Science Fair Project Encyclopedia In countries with federal
systems of government, and subnational entities offically called
(or widely-known as) states, a state government is the governing
body of a state. State governments share power with a federal
government or national government. Some state governments may be
deemed to have limited sovereignty, whereas others are subject
to the direct control of the central government. Under the 10th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, all governmental powers not
granted to the United States Federal Government by the
Constitution are reserved for the states. The governments of the
13 colonies which formed the original union under the
Constitution trace their history back to the royal charters
which established them during the era of colonialism. Most other
states were organized as federal territories before forming
their own governments and requesting admittance into the union.
Notable exceptions are Vermont, Texas and Hawaii, which were
sovereign nations before joining