State governments of the United States

In the United States, state governments are institutional units exercising functions of government at a level below that of the federal government. Each U.S. state's government holds legislative, executive, and judicial authority over[1] a defined geographic territory. The United States comprises 50 states: 9 of the Thirteen Colonies that were already part of the United States at the time the Constitution took effect in 1789, 4 that ratified the Constitution after its commencement, plus 37 that have been admitted since by Congress as authorized under Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution.[2]

  1. ^ "Glossary of Statistical Terms: State Government". Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "Constitution of the United States, Article IV, Section 3, Paragraph 1". Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School. Retrieved October 17, 2015.