Rhode Island
Quick facts
- Capital
- Providence
- Largest city
- capital
- Nickname
- The Ocean State
- Motto
- Hope
- Abbreviation
- RI
- Became a state
- May 29, 1790 (the 13th state)
- Area
- 1,545 sq mi (4,002 km²)
- Population (2020)
- 1,114,521
Facts from Wikipedia’s “Rhode Island” page (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the United States by area. The capital and largest city is Providence. It is called the “Ocean state” because of its bays and waterways. It was founded by Roger Williams for religious freedom.
Rhode Island was one of the original Thirteen Colonies. It became very important to the economy because of the slave trade, and more slaves were taken to the thirteen colonies through Rhode Island than any of the others in the 18th century. Slavers would send ships from Newport to buy slaves from Africa and make money by trading goods with others involved in slavery. Rhode Island became a state (the last of the thirteen to agree to the new United States Constitution) in 1790. But despite it joined the United States in 1790, it was founded in 1776.
Rhode Island is bordered on the north and east by Massachusetts, on the west by Connecticut, and on the south by Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. It shares a water border with New York. It is named for a large island in Rhode Island Sound, Rhode Island. Some thought the island looked liked Rhodes, an island in Greece.
An executive order was signed by Governor Gina Raimondo on June 22, 2020 to remove “Providence Plantations” from the official state name due to its ties to slavery. Raimondo stated the change would go into effect “as soon as practicable.” In November 2020, the official name was voted to be changed to “State of Rhode Island”.
Written for younger readers
Rhode Island, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: North America
Rhode Island is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area. Rhode Island borders Connecticut to the west, and Massachusetts to the north and east, as well as New York by sea to the southwest. Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen original American colonies to declare independence from British rule and the last to ratify the United States Constitution. Its capital is Providence, which is the third largest city in New England.
- The state bird is the Rhode Island Red Chicken
- The state Fish is the Striped Bass
- The state flower is the Violet
- The state insect is the American Burying Beetle
- The state mammal is the Morgan Horse
- The state reptile is the Painted Turtle
- The state tree is the Red Maple tree
- The state beverage is Coffee Milk
- The state mineral is Bowenite
- The state motto is Hope and the slogan is “Unwind”
- The state rock is Cumberlandite
- The state ships are the Courageous and the USS Providence
- The state fruit is the Rhode Island Greening
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “Rhode Island” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
Both sources are published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this page is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.
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