Rhode Island
Native Americans were present in southern New England by about 9500 BC. When European explorers and settlers arrived in the early 16th century, they found several Algonquian-speaking peoples inhabiting the region. On the west side of the bay, the Narragansett, nearly 5,000 strong, ruled about two-thirds of what is now Rhode Island state; in the 1620s they actually expanded their realm at the expense of weaker groups to take Aquidneck and parts of present-day Providence, Lincoln, Cumberland, and Smithfield. The Pequot, pressing eastward from Connecticut, defeated the Narragansett for control of parts of present-day Richmond and Charlestown in a battle in 1632. However, the next year smallpox struck the Pequot, reducing their numbers from 16,000 to about 3,000. Then, in 1637, the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Connecticut, accompanied by allies such as the Narragansett, attacked and nearly annihilated the Pequot in the first of many interethnic wars in New England.
The Narragansett welcomed Roger Williams, a refugee from Massachusetts Bay Colony, and sold him the land to found Providence in 1636. Williams, a pioneer of religious liberty, believed in the separation of church and state and had been banished from Massachusetts for his beliefs. His settlement was the first place in America where government ruled “only in civil things,” and it attracted other dissenters. In 1639 William Coddington and eight other prominent families left Portsmouth to found Newport on the southern end of Aquidneck Island. Providence experienced two secessions within its first five years, including one which led to the establishment of Shawomet (Warwick) in 1643 by Samuel Gorton. These internal struggles were made worse by a century-long effort by the neighbouring colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut to dismember and extend their authority over Rhode Island. These surrounding colonies denounced Rhode Island as “Rogues’ Island” and tried to extinguish it by purchase, invasion, royal commission, fiat, fraud, and intimidation.
In 1643 the neighbouring colonies formed a military alliance called the United Colonies of New England pointedly excluding Rhode Island’s towns and denying the validity of the purchases that Williams had made from Native Americans. As a result, Williams rushed to England and in 1644 secured a parliamentary charter for his colony that sought to join the communities of Providence, Newport, Warwick, and Portsmouth under one patent to become one colony, called Providence Plantations. However, Coddington blocked the merger until 1647, when a loose confederacy was established; he refused to accept even this form of government and secured a patent in 1651 that made him governor for life over the islands of Conanicut and Aquidneck, which included the settlements of Portsmouth and Newport. Williams and John Clarke (the latter representing island opponents to Coddington) traveled to England and had Coddington’s commission rescinded. Williams returned to the colony, and Clarke remained in England as its agent. After the restoration of the monarchy (1660) in Britain following the Commonwealth period, the charter for Rhode Island was considered invalid, and Clarke obtained a second charter in 1663, which guaranteed the “lively experiment” of Rhode Island. The charter was retained until 1842, when it was replaced by a state constitution.
Rhode Island’s engagement in seagoing commerce during that period was of great significance. It drew the colony out of its isolation and transformed its economy. Rhode Island’s climate of religious freedom opened the door to oceanic commerce: Quakers and Jews were attracted by the colony’s religious tolerance. Oceanic commerce led Rhode Island into the slave trade, and its ships became the main American carriers of enslaved persons. Over the course of the 18th century, Rhode Island merchants built a substantial trade network outside of the British imperial regulations.
The Sugar Act of 1764, which was meant to end the trade in smuggling sugar and molasses in the colonies, threatened Rhode Island commerce. As a result, the colony engaged in a series of violent acts of defiance. These culminated in the Gaspee incident in 1772. The British customs vessel Gaspee ran aground off Namquit (now Gaspee) Point while pursuing a smuggler. A large group of citizens from Providence boarded and burned the ship. Despite the fact that hundreds knew of or were involved in the attack, an official British inquiry could not locate any accomplices or perpetrators, and all escaped punishment. When the first shots of the American Revolution were fired in Massachusetts in April 1775, Rhode Island immediately dispatched its militia in support.
Rhode Island was among the first and most enthusiastic colonies to resist British rule, having been the first to call for a continental congress in 1774 and the first, in 1776, to eliminate an oath of allegiance to the British crown that had been required of colonial officials. Once the Revolution began in earnest, the state suffered considerably. The British occupied Newport for more than three years (1776–79), bombarded Bristol, and foraged for food and firewood extensively in the southern part of the state. Half the people of Newport fled during the occupation, and the British army burned nearly 500 buildings for firewood. In 1778 a combined Franco-American operation (the first of its kind) was mounted in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the British. In October 1779 the British withdrew in order to redeploy their forces in the South, and in July 1780 some 6,000 French troops landed at Newport to join forces with Gen. George Washington. Rhode Island blocked efforts to strengthen the Articles of Confederation and refused even to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Once the Constituion was written, Rhode Island repeatedly defeated attempts to ratify it. It was the last of the original 13 states to do so (May 1790), more than a year after the Constitution had gone into effect.
Rhode Island’s experiences from 1790 to the mid-19th century produced a startling contrast between innovative, adventurous changes in the economy and conservative tendencies in social and political evolution. Daring entrepreneurship and invention transformed Rhode Island’s economy from seaborne commerce to industry, and the state was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the United States
By the time of the American Civil War, Rhode Island was an industrial power, able to produce nearly everything that an army needed for equipment, from cannons and rifles to bayonets, riding gear, tents, and uniforms. While textiles remained the state’s primary industry, a host of other industries emerged in the metal trades, including machine-tool and textile-machine manufacturers. By the 1890s the Providence area alone had more than 1,500 factories. When the automobile industry was in its infancy, Rhode Island had dozens of auto and truck makers. Some of the state’s nationally known manufacturers included Gorham (silver manufacturing), Brown & Sharpe (precision machine tools), Nicholson File Co., American Screw Company, U.S. Rubber, Davol Rubber, and J&P Coats (then called the Spool Cotton Thread Company). Its industrial power waned in the 20th century as the textile industry began moving to the South. This process accelerated through the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s. World War II temporarily reversed the decline, but the exodus of manufacturing resumed with a vengeance in the late 1940s and ’50s.
The Narragansett welcomed Roger Williams, a refugee from Massachusetts Bay Colony, and sold him the land to found Providence in 1636. Williams, a pioneer of religious liberty, believed in the separation of church and state and had been banished from Massachusetts for his beliefs. His settlement was the first place in America where government ruled “only in civil things,” and it attracted other dissenters. In 1639 William Coddington and eight other prominent families left Portsmouth to found Newport on the southern end of Aquidneck Island. Providence experienced two secessions within its first five years, including one which led to the establishment of Shawomet (Warwick) in 1643 by Samuel Gorton. These internal struggles were made worse by a century-long effort by the neighbouring colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut to dismember and extend their authority over Rhode Island. These surrounding colonies denounced Rhode Island as “Rogues’ Island” and tried to extinguish it by purchase, invasion, royal commission, fiat, fraud, and intimidation.
In 1643 the neighbouring colonies formed a military alliance called the United Colonies of New England pointedly excluding Rhode Island’s towns and denying the validity of the purchases that Williams had made from Native Americans. As a result, Williams rushed to England and in 1644 secured a parliamentary charter for his colony that sought to join the communities of Providence, Newport, Warwick, and Portsmouth under one patent to become one colony, called Providence Plantations. However, Coddington blocked the merger until 1647, when a loose confederacy was established; he refused to accept even this form of government and secured a patent in 1651 that made him governor for life over the islands of Conanicut and Aquidneck, which included the settlements of Portsmouth and Newport. Williams and John Clarke (the latter representing island opponents to Coddington) traveled to England and had Coddington’s commission rescinded. Williams returned to the colony, and Clarke remained in England as its agent. After the restoration of the monarchy (1660) in Britain following the Commonwealth period, the charter for Rhode Island was considered invalid, and Clarke obtained a second charter in 1663, which guaranteed the “lively experiment” of Rhode Island. The charter was retained until 1842, when it was replaced by a state constitution.
Rhode Island’s engagement in seagoing commerce during that period was of great significance. It drew the colony out of its isolation and transformed its economy. Rhode Island’s climate of religious freedom opened the door to oceanic commerce: Quakers and Jews were attracted by the colony’s religious tolerance. Oceanic commerce led Rhode Island into the slave trade, and its ships became the main American carriers of enslaved persons. Over the course of the 18th century, Rhode Island merchants built a substantial trade network outside of the British imperial regulations.
The Sugar Act of 1764, which was meant to end the trade in smuggling sugar and molasses in the colonies, threatened Rhode Island commerce. As a result, the colony engaged in a series of violent acts of defiance. These culminated in the Gaspee incident in 1772. The British customs vessel Gaspee ran aground off Namquit (now Gaspee) Point while pursuing a smuggler. A large group of citizens from Providence boarded and burned the ship. Despite the fact that hundreds knew of or were involved in the attack, an official British inquiry could not locate any accomplices or perpetrators, and all escaped punishment. When the first shots of the American Revolution were fired in Massachusetts in April 1775, Rhode Island immediately dispatched its militia in support.
Rhode Island was among the first and most enthusiastic colonies to resist British rule, having been the first to call for a continental congress in 1774 and the first, in 1776, to eliminate an oath of allegiance to the British crown that had been required of colonial officials. Once the Revolution began in earnest, the state suffered considerably. The British occupied Newport for more than three years (1776–79), bombarded Bristol, and foraged for food and firewood extensively in the southern part of the state. Half the people of Newport fled during the occupation, and the British army burned nearly 500 buildings for firewood. In 1778 a combined Franco-American operation (the first of its kind) was mounted in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the British. In October 1779 the British withdrew in order to redeploy their forces in the South, and in July 1780 some 6,000 French troops landed at Newport to join forces with Gen. George Washington. Rhode Island blocked efforts to strengthen the Articles of Confederation and refused even to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Once the Constituion was written, Rhode Island repeatedly defeated attempts to ratify it. It was the last of the original 13 states to do so (May 1790), more than a year after the Constitution had gone into effect.
Rhode Island’s experiences from 1790 to the mid-19th century produced a startling contrast between innovative, adventurous changes in the economy and conservative tendencies in social and political evolution. Daring entrepreneurship and invention transformed Rhode Island’s economy from seaborne commerce to industry, and the state was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the United States
By the time of the American Civil War, Rhode Island was an industrial power, able to produce nearly everything that an army needed for equipment, from cannons and rifles to bayonets, riding gear, tents, and uniforms. While textiles remained the state’s primary industry, a host of other industries emerged in the metal trades, including machine-tool and textile-machine manufacturers. By the 1890s the Providence area alone had more than 1,500 factories. When the automobile industry was in its infancy, Rhode Island had dozens of auto and truck makers. Some of the state’s nationally known manufacturers included Gorham (silver manufacturing), Brown & Sharpe (precision machine tools), Nicholson File Co., American Screw Company, U.S. Rubber, Davol Rubber, and J&P Coats (then called the Spool Cotton Thread Company). Its industrial power waned in the 20th century as the textile industry began moving to the South. This process accelerated through the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s. World War II temporarily reversed the decline, but the exodus of manufacturing resumed with a vengeance in the late 1940s and ’50s.
Newport
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Fort Adams State Park
Fort Adams, which was built after the Revolution, didn’t play a role in the golden age of Newport’s merchants. Its place was to protect the growth of the American Navy which chose Newport and Narragansett Bay in the early 19th century as one of the best harbors along the Atlantic coast for its needs. Fortification of the site at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War occurred in the spring of 1776, but it was captured very quickly when a large British fleet and an invasion force occupied the town in December of the same year. For three years, Newport lay behind enemy lines until the British garrison was withdrawn in October of 1779. Twenty years transpired (1799) until the site was re-occupied by a battery of cannon, named after John Adams, second President of the United States who authorized its construction. In 1824 construction began on the true Fort Adams which was to become ‘the largest coastal defense works of its kind in the United States.’ The cost of building Fort Adams for three decades was over three million dollars. It was designed to mount 468 guns around a perimeter of over 1700 yards. During a time of war it could house 2400 men, though a peace time garrison of 200 was sufficient. A series of defensive lines was built on the site. Structures known as tenailles, bastions, and redoubts, which were angled in such a way as to create deadly crossfires, were employed to stop any attack by land. On the seafront, the bomb-proofed casemates were designed to house two cannons rather than the single weapon typically employed. The Fort was an active post during the Civil War, the Indian Wars, the Mexican War, the Spanish American War, and the two World Wars. It was in World War II that it played perhaps its most active role. Army use of the Fort continued after World War II until 1953. This is when the Navy took charge of the site. It was deeded to the State of Rhode Island in 1965. |
Marble House
Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. It was a summer house, or "cottage," as Newporters called them in remembrance of the modest houses of the early 19th century. Mr. Vanderbilt was the grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, who established the family's fortune in steamships and the New York Central Railroad. His older brother was Cornelius II, who built The Breakers. Alva Vanderbilt was a leading hostess in Newport society, and envisioned Marble House as her "temple to the arts" in America. The house was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles. The cost of the house was reported in contemporary press accounts to be $11 million, of which $7 million was spent on 500,000 cubic feet of marble. Upon its completion, Mr. Vanderbilt gave the house to his wife as a 39th birthday present. The Vanderbilts divorced in 1895 and Alva married Oliver H.P. Belmont, moving down the street to Belcourt. After his death, she reopened Marble House and had a Chinese Tea House built on the seaside cliffs of the property, where she hosted rallies for women's right to vote. She sold Marble House to Frederick H. Prince in 1932. The Preservation Society acquired the house in 1963 from the Prince estate. |
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The Breakers
Cornelius Vanderbilt II purchased the grounds in 1885 for $450,000 ($13.6 million today). Vanderbilt insisted that the building be made as fireproof as possible, so the structure of the building used steel trusses and no wooden parts. The designers created an interior using marble imported from Italy and Africa, and rare woods and mosaics from countries around the world. It also included architectural elements purchased from chateaux in France, such as the library mantel. Expansion was finally finished in 1892. The Breakers is the architectural and social archetype of the "Gilden Age," a period when members of the Vanderbilt family were among the major industrialists of America. It was the largest, most opulent house in the Newport area upon its completion in 1895. Vanderbilt died from a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a stroke in 1899 at age 55, leaving The Breakers to his wife Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt. She outlived him by 35 years and died at the age of 89 in 1934. She left The Breakers to her youngest daughter Countess Gladys Szechenyi (1886–1965). |
Pawtucket
Pawtucket, a city on the Blackstone River just northeast of Providence city and adjoining the city of Central Falls to the northwest. In the heart of the business district, the river plunges some 50 feet (15 metres) over a mass of rocks; the city’s name is from an Algonquian word for “at the falls.” First settlement on the site was made in 1671 by Joseph Jencks, Jr. His smithy, destroyed by Indians in 1676 during King Philip’s War, was rebuilt, and soon the village became a centre for ironmongers. In 1793 Samuel Slater built the first successful waterpowered cotton mill in North America an event considered to be the start of the Industrial Revolution in America. Pawtucket has a highly industrialized economy; metals, jewelry and silverware, and specialty textiles are produced. Navigation on the river has been continually improved by the federal government since 1867; there is a channel 16 feet (5 metres) deep that extends to Narragansett Bay. Pawtucket town (inc. 1828), east of the river, was originally in Massachusetts and was transferred to Rhode Island and reincorporated in 1862; part of North Providence, west of the river, was annexed to Pawtucket in 1874, and the expanded town was incorporated as a city in 1885.
Slater Mill
Providence merchant Moses Brown wanted to build water-powered machines to spin cotton fiber into thread. He rented a workspace next to the Pawtucket Falls. With a source of waterpower, a community of tool and machine makers already living there, and the ability for ships to bring in raw cotton and take out finished textiles, this location seemed ideal for Brown’s experiment. The one thing Brown needed was someone who knew how English textile machines worked. Then in December 1789, Brown hired Samuel Slater. Slater was a recent immigrant from England. He had spent seven years working in an English textile mill. He rose from an apprentice to an overseer of machinery and mill construction. Slater determined that Brown’s machines would not work. Slater worked with local mechanics, like the Wilkinson Family, to make new machines. In 1790 Slater got the machines running. Thread was produced on water powered machines for the first time in America. A new age of American Industry had begun. In 1793 the firm of Almy, Brown and Slater replaced their experimental workshop with a new mill. Known as the Slater Mill, it was the first water powered textile mill in America. Slater Mill was expanded six times in the 1800s.The building remained a cotton spinning mill until 1895. |
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Providence
Providence was founded in 1636 by renegade preacher Roger Williams, who was forced to flee Massachusetts because of religious persecution. Williams purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and started a new settlement with a policy of religious and political freedom. He named his new home "Providence," in thanks to God for protecting him during his exile from Massachusetts.
Easily accessible by water, Providence became a major New World seaport. During the Revolutionary War, Providence's craftspeople and merchants supplied goods to the Continental and French armies. Ever the entrepreneurs, Providence businesses were financing expeditions to the Mediterranean, Middle East and Far East by 1781. With trade booming, the city grew and flourished. Traditional wooden homes began yielding to ornate brick mansions, and citizens constructed elaborate testaments to business, government and learning.
In the late 1970s, the city began to upgrade the infrastructure of the neighborhoods, downtown and commercial districts. For decades, the world's widest bridge had obscured the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers, two narrow but significant waterways that snake through the city of Providence and converge to become the Providence River, the head of Narragansett Bay. In the 1990s, the two rivers running through downtown were uncovered and moved.
Easily accessible by water, Providence became a major New World seaport. During the Revolutionary War, Providence's craftspeople and merchants supplied goods to the Continental and French armies. Ever the entrepreneurs, Providence businesses were financing expeditions to the Mediterranean, Middle East and Far East by 1781. With trade booming, the city grew and flourished. Traditional wooden homes began yielding to ornate brick mansions, and citizens constructed elaborate testaments to business, government and learning.
In the late 1970s, the city began to upgrade the infrastructure of the neighborhoods, downtown and commercial districts. For decades, the world's widest bridge had obscured the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers, two narrow but significant waterways that snake through the city of Providence and converge to become the Providence River, the head of Narragansett Bay. In the 1990s, the two rivers running through downtown were uncovered and moved.
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Roger Williams National Park
Rhode Island's Roger Williams National Memorial commemorates the life of Rhode Island's founder, a champion of the ideal of religious freedom. Williams, banished from Massachusetts for his beliefs, founded Providence in 1636. This colony served as a refuge where all could come to worship as their conscience dictated without interference from the state. His ideals, incorporated into the Rhode Island Charter of 1663, laid the foundation for the laws that Thomas Jefferson and James Madison would eloquently affirm in this nation's defining documents: The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. |