and California, and is cited as a precursor to the Civil War.

What's your point?

DA - didn't you get the memo? America is the Great Satan.

What's your point? [/b][/quote]His point is, I think, that we "acquired" some of our states by invading Indian (or, to be politically correct, Native American) territory, and pushing them farther to the West coast.

Which is not entirely accurate.

If I'm not mistaken, after nearly killing all of them we made treaties with those who we left alive, herded them onto reservations in every direction (not only westward), and then, when we discovered in some cases that the land we had given them had value, uprooted them and herded them onto different reservations.

His point about naming many of our states after some of the Native American people that once inhabited those particular lands (such as the Dakotas, for example) was, I believe, to point out a certain irony there.

If your "What's your point?" question really means "What's your point in posting that?", and not "What is the point in your post?" (there is a difference), then my answer would be that there was no more of a point in posting that than there was in any of the other posts in this thread which did not address the three questions posed by the originator of the topic:

1- How many states are there?

2- What about Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and all of the USA territory in the Pacific?

3- Are the people in the USA happy with this federal system of states?

That would include irrelevent posts by several others, most notably exgigirl, whose "love it or leave it" post apparently was not worthy of your taking exception to, as well as don illuminati's.

Why is the USA the only country criticized for be invaded territory. Every piece of land aside Antarctica has been invaded and taken by different people throughout history.

That’s a rather inaccurate statement, don’t you think?

Who says the members of history's "Invaders Hall of Fame" don't get criticized?

Hitler, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, William the Conqueror, the British, French, Spanish (especially the Spanish in the Americas, also), Belgian and Portuguese colonialists…..

Plenty of genocide and regular every day killing to be found there all the way around, a fact which has been pretty well recognized and criticized by history.

No, America is the NEW Great Satan.

You're right, I forgot, nobody can top Israel. :p :rolleyes:

Who said that? And what do you mean, the territories that are now official USA soil but were invaded once, or are you talking about criticism on the invasion of Irak?

I heard Ruanda is also good in violating human rights. :p

You mean Rwanda, right?

Last time I checked, the PLO/Hamas weren't exactly the American Red Cross, either. :rolleyes:

Yeah, that's what I mean. Sometimes I get confused with the Dutch, African, and English spelling of country names.

I can only answer with a quote of Yoda: "Anger leads to suffering. Suffering leads to pain. Pain leads to the Dark Side."

You know Yoda was a puppet, right?

I mean, are you going to really quote someone who (up until CGI was developed) spent his entire life with someones hand up his ass?

Bush also has a Dick behind his ass, so why can't I?

Touché.

That’s a rather inaccurate statement, don’t you think?

Who says the members of history's "Invaders Hall of Fame" don't get criticized?

Hitler, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, William the Conqueror, the British, French, Spanish (especially the Spanish in the Americas, also), Belgian and Portuguese colonialists…..

Plenty of genocide and regular every day killing to be found there all the way around, a fact which has been pretty well recognized and criticized by history. [/b][/quote]I hear people criticize America time and time again for being a nation of people descended from Indian-killers. I never heard someone nowadays saying "Gotta love the German way. Killing minorities and trying to take over the world." Sure, Hitler is criticized but is Germany criticized today?

The examples you listed are never really talked about, at least from what I hear. In fact, I never heard the Spanish or French criticized for Indian-killing. When it comes to that, it's America that is criticized. Not the English, Spanish, or French, but rather America as a symbol of those killings.

My man, C-Dog (Christopher Columbus) has been shit on for the last couple of decades as an imperialist pig as well, which is pretty much character assassination from apologists.