Political divisions of the United StatesThere are myriad political divisions of the United States including (but not limited to) states, territories, cities, townships, counties, the federal district, possessions, embassies and consulates, Indian reservations, military installations and non-municipal districts like school districts or utilities districts. The primary political division of the United States is the U.S. state. The states have a fair degree of autonomy, as a result of the U.S.'s federal system. The state then grants further autonomy to its own subdivisions, primarily counties, townships and cities. There are an estimated 85,000 extant political entities in the United States. Political divisions of the United States are a subset of the total United States territory. \n
United States Department of the InteriorOn March 3, 1849, on the last day of the 30th Congress, a bill was passed to create the U.S. Department of the Interior to take charge of the internal affairs of United States territory. The Interior Department has a wide range of responsibilities (which include the regulation of territorial governments, the basic responsibilities for public lands, and other various duties). In contrast to similarly named Departments in other countries, the United States Department of the Interior is not responsible for local government or for civil administration except in the cases of Indian reservations, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and island dependencies, through the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA).States of the United StatesAt the Declaration of Independence, the United States consisted of 13 states. In the following years, this number has grown steadily due to expansion to the west, conquest and purchase of lands by the American government, and division of existing states to the current number of 50 U.S. states:
The contiguous part of the U.S. (i.e. without Hawaii and Alaska) is called continental United States.
The relation between the state and national government is rather complex, because of the country's federal system. Under United States law, states are considered sovereign entities, meaning that the power of the states is considered to come directly from the people within the states rather than from the federal government. Federal law overrides state law in the areas in which the federal government is empowered to act, but the powers of the federal government are subject to limits in the Constitution of the United States. (All powers not explicitly granted to the federal government in the Constitution are duly appropriated to the states and the people.)
The American Civil War and Texas v. White established that states do not have the right to secede, and under the Constitution of the United States, they are not allowed to conduct foreign policy.
Divisions of U.S. states\nCounties in the United StatesThe states are divided into smaller administrative regions, called counties in most states—exceptions being Alaska (boroughs) and Louisiana (parishes). Counties can include a number of cities and towns, or sometimes just a part of a city. These counties have varying degrees of political and legal significance. For further detail, visit counties and county statistics of the United States. Counties in many states can divide themselves further into minor civil divisions.Cities in the United StatesThere are approximately 30,000 incorporated cities in the United States. For more information, visit cities of the United States.Townships in the United StatesTownship is an intermediate civic designation between city and county; cities sometimes cross county boundaries, townships never do. Some townships have governments and political power, others are simply geographic designations. Townships in the United States are generally the product of the Public Land Survey System. For more information, see township, survey township and civil township. Townships are subdivided into sectionss, which never have separate governments.Juridictions not administered by the statesFederal district of the United StatesA separate federal district under the direct authority of congress, the District of Columbia, was formed independent of any state. It is there that the nation's capital city resides. The city contains the historic Federal City and is that part that was originally designed as the National Capitol. It is part of the United States of America but not part of any state. The city is under the jurisdiction of the United States Congress, as well as its own mayor-council system.Indian ReservationsIndian reservations a separate and special classification of political division of the U.S. Under U.S. law, Indian tribes are sovereign nations, meaning that their legal authority to act comes derives independently of the state and federal governments. However, under this definition of tribal sovereignty, they cannot act independently of the federal government, but they are immune from regulations under state law. Until the late-19th century, agreements between the U.S. government and Native American groups were generally called treaties, however these are now considered domestic legislation despite their name, and after the passage of the Dawes Act in 1883, no new treaties with Indian tribes have been concluded.Territories of the United StatesLands and regions not part of any state, and not assigned to the native peoples of the Americas, have often been legally designated as territories by the U.S. government. Most of these possessions, as they are alternately called, were the results of seizure and cession. All former territories in the contiguous U.S. are now states; many overseas unincorporated territories, briefly held, are now independent states—Cuba, the Philippines and Palau being three examples. See the individual articles for in-depth examinations of the legal status of these entities. The United States currently has only one incorporated territory, Palmyra Atoll, and has no territories slated to become states. This has been the case since 1959, up to which point large parts of the United States were under the direct control of the federal government, with nominal political autonomy at the territorial level. Unlike states, the authority to rule dependent areas comes not from the people of those areas but from the Federal government, however in most cases Congress has granted a large amount of self-rule.Insular areas of the United StatesSeveral islands in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea are considered insular areas of the United States:Inhabited\n* American Samoa (unincorporated, officially unorganized, although self-governing under authority of the U.S. Department of the Interior)\n* Guam (unincorporated, organized under Organic Act of 1950)\n* Northern Mariana Islands (unincorporated, commonwealth, organized under 1977 Covenant)\n* Puerto Rico (unincorporated, commonwealth, organized under terms of Puerto Rico-Federal Relations Act)\n* U.S. Virgin Islands (unincorporated, organized under Revised Organic Act of 1954)Uninhabited\n* Baker Island (unincorporated) \n* Howland Island (unincorporated)\n* Jarvis Island (unincorporated)\n* Johnston Atoll (unincorporated)\n* Kingman Reef (unincorporated)\n* Midway Islands (unincorporated; administered as the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge)\n* Navassa Island (unincorporated)\n* Palmyra Atoll (incorporated, "privately owned")\n* Wake Island (unincorporated) From July 18, 1947 until October 1, 1994, the U.S. administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, but recently entered into a new political relationship with all five political units (one of which is the Northern Mariana Islands listed above).Disputed\n* Serranilla Bank\n* Bajo Nuevo BankFreely associated states\nThe freely associated states are the three sovereign nations with which the United States has entered into a Compact of Free Association.See also\n*United States territory\n*Geography of the United States\n*List of regions of the United States\n*United States territorial acquisitions\n*History of United States imperialism\n*Historic regions of the United States\n*Unceded territory\n*Organized territory\n*Unorganized territoryExternal linksCategory:Political divisions of the United States Category:United States |
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