Missouri is a federal dominion of
nine provinces, all of which are self-governing and share sovereignty with the federal government. Spanning the Midwest and much of the Great Plains, what is now Missouri was one of the last regions of North America settled by Europeans, and remained sparsely populated until the mid to late 19th century. The modern dominion was formed in 1867, when the crown colonies of Osage, Iowa and Kansas agreed to unite to form the Commonwealth. The province of Nebraska was created at the same time from the vast unorganised Midwest Territories. The self-governing colonial provinces of Minnesota and Colorado, declined the initial proposals to join the Commonwealth, with each hoping to establish themselves as self-governing dominions, however the terms of the 1876 Acts of Union, which formed the United Empire, brought both provinces into the Commonwealth with favourable terms. In 1890, the final three provinces of Dakota, Montana and Wyoming were formed, having initially joined to the Commonwealth in 1876 as districts of the unorganised Midwest Territories, before being elevated to territories and finally self-governing provinces.
Similar to the Columbian and Canadian federal systems, under the Constitution of Missouri, the nine provinces retain plenary legislative power except on matters reserved for the federal or imperial parliaments. Any change to the agreed division of powers between the federal government and the provinces requires a constitutional amendment, and the provinces have a great deal of power relative to the federal government, with jurisdiction over many public goods such as health care, education, welfare, and intra-provincial transportation. Like subdivisions in other federal dominions, they receive "transfer payments" from the federal government to pay for these, as well as exacting their own taxes.
Missouri is a large and diverse dominion, with English and Minnesotan having official status at the federal level, while French, German, Spanish and the various Native American languages are recognised minority languages. Minnesotan is a creolised Scandinavian language descended from Danish and Swedish settlers, and is widely spoken in the provinces of Minnesota and Dakota. Midwest German is widely spoken in rural communities across Dakota and Montana, where it is a recognised official language, however the number of speakers is declining. German was widely spoken in Colorado prior to the 1920s, but since then has declined, with only 3,000 speakers left as of the 2011 census. Dialects of French were once widely spoken throughout Missouri, owing to its former status as a French colonial territory, however the only surviving variety of French is that spoken throughout the province of Osage. Spanish is widely spoken in parts of Colorado, where nearly 20% of the population are of Hispanic descent, a legacy of immigration from Latin America, while Native American languages are spoken in pockets across the northern provinces.