In 1776 the word "commonwealth" harkened back to the period when Cromwell was in charge in England and there was no Crown and no House of Lords. I think that in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, the authors of their constitutions selected that name deliberately because they created new governments with no royalty and no titled aristocracy as part of the government. The other colonies called themselves states, but it is curious that none called itself a republic or a country, all of which would have been more or less equally legitimate and correct. The first Kentucky constitution was very largely influenced by the first Virginia constitution, which is why Kentucky is the fourth commonwealth. The different names denote no difference among the states. On the question about when the laws of the state began, I perceive from the headings "Interregnum" and "first year of the commonwealth" that this question derives from viewing the collection of the laws of Virginia that William Waller Hening compiled and published early in the 19th century. "Interregnum" is a term that he imposed on the period during which the five revolutionary conventions met between August 1774 and July 1776 and in effect took over running Virginia from the royal government. The ordinances that those conventions passed appear under the heading "Interregnum." It is another distinction without a difference. Brent Tarter The Library of Virginia [log in to unmask] Please visit the Library of Virginia's Web site at http://www.lva.virginia.gov -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask] Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 12:09 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [VA-HIST] What makes VA a commonwealth? I've often wondered about this -- why are VA, PA, MA, and KY commonwealths and the rest of the states of the union are states? I'm assuming KY inherited its commonwealth-ness from VA. I was looking at the early laws of Virginia -- the titles go from "In the 12th year of King George III" to "Interregnum" -- in 1775 -- well before the actual death of George III -- but surely after the battles of Lexington and Concord -- to "In the first year of the commonwealth." So the laws of Virginia actually predate statehood. Maybe Maryland's laws predate statehood, but there is no such title at the top of each page...http://www.aomol.net/html/legislative.html Neither is there a title at the top of each page of North Carolina's laws (see google books -- link is too long). Joe McCollum Information Technology Specialist Forest Inventory and Analysis Knoxville, TN 37919 _____________________________________________________________ Click here to find all of your computer accessories for less! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2111/fc/Ioyw6iifZCJG619uBn4CaqHSy8c1 er8QgpyHCe4fvIXotDtd3C3g4a/?count=1234567890 ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html