Portal:Rhode Island

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The Rhode Island Portal

Rhode Island (/ˌroʊd-/ ^ⓘ ROHD) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound; and shares a small maritime border with New York, east of Long Island. Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020; but it has grown at every decennial count since 1790 and is the second-most densely populated state, after New Jersey. The state takes its name from the eponymous island, though nearly all its land area is on the mainland. Providence is its capital and most populous city.

Native Americans lived around Narragansett Bay for thousands of years before English settlers began arriving in the early 17th century. Rhode Island was unique among the Thirteen British Colonies in having been founded by a refugee, Roger Williams, who fled religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony to establish a haven for religious liberty. He founded Providence in 1636 on land purchased from local tribes, creating the first settlement in North America with an explicitly secular government. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations subsequently became a destination for religious and political dissenters and social outcasts, earning it the moniker "Rogue's Island".

Rhode Island was the first colony to call for a Continental Congress, in 1774, and the first to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, on May 4, 1776. After the American Revolution, during which it was heavily occupied and contested, Rhode Island became the fourth state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, on February 9, 1778. Because its citizens favored a weaker central government, it boycotted the 1787 convention that had drafted the United States Constitution, which it initially refused to ratify; it finally ratified it on May 29, 1790, the last of the original 13 states to do so.

The state was officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations since the colonial era but came to be commonly known as "Rhode Island". In November 2020, the state's voters approved an amendment to the state constitution formally dropping "and Providence Plantations" from its full name. Its official nickname is the "Ocean State", a reference to its 400 mi (640 km) of coastline and the large bays and inlets that make up about 14% of its area. (Full article...)

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Lajoie in 1913

Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (/ˈlæʒəweɪ/; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie, was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "the Frenchman", he represented both Philadelphia franchises and the Cleveland Naps, the latter of which he became the namesake of, and from 1905 through 1909, the player-manager.

Lajoie was signed to the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL) in 1896. By the beginning of the 20th century, however, the upstart American League (AL) was looking to rival the supremacy of the NL and in 1901, Lajoie and dozens of former National League players joined the American League. National League clubs contested the legality of contracts signed by players who jumped to the other league, but eventually Lajoie was allowed to play for Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics. During the season, Lajoie set the all-time American League single-season mark for the highest batting average (.426). One year later, Lajoie went to the Cleveland Bronchos, where he would play until the 1915 season, when he returned to play for Mack and the Athletics. While with Cleveland, Lajoie's popularity led to locals electing to change the club's team name from Bronchos to Napoleons ("Naps" for short), which remained until after Lajoie departed Cleveland and the name was changed to Indians (the team's name until 2021). (Full article...)

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The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983.

The tribe was nearly landless for most of the 20th century but acquired land in 1991 and petitioned the Department of the Interior to take the land into trust on their behalf. This would have made the newly acquired land to be officially recognized as part of the Narragansett Indian reservation, taking it out from under Rhode Island's legal authority. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the request in their lawsuit Carcieri v. Salazar, declaring that tribes which had achieved federal recognition since the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act did not have standing to have newly acquired lands taken into federal trust and removed from state control. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... that a Rhode Island TV station broadcast for 14 months and then was off the air for 26 years before returning?
... that Northup Avenue Yard in Providence, Rhode Island, was described as "the finest in the New Haven system"?
... that James Diossa rescued the only public library and post office in Central Falls, Rhode Island, when the city went into bankruptcy?
... that three decades after chasing away surveyors for a previous railroad with guns, residents of Wickford, Rhode Island, built their own railroad?

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The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.

— H. P. Lovecraft

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Credit: User:Juliancolton

Winnapaug Pond (also known as Brightman Pond) is a breached saltwater pond in Westerly, Rhode Island, United States, connected to Block Island Sound by the Weekapaug Breachway, which was constructed during the mid-1950s. The 2.5-mile (4.0 km) long lake is separated from the Atlantic by a large sandbar.

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The following are images from various Rhode Island-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 21884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 3Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 4In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 5Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 6The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 7Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 8Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 9The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 10A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 11A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 12Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 13The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 14In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 15In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 16The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 17Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 181884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 19University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 20In 1936, on the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Rhode Island in 1636, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp, depicting Roger Williams (from Rhode Island)
Image 21University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 22The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 23The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 24Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 25Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 26Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 27The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 28The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 29Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 30Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 31The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 32The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 33Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 34Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 35In 1936, on the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Rhode Island in 1636, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp, depicting Roger Williams (from Rhode Island)
Image 36Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 37Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 38The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 39University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 40Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 41The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 42A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 43Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 44Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 45The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 46Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 47Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 48The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 49County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 50The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 51Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 52Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 53The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 54University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 55Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 56The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 57County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 58Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 59Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 60Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 61Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 62A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 63The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 64In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)

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Misquamicut State Beach in March 2007

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged or categorized (e.g. Category:WikiProject Rhode Island articles) correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.