Rhode Island History
Rhode Island Colony was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams after being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious views. He settled at the tip of Narragansett Bay near the Mashassuck River, calling the site Providence and declaring it as a place of religious freedom. Historically, the land of Rhode Island is unique because it was purchased twice, once from the King of England, and once from the Native American tribes which lived on the land.
On May 18, 1652 Rhode Island passed the first law in North America making slavery illegal. This is particularly intersting since Rhode Island was the location of the first slaves in the English colonies and the colony actively participated in the early days of the slave trade.
Charles II of England granted John Clarke a Royal Charter on July 8, 1663 to Rhode Island. Under the terms of the charter, only landowners could vote. Before the industrial revolution, when most people were employed as farmers, this was considered democratic. As the industrial revolution moved large numbers of workers into the cities, making a class of people who were permanently landless, and therefore voteless class developed. By 1829, 60% of the state's free white males were ineligible to vote.
Several attempts had been made to address this problem, but none passed. In 1842 Thomas Dorr drafted a liberal constitution which was passed by popular referendum. However the conservative sitting governor, Samuel Ward King, opposed the people's wishes, leading to the Dorr Rebellion. Although this collapsed, a modified version of the constitution was passed in November, which allowed any white male to vote that owned land or could pay a $1 poll tax.
Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the United States Constitution (May 29, 1790) and did so only under the threat of being declared a foreign nation and having its exports taxed.
If you want more about Rhode Island history, check here.
Law and Government
The capital of Rhode Island is Providence and its current governor is Donald Carcieri (Republican). Its two U.S. Senators are Jack Reed (Democrat) and Lincoln Chafee (Republican). Its two U.S. Congressmen are Patrick J. Kennedy (Democrat, District #1) and Jim Langevin (Democrat, District #2).
Economy
Rhode Island's 1999 total gross state product was $33 billion, placing it 45th in the nation. Its 2000 per capita Personal Income was $29,685, 16th in the nation. Rhode Island's agricultural outputs are nursery stock, vegetables, dairy products, and eggs. Its industrial outputs are fashion jewelry, fabricated metal products, electric equipment, machinery, shipbuilding and boatbuilding, and tourism.
Demographics
According to the 2000 census, its population was 1,048,319. The largest city is Providence with a population of over 100,000. Warwick, the location of the state airport, has a population of 85,000.
Education
Smithfield, Rhode Island is home of Bryant College, a prestigious business school; Providence, the oldest and largest city in the state, is the home of Providence College and Brown University.
Rhode Island has several state colleges and universities, the University of Rhode Island, located in Kingston in the southern part of the state and Rhode Island College in North Providence. Johnson and Wales University is known for its culinary arts and hospitality schools, and the Naval War College in Newport produces graduates for the US Navy.
(Some material on this page is courtesy of Wikipedia)
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