Tag: Rhode Island

Wikipedia says: Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island, is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area. The state takes its name from the island of the same name; however, most of the state is on the mainland. The state has land borders with Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound. It also shares a small maritime border with New York. Providence is the state capital and most populous city in Rhode Island.

On May 4, 1776, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, and it was the fourth state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, doing so on February 9, 1778. The state boycotted the 1787 convention, which drew up the United States Constitution and initially refused to ratify it. It was thus the last of the original 13 states to do so, on May 29, 1790.

Formerly named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations since the colonial era, voters in the state approved an amendment in November 2020 to the state constitution, formally renaming itself the State of Rhode Island. Rhode Island’s official nickname is the “Ocean State”, a reference to the large bays and inlets that amount to about 14% of its total area.

Civil War

During the American Civil War, Rhode Island was the first Union state to send troops in response to President Lincoln’s request for help from the states. Rhode Island furnished 25,236 fighting men, of whom 1,685 died.[citation needed] On the home front, Rhode Island and the other northern states used their industrial capacity to supply the Union Army with the materials it needed to win the war. The United States Naval Academy moved to Rhode Island temporarily during the war.

In 1866, Rhode Island abolished racial segregation in the public schools throughout the state.