R 172
2003 -- S 1045
Enacted 05/01/03
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
WHEREAS,
A recent article in a North Carolina newspaper, the News Observer, about
the
return of North Carolina’s stolen original copy of the U.S. Bill of Rights made
reference to
North
Carolina being “…the state, with Rhode Island, that held out and declined to
join the union
until
there was a Bill of Rights.” Duke University constitutional law professor
Walter Dellinger
went
on to state that the union “…could have done without Rhode Island, but we were
hardly
going
to be a contiguous union with a foreign country between South Carolina and
Virginia”; and
WHEREAS,
Although the professor may have been referring to geographic
considerations
in the creation of our union, the remark can be interpreted as disregarding the
critical
role of the State of Rhode Island in modeling the freedoms, ideals, and
independent spirit
that
inspired the founding of our great nation; and
WHEREAS,
An examination of Rhode Island’s historical contributions firmly establishes
the
fact that the United States of America could not do without our fair state,
which proved itself
during
revolutionary times as a leader in the quest for independence; and
WHEREAS,
The first permanent settlement at Providence in 1636 by Roger Williams,
and
the founding of Portsmouth in 1638 by Anne and William Hutchinson and William
Coddington,
established the colony’s place in American history as the first bastion of true
religious
freedom in the colonies. The Royal Charter secured from King Charles II in
1663, was
the
most liberal charter issued from England during the colonial era, guaranteeing
Rhode Island’s
growing
settlements complete religious freedom, creating a self-governing colony with
local
autonomy,
and strengthening Rhode Island’s territorial claims; and
WHEREAS,
Beginning with strong opposition in Newport to the Sugar Act in 1764, the
colony
engaged in repeated acts of open defiance, such as the scuttling and torching
of the British
customs
sloop Liberty in Newport harbor in 1769, the burning of the British revenue
schooner
Gaspee
on Warwick’s Namquit Point in 1772, and Providence’s own “Tea Party” in March
of
1775;
and
WHEREAS,
On May 17, 1774, after parliamentary passage of the Coercive Acts
(otherwise
known as the “Intolerable” Acts), the Providence Town Meeting became the first
governmental
assemblage to issue a call for a general congress of colonies to resist British
policy.
On
June 15 of that year, the General Assembly made the colony the first to appoint
delegates to
the
anticipated Continental Congress; and
WHEREAS,
Rhode Island served as a model for freedom and independence on May 4,
1776,
when Rhode Island became the first colony to renounce allegiance to King George
III. Ten
weeks
later, on July 18, the Assembly ratified the Declaration of Independence; and
WHEREAS,
In 1778, the state quickly ratified the Articles of Confederation, with its
weak
central government, but when the movement to strengthen that government
developed in
the
mid-1780’s, Rhode Island balked. Prompted by traditional individualism,
democratic
localism,
concerns about autonomy, on March 24, 1788, Rhode Island became the first state
to
reject
the U.S. Constitution. More than eight months after Congress proposed 12
amendments
including
the Bill of Rights, Rhode Island ratified the Constitution on May 29, 1790,
making it
the
last of the original thirteen colonies to join the new union; and
WHEREAS,
Rhode Island’s founding, history, and culture throughout history have
pioneered
and exhibited the independent spirit, rugged individualism, religious freedoms,
self-
determination,
and pursuit of opportunity that exemplifies the United States of America. As we
prepare
to observe Rhode Island Independence Day on May 4, it is fitting to remind the
citizens
of
our state and nation about the pivotal role Rhode Island had in charting the
colonies’ course
toward
freedom and influencing the historical development of the United States
Constitution;
now,
therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
hereby
protests the suggestion that the Union “could do” without Rhode Island, and
hereby
expresses
pride in the instrumental actions our state’s forefathers took to guarantee the
development
of a nation that lived to the promise of liberty; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to
transmit
duly certified copies of this resolution to Walter Dellinger, professor of
constitutional
law
at Duke University and to the New Observer in North Carolina.
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LC03188
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