Rhode Island
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State flag
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RHODE ISLAND,
in full, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,
one of the New England states of the U.S., bordered on the N and
E by Massachusetts, on the S by Rhode Island Sound and Block Island
Sound (arms of the Atlantic Ocean), and on the W by Connecticut.
Narrangansett Bay deeply indents the SE part of the state. The Pawcatuck
R. forms part of the SW boundary.
Rhode Island entered the Union on May 29, 1790, as the last
of the 13 original states. One of the first non-Indian settlers
in the area of Rhode Island had been the religious leader Roger
Williams, who in 1636 founded Providence, now the state capital.
In the late 18th century the first U.S. textile mill driven by waterpower
was built in Rhode Island. In the early 1990s manufacturing was
the state's second leading economic activity, exceeded
only by the service sector. The origin of the state's name
is unclear; it may refer to the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea
or derive from a Dutch word meaning "red." Rhode
Island is called the Ocean State or Little Rhody.
| RHODE ISLAND STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
May 29, 1790; 13th state |
| CAPITAL: |
Providence |
| MOTTO: |
Hope |
| NICKNAMES: |
Little Rhody; Ocean State |
| STATE SONG: |
"Rhode Island" (words and music by T. Clarke Brown) |
| STATE TREE: |
Red maple |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Violet |
| STATE BIRD: |
Rhode Island red |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
1,048,319; 43d among the states |
| AREA: |
4002 sq km (1545 sq mi); 50th largest state;
includes 1295 sq km (500 sq mi) of inland water |
| COASTLINE: |
64 km (40 mi) |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
Jerimoth Hill, 247 m (812 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
Sea level, at the Atlantic coast |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
4 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 2 representatives |
| GOVERNOR: |
Donald Carcieri (Rep.) Took office January 2003 |
Rhode Island, with an area of 4002 sq km (1545 sq mi), is
the smallest U.S. state; about 0.7% of its land area is
owned by the federal government. The state is roughly rectangular;
its extreme N to S distance is about 76 km (about 47 mi), and its
extreme E to W distance is about 64 km (about 40 mi). Elevations
range from sea level to 247 m (812 ft), atop Jerimoth Hill in the
NW. Rhode Island includes about 35 islands, most of which are in
Narragansett Bay in the SE. Larger islands are Rhode Island (Aquidneck),
Conanicut Island, Prudence Island, and Block Island (New Shoreham).
The state has a coastline of 64 km (40 mi) and a 618-km (384-mi) tidal
shoreline, which takes in land bordering tidal inlets as well as
coasts of islands.
The landscape of Rhode Island can be divided into two major regions,
the Seaboard Lowland, which includes the Atlantic coast area and
the Narragansett Lowland or Basin, and the Eastern New England Upland,
in the W. Both regions, which extend into other New England states,
have relatively infertile soil.
Facing the Atlantic in Rhode Island is a nearly unbroken line
of beaches, behind which lie many salt marshes and low hills. The
whole coast is part of a belt of glacially deposited hills reworked
by wave action into the many fine beaches. Some sandy areas also
characterize the islands in Narragansett Bay. Away from the Atlantic,
most of the Seaboard Lowland is somewhat flatter and is largely
a sandy plain composed of materials spread out in front of retreating
ice sheets. Occasional depressions in the sand, such as Lonsdale and
Hammond ponds, mark the places where large masses of glacial ice
were detached from the main glacier, became buried, and then melted
to form kettle holes in which the lakes are now located. Most of
the sedimentary rocks that underlie the Seaboard Lowland region
are deeply buried by the glacial deposits.
The Eastern New England Upland in Rhode Island, a region of
low hills and a few small lakes, is composed of metamorphic and
granitic rocks thinly covered with a mixture of sand, clay, and
boulders called glacial till. In some places the veneer of glacial
deposits has been removed by erosion.
None of Rhode Island's rivers is long. Because of
the uneven topography, several have falls and rapids, which have
been used to power textile mills and other industries. The chief
rivers include the Providence and Seekonk system and the Sakonnet,
all of which are actually sections of Narragansett Bay; the Blackstone,
the waters of which enter the Seekonk; the Hunt, Pawtuxet, Pettaquamscutt,
Potowomut, and Woonasquatucket, which flow into Narragansett Bay; and the Pawcatuck, which enters Block Island Sound.
The state has many small natural lakes and ponds. The biggest
body of fresh water is Scituate Reservoir, formed by Kent Dam on
the Pawtuxet R. Also sizable are Flat River Reservoir and Watchaug and Worden ponds.
The climate of Rhode Island is milder than that of the other
New England states, with few extremes of heat or cold. Summer temperatures
are moderated by proximity to the ocean, but winters are relatively
cold. Providence has an average January temperature of about —2° C
(about 28° F) and an average July temperature of about
22° C (about 72° F); Block Island has a mean January
temperature of about —1° C (about 31° F) and a mean July temperature of about 21° C (about 70° F).
The recorded temperature in Rhode Island has ranged from —30.6° C
(—23° F), in 1942 at Kingston, to 40° C
(104° F), in 1975 at Providence. Precipitation is fairly
evenly distributed throughout the year. Most of the state receives about
1092 mm (about 43 in) of precipitation annually. Yearly snowfall
is about 760 mm (about 30 in). Coastal areas are occasionally struck
by damaging hurricanes.
| RHODE ISLAND AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Providence |
Block Island |
| Average January temperature range |
—6.1° to 2.2° C |
21° to 36° F |
—3.9° to 2.8° C |
25° to 37° F |
| Average July temperature range |
17.2° to 27.2° C |
63° to 81° F |
17.2° to 24.4° C |
63° to 76° F |
| Average annual temperature |
10° C |
50° F |
10° C |
50° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
1092 mm |
43 in |
1041 mm |
41 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
965 mm |
38 in |
533 mm |
21 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
126 |
109 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
65% |
73% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
103 |
97 |
At least 60 different species of common trees grow in Rhode Island,
a diversity attributable in part to the inland penetration of Narragansett
Bay with its mild marine conditions. The state's trees
include pin and post oak, tulip tree, ash, hickory, elm, maple,
willow, poplar, Atlantic white cedar, birch, and sugar maple. Altogether,
about 58% of Rhode Island's land area is covered with
forest. Seaweed grows profusely in coastal areas. Flowering plants
in the state include azalea, dogwood, blue gentian, iris, lily, and orchid.
Among the widespread mammals of Rhode Island are white-tailed
deer, beaver, otter, rabbit, raccoon, skunk, squirrel, and woodchuck.
Sea life includes large numbers of swordfish, bass, bluefish, mackerel, flounder,
tuna, jellyfish, and clams. Freshwater fish include bass, perch,
pickerel, pike, and trout. The state of Rhode Island has many birds,
including the blue jay, owl, robin, duck, partridge, pheasant, quail,
ruffed grouse, gull, and tern.
Rhode Island's very limited mineral resources include
granite and other stone, sand and gravel, and gemstones.
According to the 2000 census, Rhode Island had 1,048,319 inhabitants,
an increase of 4.5% over 1990. The average population density
in 2000 was 1,003.2 people per sq mi of land area, one of the highest
densities of any U.S. state. Whites made up 85.0% of the
population and blacks 4.5%; additional population groups included
5121 American Indians and 23,665 Asians. (These figures do not include
the 2.7% of the population who reported more than one race.)
A total of 90,820 persons, or 8.7%, reported being of Hispanic background.
Rhode Island's largest cities were Providence, the capital;
Warwick; Cranston; Pawtucket; and East Providence.
According to the 1990 census, Roman Catholics made up 61.7% of
the population of Rhode Island; other groups in the state included
Baptists (6.3%), Episcopalians (5.1%), Jews (1.6%), and Methodists (1.4%). In 1990 about 86% of all
people in Rhode Island lived in areas defined as urban, and the
rest resided in rural areas. The major population concentration
was in the NE, especially in the Providence metropolitan area.
| POPULATION OF RHODE ISLAND SINCE 1790 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1790 |
69,000 |
19% |
| 1820 |
83,000 |
23% |
| 1850 |
148,000 |
56% |
| 1880 |
277,000 |
82% |
| 1900 |
429,000 |
88% |
| 1920 |
604,000 |
92% |
| 1940 |
713,000 |
92% |
| 1960 |
859,000 |
86% |
| 1980 |
947,000 |
87% |
| 1990 |
1,003,464 |
86% |
| 2000 |
1,048,319 |
-- |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST COMMUNITIES IN RHODE ISLAND |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Providence |
173,618 |
160,728 |
| Warwick |
85,808 |
85,427 |
| Cranston |
79,269 |
76,060 |
| Pawtucket |
72,958 |
72,644 |
| East Providence |
48,688 |
50,380 |
| Woonsocket |
43,224 |
43,877 |
| Coventry |
33,668 |
31,083 |
| North Providence |
32,411 |
32,090 |
| Cumberland |
31,840 |
29,038 |
| West Warwick |
29,581 |
29,268 |
Rhode Island has a comprehensive educational system and a
number of places of cultural and historical interest.
A free school was opened in Newport in 1640. A
statewide public
school system in Rhode Island was initially established in 1800;
although abolished in 1803, it was reestablished in 1828. In the
late 1980s Rhode Island had 294 public elementary and secondary
schools, with a yearly enrollment of about 98,400 elementary pupils and
37,300 secondary students. In addition, some 19,900 students
attended Roman Catholic and other private schools; noted private
college-preparatory schools are the Moses Brown School, in Providence,
and Portsmouth Abbey School, in Portsmouth. In the same period Rhode
Island had 11 institutions of higher education, with a combined
annual enrollment of about 76,500. These institutions included Brown
University, Johnson & Wales University (1914), Providence
College (1917), Rhode Island College (1854), and Rhode Island School
of Design, all in Providence; Roger Williams College (1948), in
Bristol; Salve Regina University (1934), in Newport; and the University
of Rhode Island, in Kingston.
Some of Rhode Island's prominent museums are in
Providence and
Newport. In the former city are the Museum of Art of the Rhode Island
School of Design and the Rhode Island Historical Society museum, and in
the latter are the Naval War College Museum, the Newport Historical
Society museum, and the Redwood Library and Athenaeum, with displays
of U.S. art. Also of interest are the Haffenreffer Museum of
Anthropology,
in Bristol; the Museum of Primitive Culture, in Peace Dale; and
the Western Rhode Island Civic Historical Society museum, in
Washington.
Major research libraries include the Providence Public Library and
the Brown University libraries. The Artists Internationale Opera
Company is in East Providence, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic
Orchestra has its headquarters in Providence. A well-known theatrical
group, the Trinity Square Repertory Company, also is in Providence.
Of particular historical interest in Rhode Island are two
Newport buildings, the Friends Meetinghouse (begun 1699) and Touro
Synagogue National Historical Site, encompassing the oldest synagogue
(built in 1763) in the U.S. There are many other colonial structures throughout
the state, and Newport contains a number of opulent 19th-century
mansions such as The Breakers (1895). The birthplace of the 18th-century
portrait painter Gilbert Stuart is in Saunderstown, and the homestead
of the American Revolution general Nathanael Greene is in Anthony.
Rhode Island offers varied opportunities for swimming, fishing,
boating, and other water-related activities. Golf, tennis, and horseback
riding are also popular sports. Diamond Hill State Park, near Woonsocket,
has skiing facilities. The International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum
is in Newport.
In the early 1990s Rhode Island had 16 AM and 16 FM
radio stations and five television stations. The state's first radio
station,
WEAN, in Providence, began broadcasting in 1922, and its first
television
station, WJAR-TV, also in Providence, began operation in 1949. In
the early 1990s Rhode Island was served by six daily newspapers,
with a combined circulation of about 294,600. Among the leading
dailies were the Providence Journal, Providence Bulletin, and
the Woonsocket Call. Rhode Island's first
newspaper, the Rhode Island Gazette, was published
in Newport in 1732 by James Franklin (1697—1735), brother
of Benjamin Franklin.
Rhode Island is governed under a constitution adopted in 1842,
as amended; this instrument replaced a colonial charter of 1663.
Constitutional amendments may be proposed by the state legislature
or by a constitutional convention. To become effective, an amendment
must be approved by a majority of persons voting on the issue in
a general election.
The chief executive of Rhode Island is a governor, who (since
1994) is popularly elected to a 4-year term and who may not serve
more than two consecutive terms. The same terms apply to the lieutenant
governor, who succeeds the governor in case of the latter's
death, removal from office, or disability; the attorney general;
the treasurer; and the secretary of state.
The Rhode Island legislature, called the General Assembly,
consists of a 50-member senate and a 100-member house of representatives.
Members of both houses are popularly elected to 2-year terms and
may serve no more than four consecutive terms.
Rhode Island's highest tribunal, the supreme court,
is made up of a chief justice and four associate justices, all chosen
for life by the state legislature. The chief trial court is the superior
court, made up of 21 judges appointed for life by the governor with
the consent of the senate. Rhode Island also has family, district,
municipal, and probate courts.
Rhode Island's five counties exist only as judicial
districts and have no government structure. The state's
main units of local government are its 8 cities and 31 towns, many of
which employ the mayor-council form of government.
Rhode Island is represented in the U.S. Congress by two
senators and two representatives. The state casts four electoral votes
in
presidential elections.
From the 1850s to 1933, the governorship of Rhode
Island was held mostly by Republicans. Democrats predominated until
1985; thereafter Republicans were elected to hold the office through
the early 2000s. A moderate Republican, John Chafee (1922-99),
represented Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate from the mid-1970s through
the late 1990s; when he died in office, his son, Lincoln Chafee (1953-
), was appointed to the seat in November 1999 and then elected in his
own right a year later. The state is solidly Democratic in presidential
voting.
In the late 18th century Rhode Island became one of the first
manufacturing centers of the U.S., and in the early 1990s manufacturing
remained a leading economic activity. Tourism and other service
industries, government, agriculture, and fishing also contributed
to Rhode Island's economy.
| RHODE ISLAND STATE ECONOMY (early 1990s) |
| STATE BUDGET |
|
| General revenue |
$2.4 billion |
| General expenditure |
$2.7 billion |
| Accumulated debt |
$3.6 billion |
 |
| STATE AND LOCAL TAXES, PER CAPITA |
$2037 |
| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$14,981 |
| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
9.6% |
| ASSETS, INSURED COMMERCIAL BANKS (13) |
$16.3 billion |
| LABOR FORCE (CIVILIAN NONFARM) |
461,000 |
| Employed in services |
27% |
| Employed in manufacturing |
24% |
| Employed in wholesale and retail trade |
23% |
| Employed in government |
13% |
|
| MAJOR INDUSTRIES |
% CONTRIBUTED TO GSP* |
| Commercial, financial, and professional services |
56% |
| Manufacturing and construction |
25% |
| Government |
12% |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
6% |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries |
1% |
* Gross State Product = total value of goods and services produced in a year.
Sources: U.S. government publications |
| PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF RHODE ISLAND (early 1990s) |
| |
Quantity Produced |
Value |
| FARM PRODUCTS |
|
$71 million |
|
| CROPS |
|
$58 million |
| Potatoes |
14,000 metric tons |
$2 million |
| Hay |
16,000 metric tons |
$2 million |
|
| LIVESTOCK AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS |
|
$13 million |
| Milk |
15,000 metric tons |
$6 million |
| Eggs |
42 million |
$4 million |
|
| MINERALS |
|
$11 million |
| Stone |
1.1 million metric tons |
$7 million |
| Sand, gravel |
998,000 metric tons |
$4 million |
|
| FISHING |
57,000 metric tons |
$75 million |
|
| |
|
Annual Payroll |
| MANUFACTURING |
|
$2.5 billion |
| Fabricated metal products |
|
$330 million |
| Instruments and related products |
|
$214 million |
| Apparel and textile mill products |
|
$206 million |
| Printing and publishing |
|
$176 million |
| Rubber and plastics products |
|
$169 million |
| Industrial machinery and equipment |
|
$164 million |
| Primary metals |
|
$159 million |
| Electronic equipment |
|
$128 million |
| Transportation equipment |
|
$72 million |
| Chemicals and allied products |
|
$67 million |
| Food and kindred products |
|
$61 million |
|
| OTHER |
|
$8.1 billion |
| Government |
|
$2.4 billion |
| Services |
|
$2.3 billion |
| Retail trade |
|
$1.0 billion |
| Finance,insurance, and real estate |
|
$719 million |
| Wholesale trade |
|
$584 million |
| Construction |
|
$562 million |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
|
$362 million |
| Sources: U.S. government publications |
Rhode Island has a small farming sector of some 700 farms
averaging 38 ha (94 acres) in size. Yearly farm income is only about $71
million; sales of livestock and livestock products account for about
one-sixth of the income and crop sales for the remainder. The state's
leading farm commodities are greenhouse and nursery items, dairy
products, eggs, potatoes, hay, apples, beef cattle, hogs, and chickens.
Farms are scattered throughout most of the state.
Rhode Island has an insignificant forestry industry, but fishing
is of some importance. The annual fish catch is worth about $75
million; the main species landed include flounder, lobster, clam,
squid, scallop, butterfish, bluefish, tuna, scup, cod, herring, and whiting. Freshwater fishing is not commercially important.
Rhode Island's yearly mineral output is worth only
about $11 million. The leading products are limestone and
granite and sand and gravel. Some gemstones also are produced.
Manufacturing industries in Rhode Island employ about 109,000 persons and account for 21% of the annual gross state product.
The state's chief products, ranked by annual payroll, are
fabricated metals, precision instruments, apparel and textiles,
printed materials, rubber and plastic items, industrial machinery,
primary metals, electronic goods, transportation equipment, chemicals, and
processed foods. Most of the manufacturing in the state is centered
around the Providence metropolitan area.
Each year an estimated 29 million tourists visit Rhode
Island,
contributing $1.2 billion to the state's economy.
Primary attractions include sand beaches, boating and fishing
opportunities, and historical sites. Noted resorts are Block and
Conanicut islands and the city of Newport. Yacht races—the America's
Cup Race was held off Newport from 1930 to 1983—lure many
tourists. Rhode Island maintains a system of about 45 state parks.
Rhode Island is well served by transportation facilities.
The state has about 9830 km (about 6110 mi) of roads, including
114 km (71 mi) of interstate highways. Interstate Highway 95 is
a major artery extending from the Connecticut border near Ashaway
to Pawtucket at the Massachusetts line. The Providence area is the
state's main rail center. Rhode Island's first
railroad, which linked Providence with Boston, was opened in 1835.
Rhode Island has 12 airports and 11 heliports; the busiest air terminal, Theodore
Francis Green State Airport, serves Providence. Waterborne commercial
transport is of limited significance today, although Newport and
Providence formerly were important shipping centers.
Rhode Island has an installed electricity generating capacity
of 263,000 kw. The annual output of electricity is 592 million kwh.
Virtually all the electricity in the state is produced from fossil
fuels.
The Indian tribes of the Narragansett Bay area before the
coming of the Europeans included the Niantic, the Nipmuc, the Wampanoag, and the dominant Narragansett.
The English, who established settlements around Massachusetts
Bay beginning in 1620, moved south into the Narragansett country
in the following decade. Roger Williams, a minister expelled from
the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of his religious views, founded
the town of Providence on land purchased from the Narragansett in
1636. Other religious dissidents from Massachusetts settled at Portsmouth
(1638), Newport (1639), and Warwick (1643). Massachusetts claimed
sovereignty over portions of Rhode Island in the 1630s and '40s,
but Williams acquired (1644) a charter from the English Parliament
that recognized the four new settlements as the separate colony
of Providence Plantations. Under this charter, representatives met
at Portsmouth in 1647, where they set up a government for the colony
consisting of a representative assembly and a president, to be elected
by all the free male inhabitants. Quakers seeking freedom of worship
began arriving in significant numbers in the 1650s and '60s, and Jewish immigrants from Barbados settled in Newport. In 1663,
King Charles II gave a new charter to the colony—now called
Rhode Island—guaranteeing religious liberty and establishing
the boundaries that exist today. In 1675—76 Rhode Island
joined with the other New England colonies to defeat the Narragansett and Wampanoag in King Philip's War.
In the 18th century, Rhode Island prospered as an exporter
of naval stores, molasses, preserved meats, cider, and dairy products.
Rhode Islanders were active in whaling and the slave trade, and
Newport became one of the leading commercial centers in British
America. The fortunes of many of the town's merchants depended
on smuggling, and when the British government began to enforce trade
restrictions in the 1760s, Rhode Island immediately felt the effects.
One of the first acts of resistance preceding the American Revolution
took place on the shores of Narragansett Bay. In June 1772 the British
customs vessel GaspÉe was lured aground,
boarded, and set afire by a group of Providence merchants. Rhode
Island also paved the way for the convening of the First Continental
Congress. When Massachusetts rose in rebellion in 1775, Rhode Island
sent 1000 militiamen to aid the rebels and organized a naval force
to do battle with British vessels blockading Newport Harbor. As early
as May 1776, the colonial assembly approved a measure to abrogate
its allegiance to the Crown, and its representatives signed the
Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 4. The British
occupied Newport from December 1776 to October 1779, repulsing a
combined French and American attack in 1778. In 1780 and 1781 the
town was the headquarters of the French army serving under the comte
de Rochambeau.
Having successfully thwarted England's efforts at
regulating its monetary policies and trade, Rhode Island was reluctant
to surrender self-regulation to the federal government after independence,
but the state finally ratified the U.S. Constitution in May 1790.
A gradual emancipation act adopted in 1784 began the process of eliminating
slavery. Most blacks were free after 1807, but they continued to
find segregation dominant.
During the early 19th century the state's seafaring
merchants traded in the Baltic, China, India, and the East Indies
and, beginning in the 1840s, with the Pacific Coast of the U.S.
The War of 1812 was followed by a shift from commerce to industry, and
textile manufacture became dominant. With the shift to
industrialization and banking activities, Providence displaced Newport
as the most
important city. Economic growth encouraged immigration and
urbanization,
but newcomers found themselves disenfranchised under the existing
Charter of 1663, which limited suffrage to landowners. Urban centers
were also grossly underrepresented. A movement to modify the state's
outdated charter, led by Thomas W. Dorr (1805—54) of Providence,
ended in 1842 with an armed revolt that had to be put down by the
state militia. A revised constitution in 1843 gave the newly
industrialized
centers increased representation but disenfranchised the foreign-born.
Not only were foreign-born workers poorly paid, openly discriminated
against, and unable to vote, but a rising antipathy developed
especially
toward recent Irish Catholic immigrants. This manifested itself
in the Know-Nothing party's nativist activities and efforts
to seize Roman Catholic convents. As an importer of southern cotton
for its textile mills, Rhode Island sympathized with the South's
position in the period before the American Civil War, but in 1860
cast its vote for Abraham Lincoln in an effort to maintain the Union.
Following the close of the Civil War, business interests dominated
state politics and cast a particular glow over a revived Newport
as a favored summer resort of the wealthy. An important state and
national figure was the Republican Nelson W. Aldrich (1841—1915),
who rose from humble beginnings to become a U.S. senator and was
recognized as the political boss of the Senate at the turn of the
century.
The composition of the population underwent a dramatic transformation
by 1900. The old Yankee stock was replaced by the Irish, French-Canadians,
Italians, and Portuguese. The Republicans maintained control over
state affairs until the rise of ethnic involvement in state government
in the 20th century. By the 1920s the Democrats had made inroads
in the Republican-controlled state legislature. This produced a
bitter power struggle and eventually a swing toward Democratic control
of city and state affairs.
The economic damage of the Great Depression was never fully
repaired. Rhode Island in the early 1980s had one of the highest
unemployment rates in the country. The economy improved later in
the decade, as increases in the government and service sectors offset
a continued decline in the textile industry. In the early 1990s,
however, the insolvency of several state-insured banks and credit
unions led to another economic crisis.