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Copyright 2001. The Lazy 'C' - All rights reserved.
history
THE flag of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations as it presently exists was formally adopted by the General Assembly at the January Session of 1897. Rhode Island was the third of the original thirteen colonies to formally adopt a State Flag, New Jersey and New York having done so in 1896. Although of such recent origin it incorporates all the features which from time to time have been prescribed by the General Assembly. The colours, white and blue, are the same as those used in the flags carried by the regiments of the State of Rhode Island during the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. The stars which represent the thirteen original states were also used on flags of the Continental Regiments from Rhode Island during the Revolution. The anchor has been connected with Rhode Island since its foundation. In 1647 the Assembly acting under the Cromwellian Patent of 1643 setting up the Providence Plantations adopted the anchor as the seal of the province. In 1644 when a more liberal charter was granted by King Charles II to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, the anchor was again chosen for the seal but the word "Hope" was added over the head of the anchor.
STATE FLAG
The flag of the State shall be white, five feet and six inches by four feet and ten inches deep on the pike, bearing on each side in the center a golden anchor twenty-two inches high, and underneath it a blue ribbon twenty-four inches long and five inches wide or in these proportions with the motto"HOPE" in golden letters thereon, the whole surrounded by thirteen stars in a circle. The flag to be edged with yellow fringe. The pike shall be surmounted by a spear-head and the length of the pike shall be nine feet, not including the spear-head. (General Laws, Section 42-4-3.)
STATE FLAG
The flag of the State shall be white, five feet and six inches by four feet and ten inches deep on the pike, bearing on each side in the center a golden anchor twenty-two inches high, and underneath it a blue ribbon twenty-four inches long and five inches wide or in these proportions with the motto"HOPE" in golden letters thereon, the whole surrounded by thirteen stars in a circle. The flag to be edged with yellow fringe. The pike shall be surmounted by a spear-head and the length of the pike shall be nine feet, not including the spear-head. (General Laws, Section 42-4-3.)
Nickname: The Ocean State.
Capital: Providence.
Constitution: The 13th State.
Statehood: May 29th 1790.
Motto: Hope
History:
A few thousand Algonquian Indians lived in the region before white people arrived in the 1500's. Some historians believe an Italian navigator, Giovanni de Verrazano, named Rhode Island after the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean Sea. Others believe the Dutch navigator Adriaen Block named the region Roodt Eylandt. (Red Island)
On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first American colony to declare its independence from Great Britain.
Textile manufacturing, the state's first important industry, grew rapidly during the late 1700's. It began a decline during the 1920's. By the end of the 1960's, the state had a varied economy. The state's jewellery and textile industries faced increasing foreign competition in the 1980's.
Bird:
Rhode Island Red.
Economy:
Agriculture: Nursery stock, vegetables, dairy products, eggs.
Industry: Fashion jewelry, fabricated metal products, electric equipment, machinery, shipbuilding and boatbuilding, tourism.
Flower:
Violet (Viola Palmata).
Origin of state's name:
Possibly named in honour of the Greek Island of Rhodes.
Tree:
Red Maple.
A few thousand Algonquian Indians lived in the region before white people arrived in the 1500's. Some historians believe an Italian navigator, Giovanni de Verrazano, named Rhode Island after the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean Sea. Others believe the Dutch navigator Adriaen Block named the region Roodt Eylandt. (Red Island)
On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first American colony to declare its independence from Great Britain.
Textile manufacturing, the state's first important industry, grew rapidly during the late 1700's. It began a decline during the 1920's. By the end of the 1960's, the state had a varied economy. The state's jewellery and textile industries faced increasing foreign competition in the 1980's.
Bird:
Rhode Island Red.
Economy:
Agriculture: Nursery stock, vegetables, dairy products, eggs.
Industry: Fashion jewelry, fabricated metal products, electric equipment, machinery, shipbuilding and boatbuilding, tourism.
Flower:
Violet (Viola Palmata).
Origin of state's name:
Possibly named in honour of the Greek Island of Rhodes.
Tree:
Red Maple.