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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.
The U.S. Congress is granted the power to set political divisions within the territory of the United States. The power of Congress over such divisions is exclusive and universal, which would not preclude state and local governments from suing the federal government if they disputed an act of Congress.
On 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.
The United States currently has no incorporated territories--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.
A 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.
At 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:
Federal Oversight of United States Territory
Congress of the United States
United States Department of the Interior
Historic Territories of the United States
Federal district of the United States
States of the United States
Main article: States of the United States
The contiguous part of the U.S. (i.e. without Hawaii and Alaska) is called continental United States.
The 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.
There are approximately 30,000 incorporated cities in the United States. For more information, visit cities of the United States
Township 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. For more information, see township.
Counties in the United States
Cities in the United States
Townships in the United States
Dependent areas of the United States
Several islands in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea are dependent territories of the United States:
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(The term "commonwealth" expresses the political relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas).
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 four political units.
Indian tribes, as sovereign nations within the United States, have a fair amount of autonomy on Indian reservations. (Agreements between the U.S. government and Native American groups are generally treaties rather than laws or contracts.)Indian Reservations