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RHODE ISLAND is the smallest state of the Union, at a mere
48 miles long by 37 miles wide, and tends to be overlooked as
a destination, even if it is home to more than twenty percent
of the nation's historical landmarks. It was established by
Roger Williams in 1635 as a "lively experiment" in
religious freedom. He had been expelled from Puritan Salem for
his radical ideas (including the notion that Indians should
be paid for their land and that there should be a complete separation
of church from state), and the Massachusetts Puritans liked
to call the state " Rogues Island ."
Despite its size, Rhode Island has over four hundred miles
of coastline, hacked out of the Narragansett Bay; it is, in
fact, made up of over thirty tiny islands, including Hope and
Despair. The " Ocean State " therefore developed through
sea trade, whaling and smuggling. Partly due to this commercial
interest, Rhode Islanders, resenting the stringent economic
pressures placed on them from England, were in the front rank
of the Revolutionary groundswell. However, no Revolutionary
battles were fought on Rhode Island soil, and unwilling at first
to abandon its new-found freedom, it turned out to be the last
state to ratify the Constitution. Between the Revolution and
the Civil War, Rhode Island shifted from a maritime economy
to lead the Industrial Revolution with Samuel Slater's creation
of the nation's first water-powered textile mill in Pawtucket,
just outside Providence. Today, although still heavily industrialized,
the state's principal destinations are its two original ports:
well-heeled Newport , yachting capital of the world, with good
beaches and outrageously extravagant mansions, and the colonial
college town of Providence. Block Island , about thirty miles
south of Newport, has a popular state beach, while the rest
of Rhode Island is largely made up of sleepy small towns and
fishing ports.
Rhode Island is tiny enough to make getting around ridiculously
easy. I-95, the major interstate, runs through Providence on
its way from Massachusetts to Connecticut. The more scenic US-1
follows the coast of Narragansett Bay into Connecticut. Newport
is accessible from Hwy-138, which connects the small islands
in Narragansett Bay to the mainland. Public transportation is
good: local buses connect Providence and Newport, and Amtrak
stops regularly in Providence. Ferries link Block Island and
Newport.
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