Rhode Island Last to Ratify the Constitution

Rhode Island was the last of the original thirteen states to ratify the Constitution, finally doing so on May 29, 1790 — by the narrowest margin of any state, 34 to 32. Providence's merchants generally supported ratification because they wanted stable trade and sound currency, but rural Rhode Islanders were deeply suspicious of centralized power.

The long holdout reflected the same fierce independence that had driven the Gaspee affair and the early renunciation of British allegiance. Rhode Island had always guarded its autonomy jealously. The state only ratified after Congress threatened to treat it as a foreign nation and impose tariffs on its goods. Even the act of joining the union was, for Rhode Island, a negotiation conducted under pressure.