Rhode Island, officially Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, State, northeastern U.S. Area: 1,545 sq mi (4,001 sq km). Population: (2020) 1,097,379; (2024 est.) 1,112,308. Capital: Providence. Rhode Island is one of the New England states and is the smallest U.S. state. It is bordered by Massachusetts on the north and east and Connecticut on the west. Rhode Island Sound on the south is the basis of the state’s fishing industry. The original inhabitants of the area were Narragansett Indians. The first European settlement was in 1636 by Roger Williams and his followers, who were banished from Massachusetts; in 1663 King Charles II granted a charter to Williams. Though it never officially joined the New England colonies in King Philip’s War, it suffered greatly when many settlements were burned. It was at the forefront of the fight against British customs laws that led to the American Revolution. An original state of the Union, in 1790 it was the 13th state to ratify the Constitution and agreed to do so only after the Bill of Rights was included. The state’s original charter remained in effect until after Dorr’s Rebellion (led by Thomas W. Dorr) in 1842, when suffrage was extended to white males who did not own land. The cotton-textile mill built by Samuel Slater in Pawtucket in 1790 initiated the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. Manufacturing is still important to the economy, and products include jewelry and silverware, textiles and clothing, and electrical machinery and electronics.
Rhode Island summary
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Rhode Island.
Newport Summary
Newport, city, Newport county, southeastern Rhode Island, U.S. It occupies the southern end of Rhode (Aquidneck) Island in Narragansett Bay (there bridged to Jamestown). From the harbour on the west, the city rises up a gentle hillside to a low plateau. Newport was founded in 1639 by a group of
Battle of Bunker Hill Summary
Battle of Bunker Hill, (June 17, 1775), first major battle of the American Revolution, fought in Charlestown (now part of Boston) during the Siege of Boston. Although the British eventually won the battle, it was a Pyrrhic victory that lent considerable encouragement to the revolutionary cause.
United States Summary
United States, country in North America, a federal republic of 50 states. Besides the 48 conterminous states that occupy the middle latitudes of the continent, the United States includes the state of Alaska, at the northwestern extreme of North America, and the island state of Hawaii, in the
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Newport summary
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Newport.
Newport, City (pop., 2010: 24,672) and port of entry, southeastern Rhode Island, U.S., at the mouth of Narragansett Bay. Founded in 1639 by colonists from Massachusetts, it became a haven for religious refugees. With Providence, it was the joint capital of the state until 1900. Newport has held many of the America’s Cup yacht races, and it is a centre for naval education. It also is the site of one of Cornelius Vanderbilt’s mansions (The Breakers) and the Touro synagogue, which is the oldest in the U.S.
Rhode Island Summary
Rhode Island, constituent state of the United States of America. It was one of the original 13 states and is one of the six New England states. Rhode Island is bounded to the north and east by Massachusetts, to the south by Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound of the Atlantic Ocean, and to the
United States Summary
United States, country in North America, a federal republic of 50 states. Besides the 48 conterminous states that occupy the middle latitudes of the continent, the United States includes the state of Alaska, at the northwestern extreme of North America, and the island state of Hawaii, in the