The Story of Rhode Island

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Before Lexington and Concord... before the Boston Tea Party... Rhode Islanders launched one of the boldest attacks of the Revolutionary era. In 1772, a group of Rhode Islanders boarded and burned a British naval schooner called the Gaspee in Narragansett Bay. But the real impact of the Gaspee Affair wasn't the destruction of the ship, it was Britain's response, which helped reignite the American R...

In 1790, the United States threatened to invade one of its own states. Congress debated cutting it off as a foreign nation. Some advocates of the new Constitution even suggested carving it up and dividing its land between neighboring states. And still, it didn't budge. This is the story of how a group of South County farmers became the most defiant force against the United States Constitution, hol...

The Founding Fathers preached government by the people. Rhode Island practiced it. And it terrified them. In the 1780s, a period known as the Critical Period, James Madison and America's founders watched in horror as democratic ideals spread further than they ever intended. At the center of their fears was one radical little state: Rhode Island. By the time of the American Revolution, Rhode Island...

On May 4th, 1776, two months before the Declaration of Independence, Rhode Island renounced its allegiance to King George III. No other colony had done it. So why isn't Rhode Island celebrated as the first to declare independence from Great Britain? The answer reveals something surprising: what the General Assembly actually did that day was bolder and more complicated than a simple declaration. An...

The Wood River Branch Railroad should not have survived. Built in the aftermath of a deadly train wreck and during the Panic of 1873, the line spent decades fighting for its life. Fires destroyed its largest customers. Floods washed out its tracks. Economic collapse nearly ended it more than once. And yet, each time, the communities along the Wood River found a way to keep it running. In this epis...

On April 19, 1873, a train traveling through rural Rhode Island plunged into a washed-out bridge in the darkness before dawn. What followed was one of the deadliest railroad disasters in the state’s history. But this tragedy is only the beginning of the story. In the months that followed, local mill communities made a surprising decision: they built a railroad at the very site of the disaster. It...

Before it became the South County Bike Path, this quiet trail was the Narragansett Pier Railroad, a vital 19th-century line that fueled Rhode Island’s mills, carried seaside tourists, and left a hidden legacy still visible today. To learn more about the history of Rhode Island visit www.storyofrhodeisland.com *For an ideal viewing experience, I recommend watching this episode on The Story of Rhode...

Follow the forgotten Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill Railroad from Providence to western Coventry, and discover how this 19th-century line shaped Rhode Island’s mill villages, industry, and communities before fading into the Washington Secondary Bike Path. To learn more about the history of Rhode Island visit www.storyofrhodeisland.com *For an ideal viewing experience, I recommend watching this...

In this first episode of the Forgotten Railroads of Rhode Island series, we'll take a look at the Newport and Wickford Railroad, a line that served everyone from America's wealthiest families, local mill workers, and a Rhode Island industrial giant.  www.storyofrhodeisland.com *For an ideal viewing experience, I recommend watching this episode on The Story of Rhode Island YouTube channel.

In this conversation with Dr. Patrick Conley we discussed when The Colony of Rhode Island had perhaps the most radical democracy in the world, how that declined in the 19th century, and Thomas Wilson Dorr's impact on Rhode Island's political history. To learn more about the history of democracy in Rhode Island, I highly recommend checking out Democracy in Decline: Rhode Island’s Constitutional Dev...

When founded in 1636, Providence was little more than a tiny settlement of religious outcasts fighting for survival. But by the late 19th century, it had managed to become one of America’s leading industrial centers. In this episode of The Story of Rhode Island I'll tell you about how Providence went from being an overlooked settlement to an industrial powerhouse. www.storyofrhodeisland.com *For a...

In this conversation with Dr. Erik Chaput we discussed the life of Thomas Wilson Dorr and the 1842 political upheaval he eventually led.   To learn more about Thomas Wilson Dorr, I highly recommend checking out the resources below: The People's Martyr: Thomas Wilson Dorr and His 1842 Rhode Island Rebellion by Dr. Erik Chaput The Selected Writings of Thomas Wilson Dorr by Erik J. Chaput and Russell...

This is a discussion with historian John Landry about Rhode Island’s economic history and why the state is so unique. www.storyofrhodeisland.com *For an ideal viewing experience, I recommend watching this episode on The Story of Rhode Island YouTube channel.

On the eve of the American Revolution, Rhode Island was the most democratic colony in the entire British Empire, but by the early 19th century, it had become the least democratic state in America. In this episode of The Story of Rhode Island I'll tell you about how democracy came unraveled in 19th century Rhode Island. www.storyofrhodeisland.com *For an ideal viewing experience, I recommend watchi...

On October 5th, The Story of Rhode Island Podcast will become The Story of Rhode Island YouTube Channel.  With this change, I’ll be able to add visuals like photographs, maps, and animations to the stories I tell, bringing Rhode Island history to life like never before.  Be sure to subscribe now so that you don’t miss these wonderful stories about Rhode Island’s RIch history.  https://www.youtube....

1863 - 1865 | Following a heroic performance by Battery B, First Rhode Island Light Artillery Regiment, at the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union goes on to win the American Civil War, allowing Rhode Islanders are able to celebrate the end of hostilities.  My Favorite Books on this Topic: History of the Rhode Island combat units in the Civil War (1861-1865) by Harold R. Barker Brown & Sharpe and...

1861 - 1863 | Ambrose Burnside, a Union General from Bristol, Rhode Island, personally experiences the highs and lows of war while fighting Confederate forces in the American Civil War. My Favorite Books on this Topic: History of the Rhode Island combat units in the Civil War (1861-1865) by Harold R. Barker Brown & Sharpe and the Measure of American Industry: Making the Precision Machine Tools...

1859 - 1861 | Rhode Island's political and military leaders respond as America is thrust into Civil War. My Favorite Books on this Topic: History of the Rhode Island combat units in the Civil War (1861-1865) by Harold R. Barker Kate Chase & William Sprague: Politics in a Civil War Marriage by Peg A. Lamphier *Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady. To learn more about this episo...

1843 - 1845 | Following the murder of wealthy industrialist Amasa Sprague, Irish immigrant John Gordon is unjustly executed for the crime. My Favorite Books on this Topic: The Hanging and Redemption of John Gordon: The True Story of Rhode Island's Last Execution by Paul F. Caranci *Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady. To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Isla...

1841 - 1845 | Thomas Wilson Dorr leads a political upheaval aimed at modernizing the state's archaic and extremely undemocratic government. My Favorite Books on this Topic: Democracy in Decline: Rhode Island's Constitutional Crisis Development 1776 - 1841 by Patrick T. Conley The People's Martyr: Thomas Wilson Dorr and His 1842 Rhode Island Rebellion by Eric J. Chaput *Map image from Rhode Island...

1832 - 1841 | After a decade of attempting to modernize the state's archaic political institutions, the people of Rhode Island come to the conclusion that the only way to achieve their goals is by leveraging more revolutionary tactics—or, as Seth Luther phrases it, they will obtain their rights by any means necessary: "peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must". My Favorite Books on this Topic: Dem...

1808 - 1824 | With the Jefferson Embargo and the War of 1812 causing a significant decline in maritime trade, Rhode Island businessmen look to textile manufacturing as a new source of income My Favorite Books on this Topic: Samuel Slater and the Origins of the American Textile Industry, 1790 - 1860 by Barbara M. Tucker The Transformation of Rhode Island, 1790 - 1860 by Peter J. Coleman *Map image...

1796 - 1807 | Samuel Slater creates America's first water-powered cotton spinning mill and America's first factory town, giving Rhode Island the foundations it needs to move into the age of industrialization. My Favorite Books on this Topic: Samuel Slater and the Origins of the American Textile Industry, 1790 - 1860 by Barbara M. Tucker The Transformation of Rhode Island, 1790 - 1860 by Peter J. C...

1789 - 1790 | Only a year after arriving in Rhode Island, Samuel Slater builds the revolutionary machines that will ignite the American Industrial Revolution. My Favorite Books on this Topic: Samuel Slater and the Origins of the American Textile Industry, 1790 - 1860 by Barbara M. Tucker The Transformation of Rhode Island, 1790 - 1860 by Peter J. Coleman *Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by...