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You can't really through a stick in Rhode Island without hitting something connected to the American Revolution, and this state's part in instigating the revolution is not at all insignificant. We were in the game a year before the Boston tea Party by burning the Gaspee.
The state may be going through a rough patch right now, and that will change, but we should always take pride in the wisdom and courage of our forefathers. Rejoice in Rhode Island!
And that's only the start....RI has always been the contrarian.....Rhode Island's independent spirit was still in evidence at the close of the Revolutionary War. It was the last of the 13 original colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution, demanding that the Bill of Rights, which guarantees individual liberties, be added.
Following the Revolution, industrial growth began in Rhode Island. In 1793, Samuel Slater's mill in Pawtucket became America's first successful water-powered cotton mill. From this success, the Industrial Revolution in America began. In addition, the founding of the American jewelry industry by Nehemiah and Seril Dodge helped make Providence one of the chief industrial cities of New England by 1824. Jabez Gorham, jeweler and silversmith, was the forerunner of the world renowned Gorham Manufacturing Company.
And that's only the start....RI has always been the contrarian.....Rhode Island's independent spirit was still in evidence at the close of the Revolutionary War. It was the last of the 13 original colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution, demanding that the Bill of Rights, which guarantees individual liberties, be added.
Following the Revolution, industrial growth began in Rhode Island. In 1793, Samuel Slater's mill in Pawtucket became America's first successful water-powered cotton mill. From this success, the Industrial Revolution in America began. In addition, the founding of the American jewelry industry by Nehemiah and Seril Dodge helped make Providence one of the chief industrial cities of New England by 1824. Jabez Gorham, jeweler Rand silversmith, was the forerunner of the world renowned Gorham Manufacturing Company.
Rhode Island is a wonderful place with a great coastline and rich history however the state itself has
relied on federal money for job's etc and it's time the private sector step up to get RI back on it's feet again..
For such a small state it has a blend of old manufacturing cities and rural farming areas. And places like
Pawtucket are not currently a good place to raise a family IMO..
Rich in history agreed but some things need to change for the better of the state in general.
And many a July 4th celebration was made that much richer by the songs of Providence born Yankee Doodle Dandy, George M. Cohan...
There are so many "firsts" in RI's history. First colony to fire on the British, First to declare independence, first state founded on the tenets of religious freedom and separation of Church and State, one of the first to abolish slavery (though unfortunately many of our sea captains still participated in that unthinkable enterprise), first African American regiment, first synagogue in America, first Baptist church in America. Pelham Street in Newport was the first street in the country to use gas-illuminated streetlights. Perhaps not surprisingly, we had the first Italian American governor and the first Italian American senator.
Oldest library in America, the Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport. Oldest schoolhouse in America in Portsmouth. Oldest known monument to veterans in the United States the Nine Men's Misery monument in Cumberland - it was erected in memory of the colonists killed in Pierce's Fight during King Phillips War in 1676. (There's another monument to men killed during King Phillips war at the site of their burial on the grounds of Smith's Castle in North Kingstown, but the monument itself is newer). The White Horse Tavern is the oldest still in operation. The Flying Horse Carousel in Watch Hill is the oldest carousel still in use.
I thought I read somewhere that RI has more entries on the National Register of Historic Places than any other state, but I can't find the back-up for that now. If so, it's pretty incredible, considering the size of RI.
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