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Introduction
Rhode Island, state in the northeastern United States, in New England, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first of the 13 original colonies to declare its independence from Great Britain. However, it was the last of the 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution of the United States, doing so on May 29, 1790. The smallest state in the Union, it is, after New Jersey, the second most densely populated and one of the most highly industrialized. Its name is a paradox, since most of the state is part of the North American mainland. The name Rhode Island is the official name of the largest island of Narragansett Bay, an estuary that extends through the eastern part of the state. On most maps of the United States, the state appears so small that it is difficult to identify, but its influence is more widely felt than its tiny size would warrant. Providence is Rhode Island's capital and its largest city. Settlement of Rhode Island dates from 1636, when Roger Williams founded Providence after he had been banished from Massachusetts because of religious and political conflicts with the Puritans. This background of dissent made the colony tolerant of other religious groups. Rhode Island prospered initially from the sea. Narragansett Bay, having some of the finest harbors on the Atlantic Seaboard, sheltered merchant vessels, privateers, slave runners, and even pirates. With the decline of high profits from maritime commerce, Rhode Island turned in the 1790s to manufacturing. The development of textile manufacturing, along with that of machinery, metal products, jewelry, and silverware, led to such a concentration of industry and population that Rhode Island has virtually become a city-state. However, there remains much unspoiled beauty in the islands and inlets of Narragansett Bay, in the lagoons and salt marshes of the Atlantic shore, and in the rolling hills of Block Island, about 16 km (about 10 mi) out at sea. Historians disagree over the source of the name Rhode Island. Some claim that it was first used by the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524, when he compared Block Island to the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. Others maintained that the name is a corruption of Roodt Eylandt (Red Island), the name applied to Aquidneck Island in 1614 by the Dutch navigator Adriaen Block because of the red clay on the island's shore. Roger Williams, the English Puritan who founded the Rhode Island colony, was the first to refer to Aquidneck as Rhode Island. The name was incorporated into the official title of the colony in 1663 and, later, of the state. Rhode Island's official nickname is the Ocean State. The state's small size led to the emergence of what is now its most common, although unofficial, nickname, Little Rhody.
Physical Geography
Rhode Island covers an area of only 3,188 sq km (1,231 sq mi), including 435 sq km (168 sq mi) of inland water and 47 sq km (18 sq mi) of coastal water over which it has jurisdiction. Roughly rectangular in shape, its maximum extent east to west is 64 km (40 mi), while the distance from its northern border to the southern edge of Block Island is 98 km (61 mi). The mean elevation is 60 m (200 ft).
Natural Regions
Rhode Island lies wholly within the New England province of the Appalachian Region, or Appalachian Highland, and can be divided into two natural regions. In eastern Rhode Island are the lowlands of the Narragansett Basin, which is a part of New England's Seaboard Lowland. The west forms part of the New England Upland. The Narragansett Basin occupies the eastern third of Rhode Island and is a low-lying area of sands and clays. Few points in the basin rise to more than 60 m (200 ft) above sea level. Narragansett Bay and its tributary bays cut deeply into the region. To the east of Narragansett Bay are several low ridges of sedimentary rock that rise above the surrounding lowland. West of the bay the land is more gently rolling and there are many small lakes and ponds. To the extent that there is agriculture in Rhode Island, the Narragansett Basin is the state's chief farming region. The New England Upland occupies the western two-thirds of Rhode Island. It is underlain by granite and other resistant crystalline rocks and rises sharply from about 60 m (about 200 ft) at the edge of the Narragansett Basin. Jerimoth Hill, 247 m (812 ft) above sea level and the state's highest point, is located in this region near the Connecticut state line. The surface of the upland is generally rocky. There are some farms and much woodland.
Rivers and Lakes
Except for a small area along the border with Connecticut, all of northern Rhode Island is drained by river systems that discharge into Narragansett Bay, while rivers in the south drain directly into the Atlantic Ocean. The largest drainage region that is entirely within the state is that of the Pawtuxet River system. It extends over one-fourth of the state's land area. Many of the rivers are interrupted by small waterfalls and rapids, which were a valuable source of waterpower for Rhode Island's earliest industries, and which powered the much more significant textile industry when it developed during the 19th century. The Blackstone River is the longest and most important of the state's rivers. It crosses from Massachusetts into Rhode Island near Woonsocket and then flows southeast, joining the Seekonk River at Pawtucket. Other rivers are the Woonasquatucket and the Moshassuck, which join shortly before entering the Providence River, and the Pawcatuck, which drains southwestern Rhode Island and forms part of the Connecticut-Rhode Island border. Rhode Island has no large natural lakes, but there are 383 lakes and ponds that have surface areas of 20 hectares (50 acres) or greater. Extending over 419 hectares (1,036 acres), Worden Pond is the largest natural freshwater body in the state. Among the impoundments, the Scituate Reservoir is largest at 1,470 hectares (3,633 acres). Created by damming the North Branch of the Pawtuxet River, it supplies water to more than one-half the population of Rhode Island.
Climate
Rhode Island has a humid continental climate, but the extremes of winter cold and summer heat usually associated with this type of climate are moderated in Rhode Island by the Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay. At Warwick, near the center of the state, the January mean temperature is -2° C (28° F) and the July mean is 27° C (73° F). Along the northern state line, the January mean temperature is about 1° C (about 2° F) colder than in Warwick in January. Along the ocean coast, the January mean temperature is -1° C (30° F). Warm season temperatures are also influenced by the ocean and bay, so temperatures are usually cooler along the coast than in the interior. The difference tends to be greatest in spring and early summer. Winter temperatures in Rhode Island are usually above -7° C (20° F), but temperatures colder by about 10° C (about 20° F) have been recorded in all locations of the state. Days with temperatures in the mid-30°s C (lower 90°s F) are infrequent. Rhode Island has a relatively wet climate, with precipitation rather evenly distributed throughout the year. Average annual precipitation for Providence and vicinity is 1,160 mm (46 in). Amounts are slightly less in the southeast and slightly greater in the northwest. Annual snowfall averages 890 mm (35 in), but actual totals in any given year can vary widely. Because of the moderating effects of the bay and ocean, snowfall is generally much less in the southern part of the state than in the interior. In the summer months there are occasional thunderstorms, which tend to be of limited severity. Hail is infrequent. Hurricanes occur with a frequency of about every 10 to 15 years. The most severe hurricane of the 20th century occurred in 1938, resulting in 262 deaths and extensive property damage. High winds often accompany winter storms. The growing season, or period from the last killing frost in spring to the first killing frost in fall, is 190 days long in the low-lying eastern and southwestern sections and from 140 to 180 days long over the remainder of the state. The first killing frost in fall generally occurs in the first three weeks of October, and the last spring frost near the end of April.
Plant Life
While 56 percent of Rhode Island is forested, only a few areas possess stands of timber suitable for use as lumber, and the chief value of the forests is for recreation. The principal trees are deciduous, and their leaves take on magnificent fall colors for a short period in October. White, black, scarlet, and scrub oaks are among the most common trees, and ash, hickory, elm, sassafras, willow, birch, and American beech are also found. The state tree is the red maple, which is found in wet areas of the state. Coniferous trees in the state include white pine, eastern hemlock, pitch pine, and red cedar. Common wildflowers include the violet, which is the state flower, and daisies, bloodroots, trilliums, lilies, jack-in-the-pulpits, hepaticas, and the trailing arbutus. Asters, goldenrods, blue gentians, irises, and pimpernels are also found. Flowering dogwoods, rhododendrons, and mountain laurels color many wooded areas in spring, and the red berries of the American holly add a touch of color to the winter scene.
Animal Life
Although white-tailed deer are considered Rhode Island's only large wild animal, moose and black bear occasionally cross the Connecticut and Massachusetts border in the state. Among the smaller animals native to the state are the raccoon, gray squirrel, woodchuck, and muskrat. Skunks, opossums, mink, coyotes, and red foxes are also numerous, as are salamanders, turtles, and snakes. About 350 different species of birds have been observed in the state. Many are seasonal residents or transients who visit during their spring and fall migrations along the Atlantic Flyway. Along the coastal areas are various species of ducks, gulls, herons, rail, geese, cormorants, and terns. In some areas, shearwaters, petrels, gannets, and other seabirds have been observed. Common in the inland areas are the red-tailed hawk, osprey, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, bobwhite, ruffed grouse, robin, catbird, and various kinds of warblers. The wild turkey has been successfully reintroduced to the state and is common in the western half. Block Island is frequented by large numbers of migratory birds. The Rhode Island Red breed of chicken was developed at Little Compton in 1854 and is the state bird. Rhode Island's marine waters abound in flounder, butterfish, mackerel, tuna, scup, cod, angler, and whiting, all of which are caught commercially. Popular game fish include striped bass, tautog (blackfish), bluefin tuna, and swordfish. Quahogs, which are a large and strongly flavored type of clam, and scallops, oysters, crabs, and lobsters are taken along the coast. Freshwater fish include black bass, yellow perch, white perch, and the brook, rainbow, and brown trout.
Economic Activities
Shipbuilding and commerce became major occupations toward the end of the 17th century. From then until the American Revolution (1775-1783) the colony profited from a prosperous triangular trade in rum, sugar and molasses, and slaves. Following the decline of the triangular trade after the American Revolution, whaling and the manufacture of spermaceti candles from sperm oil, which is from the head and blubber of the sperm whale, became major economic activities. Rhode Island merchants became active in China and other parts of East Asia. However, whaling and commerce gradually declined after 1790, and Rhode Island began to concentrate instead on manufacturing industries. Rhode Island was one of the first states to industrialize. Because Samuel Slater built the first successful American cotton mill in the state in 1793, Rhode Island is sometimes referred to as the cradle of the American factory system. Several of the major industries of present-day Rhode Island, including metalworking, textile manufacturing, and the manufacture of costume jewelry, date back to before 1800. Rhode Island had a work force of 504,000 in 1999. Representing 35 percent of the state's employment, the service industries constituted the largest job sector. The category includes a wide variety of work, ranging from office jobs to auto repair. Retail or wholesale trade employed 20 percent of the job holders; 15 percent work in manufacturing; 13 in federal, state, or local government, including those people in the military; 8 percent in finance, insurance, or real estate; 4 percent in construction; 3 percent in transportation or public utilities; and 1 percent in farming (including agricultural services), forestry, or fishing. Mining employment is insignificant. In 1998, 19 percent of Rhode Island's workers were members of a labor union. The state has one of the nation's few unionized work forces that increased in size during the 1990s.
Population Patterns
According to the 1990 national census, Rhode Island ranked 43rd among the states, with a total population of 1,003,464. This represented an increase of 5.9 percent over the 1980 census figure. The estimated population for 1999 was 990,819. The average population density of 366 persons per sq km (948 per sq mi) in 1999 is the second highest in the United States, behind only New Jersey. Some 86 percent of the people live in urban areas. Whites constitute 91.6 percent of the people, blacks 3.8 percent, Asians and Pacific Islanders 1.8 percent, Native Americans 0.4 percent, and those of mixed heritage or not reporting ethnicity 2.4 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, are 4.4 percent of the people.
Principal Cities
The principal cities of Rhode Island are Providence, Pawtucket, Warwick, Cranston, and Woonsocket, all of which are part of a larger continuous urban area that is defined by the Bureau of the Census as the Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket metropolitan area. This metropolitan area had a total population estimated to be 905,000 in 1997. Providence, the state capital, is the largest city in Rhode Island and had a total population of 150,890 in 1998. A great mercantile city in the past, Providence is now primarily an industrial and educational center. Jewelry, silverware, and machinery are the city's principal manufactured products. Warwick, with a population of 84,094, has some textile mills and electronics plants but is mainly a residential suburb of Providence and a retail trade center. Cranston, with a population of 74,521, is a center for textile printing, machinery, machine tools, and fire extinguishers. Pawtucket, with 68,169 residents, is famous as the site of the first successful American cotton mill, built by Samuel Slater, and is still primarily a textile center and a world leader in toy production. Woonsocket, with a population of 41,034, is primarily a textile center. Newport, which is outside the Providence-Pawtucket metropolitan area, had a population of 24,279 and is noted as a summer resort and yachting center.
Education
The first public school in present-day Rhode Island was established at Newport in 1640. Although it was short-lived, a number of private schools were subsequently opened. Although state laws providing for a statewide public school system were passed in 1800 and repealed in 1803, a public school system was created and maintained in Providence. State legislation enacted in 1828 effectively arranged for statewide public education, with state aid for local schools. In the 1840s the noted educator Henry Barnard conducted a survey of Rhode Island's public schools and succeeded in obtaining major education reforms. The so-called Barnard school law, which was passed by the state legislature in 1845, instituted a progressive, centralized state school system with statewide standards for instruction. School attendance is compulsory in Rhode Island for all children from the age of 6 to 16. Parochial and other private schools enroll 18 percent of the state's children. In the 1995-1996 school year Rhode Island spent $7,936 on each student's education, compared to a national average of $6,146. There were 14.2 students for every teacher, giving the state one of the smallest average class sizes in the nation, where the average was 17.1 students per teacher. Of those older than 25 years of age in 1998, 80.7 percent had a high school diploma; the country as a whole averaged 82.8 percent.
Higher Education
The oldest institution of higher education in Rhode Island is Brown University, in Providence. Chartered in 1764 as Rhode Island College, it was the first college to be founded in Rhode Island and the seventh to be established in the United States. Originally located in Warren, it was moved to Providence in 1770 and received its present name in 1804. The Rhode Island School of Design, (founded in 1877), which is also located in Providence, includes divisions providing instruction in fine arts, architecture, and textiles. In Newport is the U.S. Naval War College (1885), which provides specialized postgraduate instruction for commissioned officers in the armed forces of the United States and its allies. The state-supported University of Rhode Island was founded in 1892 as Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. Originally established as a land-grant college, the university was also designated as a sea-grant college in 1971. In addition to its main campus at Kingston, the university maintains campuses at Providence and in other communities in the state. Rhode Island College (1854), in Providence, is also a state supported institution, as is the Community College of Rhode Island in Warwick and Lincoln. Other noted institutions include Johnson & Wales University (1914), and Providence College (1917), both in Providence; Roger Williams College (1948), in Bristol; and Salve Regina University (1934), in Newport. In 1996-1997 the state had 3 public and 9 private institutions of higher learning.
Recreation and Places of Interest
An extensive shoreline and mild summer climate contribute to Rhode Island's renown as a vacation state. Resorts along the coast and offshore islands are major centers for people interested in boating, fishing, swimming, and other water sports. Notable resorts in the state include Block Island, which lies 16 km (10 mi) offshore, and Newport, one of the nations most popular resorts. Rhode Island is also noted for its numerous places of historic interest, some of which are designated as state historic sites. Among the best-known tourist attractions of historic interest is Touro Synagogue National Historic Site, in Newport. It preserves the oldest synagogue in the United States. Rhode Island's only national park is Roger Williams National Memorial, in Providence, commemorating the first government to declare religious freedom for all.
Annual Events
Sports contests account for many of Rhode Island's notable annual events. The Winter Sports Carnival is held at Providence annually during the first week in February. The Newport-Bermuda Yacht Race is held biennially in June. The Invitation Block Island Sound Race of the Watch Hill Yacht Club takes place at Watch Hill each July. Sports events in August include the Atlantic Tuna Tournament, at Block Island, and the Annual International Invitation Tennis Tournament, in Newport. The Rhode Island Open Salt-Water Fishing Derby takes place from August 14 to November 1. Other annual events in Rhode Island include the statewide observance of Rhode Island Heritage Month in May, the Providence Festival Chorus Concert in the month of June, and the popular Rhode Island Red Chicken Barbecue at Little Compton in July. A folk festival is held in Newport every August. The Heritage Day Pow Wow in Warwick in November features Native American singing, dancing, and arts and crafts. The Antique Auto Tour, from Woonsocket to Westerly, takes place each October.
Government
Rhode Island's present state constitution went into effect in 1843. Before that time the state was governed under the royal charter issued in 1663 by King Charles II of England. The state constitution now contains more than 50 amendments. Proposed amendments must initially be approved by a majority of the elected membership of both houses. To be adopted, they must then win the approval of a majority of the voters in a general election. Amendments may also be proposed by a constitutional convention. The chief executive of Rhode Island is the governor, who is elected for a four-year term. Other elected executive officials are the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer, all of whom serve four-year terms. The governor may veto legislation, but the General Assembly may override the veto by a three-fifths vote of those present at the voting. The governor also appoints some of the state's major administrative officials, generally subject to the approval of the Senate. In 1999 Lincoln C. Almond, a Republican, was governor. The Rhode Island legislature, called the General Assembly, consists of a 50-member Senate and a 100-member House of Representatives. All legislators are elected for two-year terms. Regular sessions of the General Assembly, which convenes annually on the first Tuesday in January, generally conclude sometime between May and early July. Special sessions of unlimited duration may be called by the governor. The highest court in Rhode Island, the supreme court, is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices. It generally meets in Providence. The appointment of a supreme court judge requires that a judicial nominating committee submit the names of five candidates to the governor. The governor selects one of the five and submits the name to the General Assembly, wherein a majority vote of both houses is required for confirmation and appointment for life. The major trial court in the state judiciary is the superior court. It consists of justices appointed for life by the governor following the procedure used in selecting supreme court justices. Other courts include a family court, district courts, courts of probate, whose functions are often performed by the town councils, and municipal police courts. There are no independent county governments in Rhode Island. The state is divided into five counties, but the counties serve merely as state judicial districts. The state's chief units of local government are 31 towns and 8 cities. The towns and cities are contiguous, so that they include all the land of the state within their boundaries. Most towns still have town meetings, an institution dating from colonial times. A town financial meeting is held annually. Most town officials are elected on the state's regular election day and serve two-year terms. A number of towns have the council-manager form of government. Most of Rhode Island's cities have the mayor and council form of government. Rhode Island elects two U.S. senators and two U.S. representatives. It has four electoral votes in presidential elections.
Recent Developments
From the 1950s through the 1970s, Rhode Island's textile industry continued to decline. Textile employees decreased from more than 60,000 in 1950 to fewer than 15,000 in the late 1970s. Manufacturing in general declined in importance, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, except for the jewelry industry. Retail and wholesale trade, service industries, education, government, and tourism grew. A severe economic blow came in 1973 when the U.S. Navy, the state's largest employer, announced that the Newport Naval Base and the Quonset Point Naval Air Station would close, eliminating 4,000 civilian and 17,000 military jobs. Although the conversion of the Quonset base to an industrial park created some new jobs, especially at Quonset's Electric Boat facility, unemployment remained high through the early 1980s. Democrats dominated Rhode Island's politics through most of the period from the 1950s to the mid-1990s. The General Assembly remained overwhelmingly Democratic since reapportionment in the mid-1960s. With two exceptions, Democratic governors held office from 1951 until 1985. After that date, the governor's office switched between Democrats and Republicans. A series of corruption scandals dominated the state's politics beginning in the mid-1980s, involving the governor, mayors, and Supreme Court justices, among others. Political and business corruption was so widespread that the U.S. attorney who prosecuted many of the cases, Lincoln Almond, was catapulted into the governor's office in the 1994 elections. Almond campaigned on a platform of restoring honest and economical government. By 1986 the state's economy was again robust and unemployment had fallen to its lowest level in decades. Services and high-technology industries accounted for most of the growth in jobs and income. In the 1980s, real estate values in the Providence area grew faster than those in any other metropolitan area in the United States. Rhode Island's economic boom of the mid-1980s was followed by a sharp recession beginning in 1989, during which the state's credit union system collapsed, property values plummeted, unemployment rose, and thousands of manufacturing jobs were lost, even in the jewelry industry. Hard times caused the state's population, which for the first time had topped 1 million in the census of 1990, to dip below that mark, even though Hispanic and Southeast Asian communities grew. A gradual economic upturn began in 1993, and major construction projects were launched in downtown Providence, including Waterplace Park, a new luxury hotel, and the urban mall called Providence Place. Although the Narragansett people had been legally declared extinct by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1880, they incorporated in 1934 and gained federal recognition in 1983. In 1978 a claim filed by the Narragansett to regain ancestral lands in Rhode Island was settled, giving them 728 hectares (1,800 acres) in Charlestown. In the mid-1990s the Narragansett had 2,400 members, most of whom lived in Rhode Island.
"Rhode Island," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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