Commonwealth = United States?

[NewHopeR]

Context:

Penn State University was founded in 1855. The Pennsylvania legislature designated Penn State as the Commonwealth’s sole land-grant institution in 1863, which eventually broadened the University’s mission to include teaching, research, and public service in many academic disciplines. Penn State has awarded more than a half-million degrees, and has been Pennsylvania’s largest source of baccalaureate degrees at least since the 1930s. Although the university is privately chartered by the Commonwealth, it was from the outset considered an “instrumentality of the state,” that is, it carries out many of the functions of a public institution and promotes the general welfare of the citizenry. The Governor and other representatives of the Commonwealth have held seats on Penn State’s Board of Trustees since the University’s founding, and the legislature has made regular appropriations in support of the University’s mission since 1887. Today Penn State is one of top and the largest public universities in the United States. With its administrative and research hub at the University Park campus, Penn State has 23 additional locations across Pennsylvania. While some of these locations, such as the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, they all adhere to a common overall mission and set of core values and strategic goals. FOR MORE INFO, PLEASE CHECK WWW.PSU.EDU

[BobK]

In that context you're probably right. (At the time when this was wirtten, people tended to spray initial capitals around fairly indiscriminately. Today, I think most people - not just speakers of BE! - would assume that that 'the Commonwealth' was 'the British Commonwealth' (once a sort of reality, as a PC translation of 'the British Empire', but now preserved mainly in expressions like 'Commonwealth Games').)

Another usage, among students of British history, refers to the time when the UK was getting by without a monarchy, and Cromwell was 'the Lord Protector'. (But English history is more or less a closed book to me, so check.)

b

PS I was coming back to add a retraction along the lines K suggests in the next post.

[konungursvia]

I'm not sure. Many of the original 13 States have official names such as "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts" and so on. I think it refers to Pennsylvania here.

[SoothingDave]

I'm not sure. Many of the original 13 States have official names such as "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts" and so on. I think it refers to Pennsylvania here.

Yes. I am from PA. 4 of the 50 United "States" are actually, legally, "Commonwealths."

PA, Mass., Virgina, Kentucky.

There is no appreciable difference on a federal level. These 4 are "states" just like the other 46.

At the state level, the "Commonwealth" refers to itself as such in legal matters. (e.g. instead of court cases being "The State v John Doe" they are "The Commonwealth v John Doe."