2003 -- S 1045

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LC03188

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2003

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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

PROTESTING COMMENTS MARGINALIZING RHODE ISLAND'S CRITICAL ROLE IN

THE FOUNDING OF OUR NATION, AND PROCLAIMING PRIDE IN OUR STATE'S

MANY HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

     Introduced By: Senator Leo R. Blais

     Date Introduced: May 01, 2003

     Referred To: Senate held on desk

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     WHEREAS, A recent article in a North Carolina newspaper, the News Observer, about

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the return of North Carolina’s stolen original copy of the U.S. Bill of Rights made reference to

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North Carolina being “…the state, with Rhode Island, that held out and declined to join the union

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until there was a Bill of Rights.” Duke University constitutional law professor Walter Dellinger

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went on to state that the union “…could have done without Rhode Island, but we were hardly

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going to be a contiguous union with a foreign country between South Carolina and Virginia”; and

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     WHEREAS, Although the professor may have been referring to geographic

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considerations in the creation of our union, the remark can be interpreted as disregarding the

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critical role of the State of Rhode Island in modeling the freedoms, ideals, and independent spirit

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that inspired the founding of our great nation; and

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     WHEREAS, An examination of Rhode Island’s historical contributions firmly establishes

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the fact that the United States of America could not do without our fair state, which proved itself

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during revolutionary times as a leader in the quest for independence; and

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     WHEREAS, The first permanent settlement at Providence in 1636 by Roger Williams,

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and the founding of Portsmouth in 1638 by Anne and William Hutchinson and William

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Coddington, established the colony’s place in American history as the first bastion of true

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religious freedom in the colonies. The Royal Charter secured from King Charles II in 1663, was

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the most liberal charter issued from England during the colonial era, guaranteeing Rhode Island’s

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growing settlements complete religious freedom, creating a self-governing colony with local

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autonomy, and strengthening Rhode Island’s territorial claims; and

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     WHEREAS, Beginning with strong opposition in Newport to the Sugar Act in 1764, the

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colony engaged in repeated acts of open defiance, such as the scuttling and torching of the British

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customs sloop Liberty in Newport harbor in 1769, the burning of the British revenue schooner

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Gaspee on Warwick’s Namquit Point in 1772, and Providence’s own “Tea Party” in March of

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1775; and

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     WHEREAS, On May 17, 1774, after parliamentary passage of the Coercive Acts

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(otherwise known as the “Intolerable” Acts), the Providence Town Meeting became the first

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governmental assemblage to issue a call for a general congress of colonies to resist British policy.

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On June 15 of that year, the General Assembly made the colony the first to appoint delegates to

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the anticipated Continental Congress; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island served as a model for freedom and independence on May 4,

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1776, when Rhode Island became the first colony to renounce allegiance to King George III. Ten

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weeks later, on July 18, the Assembly ratified the Declaration of Independence; and

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     WHEREAS, In 1778, the state quickly ratified the Articles of Confederation, with its

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weak central government, but when the movement to strengthen that government developed in

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the mid-1780’s, Rhode Island balked. Prompted by traditional individualism, democratic

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localism, concerns about autonomy, on March 24, 1788, Rhode Island became the first state to

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reject the U.S. Constitution. More than eight months after Congress proposed 12 amendments

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including the Bill of Rights, Rhode Island ratified the Constitution on May 29, 1790, making it

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the last of the original thirteen colonies to join the new union; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island’s founding, history, and culture throughout history have

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pioneered and exhibited the independent spirit, rugged individualism, religious freedoms, self-

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determination, and pursuit of opportunity that exemplifies the United States of America. As we

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prepare to observe Rhode Island Independence Day on May 4, it is fitting to remind the citizens

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of our state and nation about the pivotal role Rhode Island had in charting the colonies’ course

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toward freedom and influencing the historical development of the United States Constitution;

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now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby protests the suggestion that the Union “could do” without Rhode Island, and hereby

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expresses pride in the instrumental actions our state’s forefathers took to guarantee the

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development of a nation that lived to the promise of liberty; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Walter Dellinger, professor of constitutional

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law at Duke University and to the New Observer in North Carolina.

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LC03188

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