Portal:Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Portal

Rhode Island (/ˌroʊd -/ ^ⓘ ROHD) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound; and shares a small maritime border with New York, east of Long Island. Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly more than 1.1 million residents as of 2024^[update]. The state's population, however, has continually recorded growth in every decennial census since 1790, and it is the second-most densely populated state after New Jersey. The state takes its name from the eponymous island, though most of its land area is on the mainland. Providence is its capital and most populous city.

Native Americans lived around Narragansett Bay before English settlers began arriving in the early 17th century. Rhode Island was unique among the Thirteen British Colonies in having been founded by a refugee, Roger Williams, who fled religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony to establish a haven for religious liberty. He founded Providence in 1636 on land purchased from local tribes, creating the first settlement in North America with an explicitly secular government. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations subsequently became a destination for religious and political dissenters and social outcasts, earning it the moniker "Rogue's Island".

Rhode Island was the first colony to call for a Continental Congress, in 1774, and the first to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, on May 4, 1776. After the American Revolution, during which it was heavily occupied and contested, Rhode Island became the fourth state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, on February 9, 1778. Because its citizens favored a weaker central government, it boycotted the 1787 convention that had drafted the United States Constitution, which it initially refused to ratify; it finally ratified it on May 29, 1790, the last of the original 13 states to do so.

The state was officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations since the colonial era but came to be commonly known as "Rhode Island". On November 3, 2020, the state's voters approved an amendment to the state constitution formally dropping "and Providence Plantations" from its full name. Its official nickname, found on its welcome sign, is the "Ocean State", a reference to its 400 mi (640 km) of coastline and the large bays and inlets that make up about 14% of its area. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Recognized content - show another

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Bristol County Jail is a historic jail at 48 Court Street in Bristol, Rhode Island, and home to the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society.

The jail was built on the site of a previous jail house dating to 1792 and salvaged materials were used extensively in the new construction. The present Bristol County Jail consists of a 36.5-foot-wide (11.1 m) by 46.4-foot-long (14.1 m) center hallway in a 2+1⁄2-story stone structure topped with a gable roof. The jail accommodated both the inmates and the jailer's family. The first floor is believed to have been the family's parlor, dining room and kitchen on the west side and the east side the jailer's reception room, office and storage room. The second floor housed the family's bedrooms and the inmates' cells, with low, medium and maximum security cells. The maximum security cells in the southeast portion of the jail had no heat, light or sanitary facilities and were enclosed by 2-foot (0.61 m) exterior stone walls and built atop thick floor timbers supported by 2-foot-thick (0.61 m) solid brick wall and further supported by a fieldstone wall from the cellar. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

Selected article - show another

Dworkin in 2008

Ronald Myles Dworkin FBA QC (/ˈdwɔːrkɪn/; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American legal philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New York University and Professor of Jurisprudence at University College London. Dworkin had taught previously at Yale Law School and the University of Oxford, where he was the Professor of Jurisprudence, successor to philosopher H. L. A. Hart.

An influential contributor to both philosophy of law and political philosophy, Dworkin received the 2007 Holberg International Memorial Prize in the Humanities for "his pioneering scholarly work" of "worldwide impact". According to a survey in The Journal of Legal Studies, Dworkin was the second most-cited American legal scholar of the twentieth century. After his death, Harvard legal scholar Cass Sunstein said Dworkin was "one of the most important legal philosophers of the last 100 years. He may well head the list." (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know?

... that a Rhode Island TV station started out by re-running an inventory of 50 hours of cartoons and 14 old movies?
... that a Rhode Island TV station broadcast for 14 months and then was off the air for 26 years before returning?

Quotes related to Rhode Island

To me Newport could never be a place charming by reason of its own charm. That it is a very pleasant place when it is full of people, and the people are in spirits and happy, I do not doubt. But then the visitors would bring, as far as I am concerned, the pleasantness with them.

— Anthony Trollope

More selected quotes

Related portals

edit

Selected picture

Credit: Wadester16

The Breakers is a Vanderbilt mansion located on the Atlantic Ocean at Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It is a National Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Bellevue Avenue Historic District, and is owned and operated by the Preservation Society of Newport County.

More selected pictures

General images

The following are images from various Rhode Island-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 2Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 3The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 4The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 5In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 6A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 7University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 8The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 9In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 10County results of the 2024 Presidential election. Kamala Harris (D) won every county, though she won Kent County by a narrow margin of 1.9% (from Rhode Island)
Image 11The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 12University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 13In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 14The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 15Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 16The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 17Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 18The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 191884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 20The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 21Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 22The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 23Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 24The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 25Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 26Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 27Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 28Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 29The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 30Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 31University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 32Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 33Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 34The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 351884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 36Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 37A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 38Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 39The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 40Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 41Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 42Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 43The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 44University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 45Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 46The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 47Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 48County results of the 2024 Presidential election. Kamala Harris (D) won every county, though she won Kent County by a narrow margin of 1.9% (from Rhode Island)
Image 49Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 50In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 51Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 52Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 53Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 54The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 55In 1936, on the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Rhode Island in 1636, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp, depicting Roger Williams (from Rhode Island)
Image 56A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 57A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 58The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 59Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 60Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 61Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 62In 1936, on the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Rhode Island in 1636, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp, depicting Roger Williams (from Rhode Island)
Image 63Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 64The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)

Topics

Selected panorama

Credit: User:UpstateNYer

The Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge with lightning

More selected panoramas

Quality content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged or categorized (e.g. Category:WikiProject Rhode Island articles) correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.