Ratification of the United States Constitution by Rhode Island

The ratification of the United States Constitution by Rhode Island was the 1790 decision by the Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ("Rhode Island") to accede to the United States Constitution. It was a controversial process that occurred only after the United States threatened a trade embargo against Rhode Island for non-compliance.

Background

The signing of the United States Constitution in 1787; no representatives from Rhode Island are shown in this painting as the state refused to send a delegation.

Rhode Island early acquired a reputation for opposition to closer union with the other former British colonies that had formed the United States of America.[1][2] Its veto of an act of the Congress of the Confederation earned it a number of deprecatory nicknames (including "Rogue Island" and "the Perverse Sister").[1]

When the Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia nearly ten years later, Rhode Island was still popularly reviled. As if to cement its reputation, Rhode Island refused to send a delegation to the convention.[1][2] It was the only state to not participate in its proceedings.[2]

Ratification of the Constitution

By April 1, 1789, the new constitution had entered into force after the required eleven states had completed their ratification processes. Despite the fact that the First United States Congress had already convened—and the Congress had already passed twelve proposed amendments, Rhode Island still had not ratified the new Constitution and continued to effectively operate outside the new regime.[2]

Nearly a dozen conventions called in Rhode Island to ratify the constitution failed, often by wide margins; in one instance 92-percent voted against ratification. Opposition to the proposed constitution was greatest in rural areas, and a July 4, 1788 attempt to celebrate New Hampshire's ratification in Providence was broken-up by a thousand-man paramilitary force of Country Party supporters that descended on the capital to prevent the observances going forward. Armed confrontation, and possible civil war, was averted only after organizers agreed to ensure the celebrations would only commemorate Independence Day and not New Hampshire's ratification.[1][2][3][4]

On May 18, 1790, the United States Senate enacted legislation banning all trade with Rhode Island, effectively isolating the diminutive state from the outside world. Eleven days later, before the proposed embargo could be acted on by the United States House of Representatives, Rhode Island capitulated and ratified the constitution.[1][5] However, Rhode Island's ratification included a lengthy list of caveats, including that "the powers of government may be reassumed by the people whensoever it shall become necessary". It is not believed the state's attachments to its ratification have legal merit. The ratification also contained a list of proposed amendments to the constitution, such as abolition of the slave trade, that Rhode Island wished to see taken-up.[1][5][6][7]

Rhode Island's first congressman, Benjamin Bourne, took his seat later that year, on August 31.[8]

The Rhode Island General Assembly took 101 years to ratify the U.S. constitution's 17th amendment.

Ratification of constitutional amendments

Rhode Island took 101 years to call a vote on ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Though the measure came into force in 1913, the Rhode Island General Assembly did not take-up debate on the matter until 2013, ultimately passing it the following year.[9][10]

Rhode Island earlier rejected the 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which came into force in 1913 over its opposition.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Samantha Payne. ""Rogue Island": The last state to ratify the Constitution". archives.gov. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Glass, Andrew (29 May 2014). "Rhode Island ratifies Constitution, May 29, 1790". Politico. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Nesi, Ted (23 December 2010). "Rhode Islanders were not feelin' the Constitution". WPRI-TV. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Staples, William R. (1843). The Town of Providence, From Its First Settlement, to the Organization of the City Government, in June, 1832. Providence, RI: Knowles and Vose. pp. 332–335. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Ratification of the Constitution by the State of Rhode Island; May 29, 1790". yale.edu. Yale University. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Barnett, Randy (2013). Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty. Princeton University Press. pp. 69–71. ISBN 140084813X.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Calvin (2005). Righteous Anger at the Wicked States: The Meaning of the Founders' Constitution. Cambridge University Press. pp. 153–154. ISBN 1139445022.
  8. ↑ "Rhode Island's Ratification of the Constitution". house.gov. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "R.I. House finally Ratifies 17th U.S. Constitutional Amendment: direct election of U.S. senators". Rhode Island Public Radio. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "A century later, Rhode Island lawmakers consider ratifying 17th Amendment to the Constitution.". Providence Journal. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  11. ↑ Greenblatt, Alan (23 February 2013). "Failure To Ratify: During Amendment Battles, Some States Opt To Watch". National Public Radio. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
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