Editing Rhode Island (section)

===Revolutionary to Civil War period: 1770–1860===
[[File:Destruction_of_the_schooner_Gaspé_in_the_waters_of_Rhode_Island_1772_(NYPL_b12349146-422875)_(cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35 |Providence Revolutionaries burned [[Gaspee Affair|HMS ''Gaspee'']] in Warwick in protest of British customs laws.]]
Rhode Island's tradition of independence and dissent gave it a prominent role in the [[American Revolution]]. At approximately 2 a.m. on June 10, 1772, a band of Providence residents [[Gaspee Affair|attacked]] the grounded revenue schooner ''[[HMS Gaspée (1773)|HMS Gaspée]]'', burning it to the waterline for enforcing [[Navigation Acts|unpopular trade regulations]] within Narragansett Bay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gaspee.org/ |title=Welcome|website=Gaspee Virtual Archives|publisher=Gaspee Days Committee|access-date=August 20, 2012|archive-date=August 30, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120830164847/http://www.gaspee.org/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown on May 4, 1776.<ref name="KnowRhode">{{cite web |url=http://sos.ri.gov/library/history/independence/ |title=Know Rhode Island, RI Secretary of State |publisher=Sos.ri.gov |access-date=February 26, 2014 |archive-date=October 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022010441/http://sos.ri.gov/library/history/independence/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was also the last of the thirteen colonies to ratify the [[United States Constitution]] on May 29, 1790, and only under threat of heavy trade tariffs from the other former colonies and after assurances were made that a [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] would become part of the Constitution.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usconstitution.net/rat_ri.html |title=Rhode Island Ratification of the U.S. Constitution |publisher=Usconstitution.net |date=January 8, 2010 |access-date=January 26, 2013 |archive-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906161642/https://www.usconstitution.net/rat_ri.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Recto Rhode Island 9 pence 1786 urn-3 HBS.Baker.AC 1104484.jpeg|alt=A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 with the inscription: ""STATE OF RHODE-ISLAND, &c. THIS Bill is equal to NINE PENCE in Lawful Silver Money, and shall be received in all Payments within this State, agreeable to an Act passed by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of said State, at their May Sessions, holden at the City of Newport, A. D. 1786. 9d." ; "Committee" is written vertically, to the right of the signatures. ; Within seal: "DOMINE SPERAMUS IN TE".|thumb|A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786]]
During the Revolution, the British occupied Newport in December 1776. A combined Franco-American force fought to drive them off Aquidneck Island. Portsmouth was the site of the first African-American military unit, the [[1st Rhode Island Regiment]], to fight for the U.S. in the unsuccessful [[Battle of Rhode Island]] of August 29, 1778.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dearden|first=Paul F|title=The Rhode Island Campaign of 1778|publisher=Rhode Island Bicentennial Federation |year=1980 |location=Providence, RI|isbn=978-0-917012-17-4|oclc=60041024}}</ref> A month earlier, the appearance of a French fleet off Newport caused the British to scuttle some of their own ships in an attempt to block the harbor. The British abandoned Newport in October 1779, concentrating their forces in New York City. An [[Expédition Particulière|expedition of 5,500 French troops]] under [[Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau|Count Rochambeau]] arrived in Newport by sea on July 10, 1780.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Duchesneau|first1=John T. |last2=Troost-Cramer|first2=Kathleen |date=2014 |title=Fort Adams: A History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cY-ACQAAQBAJ&q=Fort+Adams+A+History&pg=PT153 |publisher=The History Press |pages=16–19 |access-date=March 15, 2017 |isbn=9781625850584 |archive-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220153334/https://books.google.com/books?id=cY-ACQAAQBAJ&q=Fort+Adams+A+History&pg=PT153 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route|celebrated march]] to [[Yorktown, Virginia]], in 1781 ended with the defeat of the British at the [[Siege of Yorktown]] and the [[Battle of the Chesapeake]].

Rhode Island was also heavily involved in the [[Industrial Revolution]], which began in America in 1787 when [[Thomas Somers (investor)|Thomas Somers]] reproduced textile machine plans which he imported from England. He helped to produce the [[Beverly Cotton Manufactory]], in which [[Moses Brown (Providence)|Moses Brown]] of Providence took an interest. Moses Brown teamed up with [[Samuel Slater]] and helped to create the second cotton mill in America, a water-powered textile mill. The [[Industrial Revolution#Belgium|Industrial Revolution]] moved large numbers of workers into the cities. With the 1663 [[Rhode Island Royal Charter|colonial charter]] still in effect, voting was restricted to landowners holding at least $134 in property. At the time of the revolution, 80% of White men in Rhode Island could vote; by 1840, only 40% were still eligible.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wills |first=Matthew |date=2022-02-17 |title=The Dorr Rebellion for Voting Rights |url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-dorr-rebellion-for-voting-rights/ |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=JSTOR Daily |language=en-US}}</ref> The charter apportioned legislative seats equally among the state's towns, over-representing rural areas and under-representing the growing industrial centers. Additionally, the charter disallowed landless citizens from filing civil suits without endorsement from a landowner.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bolles|first1=John Augustus|date=1842|title=The Affairs of Rhode Island, Being a Review of President Wayland's Discourse, a Vindication of the Sovereignty of the People, and a Refutation of the Doctrines and Doctors of Despotism|publisher=B.T. Albro |location=Boston |url=http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/MOML?dd=0&locID=cornell&d1=19005833400&srchtp=a&c=1&an=19005833400&df=f&d2=1&docNum=F3704667622&h2=1&af=RN&d6=1&d3=1&ste=10&stp=Author&d4=0.33&d5=d6&ae=F104667622|access-date=June 9, 2015|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728110128/http://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?cause=http%3A%2F%2Fgalenet.gale.com%2Fservlet%2FMOML%3Fdd%3D0%26locID%3Dcornell%26d1%3D19005833400%26srchtp%3Da%26c%3D1%26an%3D19005833400%26df%3Df%26d2%3D1%26docNum%3DF3704667622%26h2%3D1%26af%3DRN%26d6%3D1%26d3%3D1%26ste%3D10%26stp%3DAuthor%26d4%3D0.33%26d5%3Dd6%26ae%3DF104667622%26finalAuth%3Dtrue&prodId=MOML&sw_aep=cornell|url-status=live}}</ref> Bills were periodically introduced in the legislature to expand suffrage, but they were invariably defeated.

In 1841, activists led by [[Thomas W. Dorr]] organized an extralegal convention to draft a state constitution,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Webster |first1=Daniel|title=The Rhode Island Question: Mr. Webster's Argument in the Supreme Court of the United States in the Case of Martin Luther vs. Luther M. Borden and Others, January 27th, 1848|date=1848|publisher=J. and G.S. Gideon |location=Washington, D.C. |url=http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.trials/rhodislq0001&id=1&collection=trials&index=alpha/R_trials#1|access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=September 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919230636/http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.trials%2Frhodislq0001&id=1&collection=trials&index=alpha%2FR_trials#1|url-status=live}}</ref> arguing the charter government violated the [[Guarantee Clause]] in Article Four, Section Four of the [[United States Constitution]]. In 1842, the charter government and Dorr's supporters held separate elections, and two rival governments claimed sovereignty over the state. Dorr's supporters led an armed [[Dorr rebellion|rebellion]] against the charter government, and Dorr was arrested and imprisoned for treason against the state.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pitman|first1=Joseph S.|title=Report on the Trial of Thomas Wilson Dorr, for Treason Against the State of Rhode Island, Containing the Arguments of Counsel, and the Charge of Chief Justice Durfee|date=1844|publisher=Tappan & Dennet |location=Boston |url=http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.trials/aaga0001&id=1&size=2&collection=trials&index=alpha/R_trials#1|access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-date=September 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919231641/http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.trials%2Faaga0001&id=1&size=2&collection=trials&index=alpha%2FR_trials#1|url-status=live}}</ref>

In response, the legislature drafted a state constitution which replaced property requirements for American-born citizens with a $1 [[Poll tax (United States)|poll tax]], {{Inflation|index=US|value=1|start_year=1842|fmt=eq}}. In a heavily boycotted election in November 1842, voters approved the constitution.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} Voters also declined to limit the change to "white" men, thus re-enfranchising Black men—Black men meeting the property requirements had been able to vote in Rhode Island until 1822. The constitution also ended slavery. Immigrants remained subject to the property requirement, effectively disenfranchising many Irish-Americans and maintaining urban under-representation.<ref>{{cite book |last=King |first=Dan |date=1859 |title=The Life and Times of Thomas Wilson Dorr, with Outlines of the Political History of Rhode Island |url=http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/MOML?dd=0&locID=cornell&d1=19003605000&srchtp=a&c=1&an=19003605000&df=f&d2=2&docNum=F3702905342&h2=1&vrsn=1.0&af=RN&db=Title+Page&d6=2&d3=0&ste=10&d4=0.33&stp=Author&d5=d6&ae=F102905341 |publisher=Dan King |location=Boston |access-date=June 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728110135/http://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?cause=http%3A%2F%2Fgalenet.gale.com%2Fservlet%2FMOML%3Fdd%3D0%26locID%3Dcornell%26d1%3D19003605000%26srchtp%3Da%26c%3D1%26an%3D19003605000%26df%3Df%26d2%3D2%26docNum%3DF3702905342%26h2%3D1%26vrsn%3D1.0%26af%3DRN%26db%3DTitle%2BPage%26d6%3D2%26d3%3D0%26ste%3D10%26d4%3D0.33%26stp%3DAuthor%26d5%3Dd6%26ae%3DF102905341%26finalAuth%3Dtrue&prodId=MOML&sw_aep=cornell |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=In 1843, slavery was banned in Rhode Island |website=Newport Daily News |url=https://www.newportri.com/story/lifestyle/columns/2018/05/28/looking-back-at-our-history-in-1843-slavery-was-banned-in-rhode-island/12119944007/ |access-date=2023-11-11}}</ref> In 1849, in [[Luther v. Borden]], the US Supreme Court declined to rule on the constitutional question raised in Dorr's rebellion, holding that it was a political question outside its jurisdiction.

In the early 19th century, Rhode Island was subject to a tuberculosis outbreak which led to [[Rhode Island vampire panic|public hysteria about vampirism]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hallenbeck |first=Brent |date=August 2, 2022 |title=Vampires in Vermont? That's what some people thought in 1792 |work=Burlington Free Press |url=https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/vermont/2022/08/02/vampires-vermont-some-people-thought-1792/65388252007/ |access-date=May 14, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Milligan |first=Markus |date=May 11, 2022 |title=The New England vampire panic |work=HeritageDaily |url=https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/05/the-new-england-vampire-panic/143567 |access-date=May 14, 2023}}</ref>