- Rhode Island's seal dates to 1664, though the Rhode Island General Assembly had earlier designated …
With an area of 1,231 square miles (3,189 square kilometers), Rhode Island is the smallest state in the Union. It measures only about 48 miles (77 kilometers) from north to south and 37 miles (60 kilometers) from east to west. Little Rhody is a popular nickname for the state. Rhode Island is more commonly called the Ocean State because of its Atlantic coastline. Rhode Island was one of the 13 original American colonies. Its first permanent European settlement was Providence, which was founded in 1636 by the British minister Roger Williams and his followers. Providence is now the state capital. The state's official name is The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. GeographyA New England state, Rhode Island lies in the northeastern part of the United States. The Atlantic Ocean borders the southern part of the state. Connecticut is to the west and Massachusetts is to the north and east. Rhode Island's eastern half is indented by the Narragansett Bay and other bodies of water. Rhode Island has two natural regions. The western two thirds of the state lies within the Appalachian Mountains. It is a rough, hilly plateau with many forests and lakes. In this region is Jerimoth Hill, the highest point in the state at 812 feet (247 meters). The rest of the state is a shallow lowland area that extends into southern Massachusetts. The lowlands include numerous islands, sandy beaches, and salt marshes. The state's main rivers include the Blackstone, the Pawtuxet, and the Pawcatuck. Rhode Island has a damp climate with short summers and long, cold winters. The weather changes quickly, and the state experiences tropical storms, ice storms, and heavy snow. Plants and animalsMore than half of Rhode Island's land is forested. Oak, ash, maple, and hickory are common. White pine grows in scattered locations, and swamp maple is found in wet places. Rabbits, woodchucks, raccoons, squirrels, minks, and beavers are among the small animals commonly found in the state. Foxes and white-tailed deer are more rare. People and cultureNative Americans were the first people to live in what is now Rhode Island. The tribes of the area belonged to the Algonquian language family and had similar ways of life. Most of the early non-Indian settlers of the area were English Protestants who had originally settled in Massachusetts. Irish Catholics began coming in large numbers in the 1820s. They were followed by French Canadians, Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Armenians, Italians, and other groups. Although whites continue to make up the large majority of Rhode Island's population, the number of minorities has grown. After World War II (1939–45) African Americans came from the South and from New York City. At the start of the 21st century African Americans made up more than 4 percent of the population. About 9 percent of the people are Hispanic, and more than 2 percent are Asian. CitiesRhode Island is a densely populated state, meaning that many people live in its small area. More than 90 percent of the people live in cities or towns. Providence, the capital and largest city, is a busy seaport at the head of Narragansett Bay. It is also a commercial and industrial center. Other large cities in Rhode Island include Warwick, Cranston, and Pawtucket. Recreation - Sailboats cruise the waters at Watch Hill, a resort town in Rhode Island.
Vacationers have been drawn to Rhode Island's long coastline for more than 200 years. The historic resort city of Newport began to attract summer visitors as early as the colonial period. Huge mansions were built there by some of the wealthiest families in the country. Some of those homes have been turned into museums. Other resort areas include Watch Hill, Block Island, and Narragansett. Narragansett Bay has been the site of the international America's Cup races and the annual Classic Yacht Regatta. The United States grass-court tennis championships are held in Newport, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in the city. Newport also hosts one of the world's most famous jazz festivals. EducationThe first public school in Rhode Island was opened in Newport in 1640. Soon other large towns established their own schools. By the middle of the 18th century several private schools had also been set up in Newport and Providence. Brown University in Providence, founded as Rhode Island College in 1764, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state. It is a private school. Another well-known private institution in Providence is the Rhode Island School of Design, founded in 1877. The state-supported University of Rhode Island has its main campus in Kingston. EconomyIndustryManufacturing and services are central to Rhode Island's economy. The leading manufactured products include jewelry, silverware, textiles, metals, machinery, and electrical and electronic equipment. Health care, education, and tourism are among the major service industries. Finance, insurance, and real estate have also become important in the state. Agriculture and fishingRhode Island's thin, rocky soil is generally poor for growing crops. For this reason many of the state's farms are devoted to raising poultry and dairying. Potatoes, hay, corn, apples, and peaches are among the state's crops. Plants grown in nurseries and greenhouses are Rhode Island's leading source of income from agriculture. The most valuable shellfish in the waters off Rhode Island are lobster and hard-shell clams. Flounder, butterfish, whiting, and cod are among the other fish caught. HistoryThe largest Native American tribe living in the Rhode Island area before Europeans arrived was the Narraganset. They lived along the west side of Narragansett Bay. The other tribes in the region were the Wampanoag, the Niantic, and the Nipmuc. Exploration and settlementPortuguese, Italian, and Dutch explorers and traders visited the region in the early 16th century. The Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano compared the size of one of the islands near the mainland (now known as Block Island) to the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean Sea. The name Rhode Island soon came into use. Roger Williams and his followers came to the area from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They had been forced to leave Massachusetts because they disagreed with the authorities there, especially on religious matters. They founded Providence in 1636. Soon other settlers established Portsmouth, Newport, and Warwick. By 1647 the four towns had formed a loose union. In 1663 the king of England granted a charter that officially created the Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The charter was the basis of colonial and state government for 180 years. American RevolutionRhode Island's people were known for their fierce independence and liberal views. They took part in what many historians consider the first example of outright violence against the British government. In 1772 a British customs ship ran aground in Narragansett Bay. That night a group of townspeople from Providence burned the ship. In 1776 Rhode island was the first American colony to declare its independence from Great Britain. The British occupied Newport during the American Revolution (1775–83). From there they launched attacks on other Rhode Island towns. An American attempt to oust the British troops in 1778 is remembered as the battle of Rhode Island. StatehoodAfter the war the people of Rhode Island were divided about approving the new United States Constitution. The farmers were opposed to joining the Union, but the merchants and shopkeepers supported it. Rhode Island finally ratified the Constitution by a margin of two votes in 1790. It was the last of the 13 original states to do so. Dorr RebellionAt that time Rhode Island law limited the right to vote to men who owned a certain amount of property and to their eldest sons. Disagreeing with this rule, a man named Thomas Wilson Dorr started a rebellion. A new constitution drawn up in 1842 expanded voting rights. Not until 1888, however, did the state remove all property restrictions and grant the right to vote to all male citizens over age 21. (Women gained the right to vote in 1920.) Modern stateRhode Island served as an operations center for the United States Navy during World War I (1914–18) and World War II (1939–45). Beginning in the 1970s, however, many naval operations in the state were reduced. This led to a slight drop in the state's population. The population went up again during the last two decades of the 20th century, though at a slower rate than that of the United States as a whole. Population (2000 census), 1,048,319. |