Rhode Island is located in the New England region of the U.S.A. It was the thirteenth state to join the Union and was admitted on May 29, 1790. Rhode Island is the smallest state in America and the forty-third most populous. The state Capital, which is also the largest and most populous city in the state, is Providence. Despite its name most of the state is mainland. Rhode Island's bordering states are Connecticut and Massachusetts. Its bordering bodies of water are Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. The major River is the Sakonnet River and the major Lake, the Scituate Reservoir. Rhode Island was one of the first 13 original colonies to declare independence but was last to ratify the “United States Constitution”. Rhode Island is known by others in the country as "Little Rhody".
Rhode Island was either named for the Isle of Rhodes in the Mediterranean Sea or for its red clay. Its nickname, "The Ocean State", received its name owing to the fact one tenth of the inland area of the state is covered by salt water and no resident is more than a 30 minute drive from the water. The state bird is The Rhode Island Red and the state flower, violets. The state flag was adopted in 1897. It features a white field, with a yellow border on only three of the four sides. In the center of the flag is a yellow anchor encircled by thirteen yellow stars, which are symbolic for Rhode Island as the thirteenth state to join the Union. Under the anchor is a blue ribbon, which reads, 'hope'.
The first European to arrive in Rhode Island was Roger Williams. His arrival in 1636 was sparked by his being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious views. He settled in a place that he called Providence and declared it to be a place free of religious doctrine. Only a couple of years later, he was joined by some other people who had openly challenged the religious view of the time. The new settlers to Rhode Island lived in peace with the Naive American's. However, the other New England colonies did not. During the King Philip's War, the largest battle took place in Rhode Island when a force of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Plymouth militia under General Josiah Winslow invaded and destroyed the fortified Narragansett Indian village of Rhode Island.
The Gaspee Affair was a bloody incident that took place in Rhode Island. Occurring in the year 1772, it was sparked when a band of Providence residents attacked a grounded British ship for enforcing unpopular British trade regulations upon the state. Just over a decade later, the Industrial Revolution began. This new Revolution moved mass amounts of people to the cities and therefore a permanently landless and voteless class developed. Forty years later, in 1829, 60% of the state's free white males were ineligible to vote.
During the Civil War, upon President Lincoln's request for assistance from all the states, Rhode Island was the first to offer aid. The state sent about 25 000 men to fight and supplied the Union Army with the materials it needed to win the war. Additionally, Newport, a city in Rhode Island, was the temporary home of the United States Naval Academy during the war. Following this war, Rhode Island experienced an increase in population with immigrants flowing in from England, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Quebec, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Rhode Island's booming economy greatly sufficed this increasing population.
The major industries in Rhode Island are textiles, jewelry, rubber products, machinery, health and tourism. At one stage Rhode Island was one of the leaders in textiles. However, with the Great Depression, most textile factories relocated to the American South. Although textiles still play an important role in the Rhode Island industry, it does not have the same power it once had. Rhode Island's industrial outputs are costume jewelry, fabricated metal products, electrical equipment, machinery, shipbuilding and boatbuilding and its agricultural outputs are nursery stock, vegetables, dairy products and eggs.
Rhode Island is an example of a cold winter humid continental climate with short, hot, rainy summers and chilly winters. Rhode Island's weather is highly changeable, with storms and hurricanes an occasional threat.
Rhode Island is home to just over 1 million Americans. The center of population is located in Providence County, in the city of Cranston. The primary religions in Rhode Island are Christian, Roman Catholic and Protestants. The minorities are Jewish and Muslims.
There are many featured tourists attractions in Rhode Island. These include the World's Largest Bug, Fighting Seabee Statue, Tree Root That Ate Roger Williams and Florence Nightingale's Nurse Cap. There are also many outdoor recreation activities in Rhode Island such as fishing, biking, canoeing, kayaking, hiking and mountain biking trails.
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