ABSTRACT
Rhode Island was one of the 13 colonies which adopted the U.S. Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776. It became the 13th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution May 29, 1790.
Rhode Island is divided into five counties. The counties are divided into townships, called towns, which have very strong governments. Within the towns are villages, which have no government of their own. The county governments serve judicial functions only, in favor of town governments. Municipalities are classified as cities, which are formed from one or more towns. See Introduction.
