Rhode Island: A History

by William Gerald McLoughlin

With a Historical Guide prepared by the editors of the American Association for State and Local History. High atop the Rhode Island capitol in Providence, a bronze likeness of "The Independent Man" keeps watch over a state that historically has put the ideal of individual liberty before all others. Like many ideals, this one was freighted with many meanings. As the colony grew in the seventeenth century, the belief in religious liberty and freedom of conscience espoused by its founder, Roger Williams, led to the development of political liberty and practical democracy. In the eighteenth century, that dedication to individualism made Rhode Islanders into businessmen of the first order, willing to take the big risk in hope of a bigger reward. Their land being poor in natural resources, Rhode Islanders turned to trade; accumulating wealth from traffic in rum and slaves, they built in Newport and Providence small but elegant copies of Georgian England, and worried more about taxes and currency than about religion. When they felt poorly served by British policies, they became ready revolutionaries and led in the founding of a new nation. After the Civil War, their children took individual liberty to mean economic laissez-faire, ushering in the state's golden age when Rhode Island senator Nelson Aldrich became known as the "general manager" of the United States.

Through countless changes in the twentieth century, the ideal still survives and asks old questions of new generations of Rhode Islanders from many ethnic backgrounds: How best to reconcile the rights of minorities with the rule of the majority, and how best to secure the individual liberty and economic opportunity that Roger Williams and Moses Brown would have understood so well?

Genres: History, American History

Paperback

First published April 1, 1978

About the author

William Gerald McLoughlin was an historian and prominent member of the history department at Brown University from 1954 to 1992. His subject areas were the history of religion in the United States, revivalism, the Cherokee, missionaries to Native Americans, abolitionism, and Rhode Island.

Reviews

[Stuart Wilson]

This was a good survey, but ends in 1986 so obviously don't look to it to explain Buddy (could anything?). It's a pretty even-handed account of industry and government in the state.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 2 out of 5]

Project Read-a-History-of-Every-State-in-Order-of-Statehood #13

Last but not least--although I can't judge simply from this rather wan and outdated history of the final of the Original 13. Unlike other states I've hit so far, this is the only recent history of the Ocean State, and it dates from 1976...and even then that was an effort for the Bicentennial to publish a history of every state. Most of those I've encountered are as equally mediocre and wanting such as this, maybe there's some enterprising Rhodies out there who can write a more up-to-date history?
Like other state histories, the weight of this one is on the colonial period, which takes up the bulk of the book. The Civil War and its aftermath, as well as the World Wars and the Depression are glossed over almost as afterthoughts. Of interest to locals might be the in-depth discussion of Italian and Irish immigration and the unceasing state corruption that seemed to characterize much of RI's 20th century history.
Curious to see what I was missing out on, even the RI Wikipedia page devoted to "After 1929" is a scant four or five paragraphs. A shame, since the state has a rich history of quirky individualism, religious tolerance, and innovation, up to a point.

[Martin Denton · Rating 3 out of 5]

McLoughlin specializes in religious history and that is evident here (and appropriate in the examination of the founding of the colony). The coverage of Rhode Island's economic and political history through the 19th century is excellent; the 20th century is relegated to just one chapter, 34 pages long, which focuses on religious and ethnic diversity and leaves out details about economics and politics. The information about the business enterprises in Rhode Island during the 1800s, though, is exceptional.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning about RI's history, which I didn't learn during my childhood in RI. I would have rated higher, but I thought it could have been organized better.

[Korry Thorpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhode Island is an interesting state. The story of their treatment of the Native Americans resident in the state early in their history is a sad one. I suppose that is true of most states though.