RHODE
21
RHODE
in volume and with great depreciation in value, until
after the close of the Revolution, causing and in-
citing bitter partisan and sectional strife, and at
times leading to the verge of civil war. The ad-
vocates of this currency defended it on the ground
of necessity, lack of specie, and the demand for some
medium to pay the expenses of successive wars. In
1787 the State owed £150,047, English money, on
interest-bearing notes, which in 1789 the Assembly
voted to retire by paying them in paper money then
passing at the ratio of twelve to one. By the early
part of the eighteenth century the people? were ex-
tensively engaged in shii)-building, and it is said that
in the wars in America between Great Britain and
France, Rhode Island fitted out more ships for service
than any other colony.
The extraordinary measure of self-government granted to the colonists by the charter fostered in them a spirit of loyalty toward the mother country, substantially and energetically manifested on every occasion; but which, nevertheless, when the danger from the foreign foe was no longer imminent, was su])- planted by a feeling of jealous apprehension of the encroachments on what the colonists had now learned to regard as their natural rights. Rhode Island heartily joined the other colonies in making the Revolution her cause. In 1768 the Assembly rati- fied the Massachusetts remonstrance against the British principle of taxation, in spite of Lord Hills- borough's advice to treat it with "the contempt it deserves". The first overt act of the Revolution, the scuttling of the revenue sloop "Liberty", took place in Newport harbour, 19 July, 1769; followed three years later by the burning of the British ship of war "Gaspee" at Providence. A strong loyahst party in the colony for social and commercial reasons was anxious to avoid an open breach with the mother country, but the enthusiasm with which the news of Lexington was received showed that the majority of the people welcomed the impending struggle. On 4 May, 1776, the Rhode Island Assembly by formal act renounced its allegiance to Great Britain, and in the following July voted its approval of the Declaration of Independence. The colony bore its burden, too, of the actual conflict. From 1776 until 1779, the British occupied Newport as their head- quarters, ruining the commerce of the town and wast- ing the neighbouring country. The evident strategic importance of the possession of Newport by the British, and the possibility of the place's becoming the centre of a protracted and disastrous war, created great alarm not only in the colony but throughout New England. Two attempts were made to dis- lodge the enemy, the second with the co-operation of the French fleet, but both failed. The levies of men and money were promptly met by the people of the colony in spite of the widespread privation and actual suffering. At last the British headquar- ters were shifted to the south, and the French allies occupied Newport until the end of the war.
The same consideration, the instinct for local self- government, which prompted Rhode Island to resist the mother country, made her slow to join with the other colonies in establishing a strong centralized government. "We have not seen our way clear to do it consistent with our idea of the principles upon which we are all embarked together", wrote the As- sembly to the President of Congress. The proposed federal organization seemed scarcely less objectionable than the former British rule. Rhode Island took no part in the Convention of 1787, and long refused even to submit the question of the adoption of the Con- stitution to a state convention. Eight times the motion to submit was lost in the Assembly, and it was only when it became evident that the other states did not regard Rhode Island's condition of single independence as an "eligible" one, and were
quite ready to act in support of their opinion even
to the extent of parcelling her territory among them-
selves, that the Constitution was submitted to a
convention and adopted by a majority of two votes,
29 May, 1790. Admitted to the Union, Rhode Is-
land did not follow the example of most of the other
states in framing a constitution adapted to the new
national life, but continued under the old charter.
This fact underlies her political history for the next
fifty years. The charter of Charles II, though suit-
able to its time, was bound to become oppressive.
First, it fixed the representation of the several towns
without providing for a readjustment to accord with
the relative changes therein. Hence, the natural
and social forces, necessarily operating in the course
of two hundred years to enlarge some communities
and to reduce others, failed to find a corresponding
political expression. Again, the charter had con-
ferred the franchise upon the "freemen" of the towns,
leaving to the Assembly the task of defining the term.
From early colonial days the qualification had
fluctuated until in 1798 it was fixed at the ownership
of real estate to the value of .$134, or of $7 annual
rental (the eldest sons of freeholders being also eli-
gible). Agitation for a constitution began as soon
as Rhode Island had entered the Union, and con-
tinued for many years with little result. It came
to a head ultimately in 1841 in the Dorr Rebellion,
the name given to that movement whereby a large
party in the state, under the leadership of Thomas
W. Dorr of Providence, proceeded to frame a con-
stitution, independently of the existing government
and to elect officers thereunder. The movement was
readily put down by the authorities after some dis-
play of force, and Dorr was obliged to flee the state.
Returning later, he was indicted for treason, convicted
and sentenced to imprisonment for life. He was par-
doned and set at liberty within a year. His work was
not a failure, however, for in 1842 a constitution was
adopted incorporating his proposed reforms. A per-
sonal property qualification was instituted, prac-
tically equivalent to the real estate qualification;
and neither was required, except in voting upon any
proposition to impose a tax or to expend money, or for
the election of the City Council of Providence. The
personal property qualification was not available,
however, to foreign-born citizens, and this discrimina-
tion persisted until 1888, when it was abolished by
constitutional amendment. Each town and city
was entitled to one member in the Senate; and the
membership of the Lower House, limited to seventy-
two, was apportioned among the towns and cities on
the basis of population, with the proviso that no town
or city should have more than one-sixth of the total
membership. In 1909, an amendment was adopted
increasing the membership of the Lower House to
one hundred, apportioned as before among the towns
and cities on the basis of population, with the proviso
that no town or city should have more than one-
fourth of the total membership. It is significant that
under this amendment the City of Providence has
twenty-five representatives whereas its population
warrants forty-one. In the same year, the veto
power was for the first time bestowed upon the gov-
ernor. Notwithstanding these approaches toward a
republican form of government, there is a strong de-
mand for a thorough revision of the Constitution.
According to an opinion of the Supreme Court a
constitutional convention is out of the question,
inasmuch as the Constitution itself contains no pro-
vision therefor (In re The Constitutional Conven-
tion, XIV R. I., 469), and the only hope of reform
seems to be in the slow and difficult process of amend-
ment.
B. Religious. — The earliest settlers in this state were criticized by their enemies for lack of religion. Cotton Mather described them as a "colluvies" of
