Turns out you can just slap on the term “commonwealth” to your name, like “The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” and you’re a commonwealth! Who knew. They are commonwealths simply because their state constitutions say they’re commonwealths. So what makes them different from the rest of the 50 states? Literally nothing. Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Kentucky are all commonwealths. Let’s get to the first definition of commonwealth. Less Schoolhouse Rock, sure, but just as important. (If you’re like me, it’s the same place where a song made up of 62 prepositions sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and the entirety of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” which for some inane reason I was forced to memorize for seventh grade Social Studies class, also live.) What was not taught to me in school, however, was the simple difference between a state and a commonwealth-and all of the nuances the term “commonwealth” encapsulates.

If you grew up in the United States, you probably have the 50-states song burned into some indelible part of your memory.

What states are commonwealth states