Rhode Island is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh least populous, but it is also the second most densely populated behind New Jersey. The state takes its name from Rhode Island; however, most of the state is located on the mainland.
About Rhode Island in brief
Rhode Island is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh least populous, but it is also the second most densely populated behind New Jersey. The state takes its name from Rhode Island; however, most of the state is located on the mainland. The word plantation in the state’s name has become a contested issue, and the Rhode Island General Assembly voted on June 25, 2009, to hold a general referendum determining whether the word would be dropped from the official name. On June 19, 2020, State Senator Harold Metts introduced a resolution for removing the words ‘Providence Plantations’ from official documents and websites. On July 16, 2010, Governor George Floyd issued an executive order to remove the word ‘plantation’ from a range of official documents. On November 2, 2010 a referendum was held and the people voted overwhelmingly to retain the entire original name of Rhode Island. The change will take effect when the results are certified. Rhode Island’s official nickname is \”The Ocean State\”, a reference to the large bays and inlets that amount to about 14 percent of its total area. The settlements of Newport and Portsmouth were situated on what is commonly called Aquidneck Island today but was called Rhode Island in Colonial times. The first English settlement in Rhode Island was the town of Providence, which the Narragansett granted to Roger Williams in 1636.
In 1643, he petitioned Charles I of England to grant Providence and neighboring towns a colonial patent, due to threats of invasion from the colonies of Boston and Plymouth. He used the name \” Providence Plantations\” in his petition, plantation being the English term for a colony. The name was used in a legal document as late as 1646. Dutch maps as early as 1659 call the island ‘Red Island’ The state 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. It was the last of the original 13 states to do so, on May 29, 1790. Following the American Revolution, the new state incorporated both ‘Rhode’ and ‘Providence’ in its official name; it was officially named the State of Rhode island and Providence Plantation since its accession to the Union in 1790, when it joined the Union. The earliest documented use of the name Rhode Island for Aquid neck was in 1637 by Roger Williams. It is unclear how the island came to be named Rhode Island, but two historical events may have been of influence: The name ‘Isle of Rodes’ is used in 1644 with these words: ‘Aquethneck shall be henceforth called the Isle of Rode or Rhode-Island.’ The state boycotted the 1787 convention which drew up the United US Constitution and initially refused to ratifying it.
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This page is based on the article Rhode Island published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
