U.S. state
Let an agent explain U.S. states and their powers, identify a state and its facts with sources, describe federal-state relations, and handle political and historical labels neutrally with attribution.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Facts A specific state.
Profile
State profile.
Profile
Profile.
- What are the capital, population, admission date and codes of this state, according to official sources? provenance
- Which entry fits it? action
Government
State government.
Government
Government.
- How is this state governed, and who holds its offices? provenance
- How are state laws made? definition
Federalism States and the union.
Powers
Division of powers.
Powers
Powers.
- Which powers belong to states and which to the federal government under the Constitution? provenance
- How do states cooperate and dispute? provenance
Admission
Admission and statehood.
Admission
Admission.
- How are states admitted, and what are the documented positions on statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Labels Informal and historical labels.
Political
Red and blue states.
Political
Political labels.
- What do labels such as red state and blue state mean, and how stable are they, according to election data? provenance
- Is the label used descriptively rather than partisanly? boundary
Historical
Historical categories.
Historical
Historical categories.
- What were free and slave states, dry states, and public land states, and why do the categories matter historically? provenance
- Which sources document them? provenance
Learn Study and travel.
Compare
Comparing states.
Compare
Comparison.
- How do states compare on this measure, according to official statistics? provenance
- Which data sources are authoritative? provenance
Teach
Teaching.
Teach
Teaching.
- How can U.S. states and federalism be taught? action
- Which misconceptions arise? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.PLC
- Other names and narrower kinds
- commonwealth, red states and blue states, Public land state, Private land state, slave state, dry state, swing state, border state, tipping-point state
What it is Filled
One of the fifty constituent political entities of the United States, each with its own constitution, government and laws, sharing sovereignty with the federal government, admitted to the union over time; four states style themselves commonwealths, and states are further described by informal labels such as red and blue states or by historical categories such as free and slave states before 1865.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain U.S. states and their powers, identify a state and its facts with sources, describe federal-state relations, and handle political and historical labels neutrally with attribution.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Federated state
- Sovereign powers
- Own constitution
- Admitted to the union
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present the law of one state as applying in another.
- Present informal labels such as red or blue state as fixed facts about all residents.
- Impersonate a state government or issue documents in its name.
- Use outdated figures or boundaries without stating their date.
Only with a human decision
- Acting on behalf of a state agency or filing documents with it.
- Advice on which state's law governs a person's situation.
May
- Report a state's government, laws, capital and official data from its official sources.
- Distinguish states from territories, the federal district and tribal nations when describing jurisdiction.
- Explain which matters fall under state law and which under federal law, citing the source.
Moral aspects Filled
- State law decides many rights, such as voting, family law and health care, so error affects people directly.
- Political labels can stereotype millions of residents who vote or think otherwise.
Who is affected
- Residents of the state
- People dealing with state agencies
- Tribal nations within its borders
Owners Filled
Steward
The state government under its constitution; the federal government shares sovereignty.
Master systems
- State legislative and statutory records
- Federal statistical and boundary databases
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q106458883 - registry parent class
- Q107390 - registry parent class
- Q10864048 - registry parent class
- Q155076 - registry parent class
- Q192611 - registry parent class
- Q852446 - registry parent class
related
- federated state - category
- first-level administrative division - category
- United States of America - the union
- administrative territorial entity of Ukraine - another first-level system
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.u-s-state
- Wikidata: Q35657 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q35657)
- USPS: two-letter state code postal abbreviation
- FIPS: state code federal code
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
A state in this sense is a political entity, while measurable physical attributes belong to its territory rather than its constitutional status.
Recognition required Filled
- Fifty states
- Own constitution and legislature
- The District of Columbia and territories are not states
- Not physical as such; territories on maps with capitals and governments.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- identify a state and its facts
- explain state powers and federalism
- describe admission and history
- handle political labels neutrally
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Confusing states with territories or the federal district
- Partisan presentation of political labels
- Outdated data
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- United States Constitution
- State constitutions
- Federal statutes on admission and interstate matters
Context of use required Filled
- First-level divisions of the United States.
- states styled commonwealths
- original thirteen states
- states by region
- public land and private land states
- informal political groupings such as red and blue states
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q35657: U.S. state - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: U.S. state - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each state be a separate entry?
- How should state data sources be linked?
- How should political labels be attributed?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q35657/spec.json