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What is the Commonwealth of Virginia?

You will often hear our state called the Commonwealth of Virginia. This doesn't mean Virginia has a different form of government than any other state.

“Commonwealth” is defined by Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary as:

a political unit or government
(1) “founded on law and united by compact or tacit agreement of the people for the common good,” or
(2) “one in which supreme authority is vested in the people.”

Using these definitions, it could be said that all 50 states, as well as our national government, are commonwealths. Besides Virginia, three other states - Kentucky, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania - use the term commonwealth as part of their official names. The first use of commonwealth in Virginia was early in its history. One reason given by Governor George Yeardley for authorizing the first General Assembly meeting at Jamestown in 1619 was “for the better establishing of a commonwealth here.” From 1649 to 1660, England and Virginia did not have a king. Instead, the Puritans ruled under a Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. The government was called the Commonwealth of England. This commonwealth ended when King Charles II reclaimed the throne in 1660. In Colonial times, Virginia was officially known as the Colony and Dominion of Virginia. When the 13 colonies broke ties with the British Crown during the Revolution, the old name was no longer suitable. The delegates to the convention in Williamsburg, when the first Constitution of Virginia was adopted on June 29, 1776, used commonwealth as the name for the new form of government. It is very likely they had in mind the Puritans’ rebellion against the Crown in England more than 100 years earlier.

Pennsylvania and Massachusetts also chose to be called commonwealths after independence from Great Britain. The other 10 former colonies took the name “state,” the term used in the Declaration of Independence. Kentucky was once part of Virginia. When Kentuckians joined the Union as the 15th state in 1792, it kept the name commonwealth. There are several other uses of the word “commonwealth” in the world today The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is not a state, but a territory. In this case,
commonwealth refers to the free association with the United States chosen by the Puerto Rican people. The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of Great Britain and about 50 countries that were once part of the British Empire. Some of these nations, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, still recognize the British monarch as their official head of state.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia and other former Soviet republics formed the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance set up to handle certain matters of mutual interest among these newly independent countries.

Founded May 13, 1607, at Jamestown; first permanent English settlement in North America

Capitals
Richmond (since 1780)
Williamsburg (1699-1780)
Jamestown (1607-1699)
Reference

Calendar Highlights

May:

• Better Sleep Month
• Mental Health Awareness Month
• Military Appreciation Month
• Teacher Appreciation Month

1st Week
          • Astronomy Week

2nd Week
          • Nurses Week

4th Week
          • Pickle Week

  1 May Day
  2 Teacher Day
  4 Star Wars Day: "May the fourth be with you." 
  5 Cinco de Mayo
13 Frog Jumping Day
14 Mother's Day
20 Armed Forces Day
29 Memorial Day