This is a discussion with historian John Landry about Rhode Island’s economic history and why the state is so unique.
www.storyofrhodeisland.com
*For an ideal viewing experience, I recommend watching this episode on The Story of Rhode Island YouTube channel.
On the eve of the American Revolution, Rhode Island was the most democratic colony in the entire British Empire, but by the early 19th century, it had become the least democratic state in America.
In this episode of The Story of Rhode Island I'll tell you about how democracy came unraveled in 19th century Rhode Island.
www.storyofrhodeisland.com
*For an ideal viewing experience, I recommend watching this episode on The Story of Rhode Island YouTube channel.
On October 5th, The Story of Rhode Island Podcast will become The Story of Rhode Island YouTube Channel. With this change, I’ll be able to add visuals like photographs, maps, and animations to the stories I tell, bringing Rhode Island history to life like never before.
Be sure to subscribe now so that you don’t miss these wonderful stories about Rhode Island’s RIch history.
https://www.youtube.com/@thestoryofrhodeislandpodcast
1863 - 1865 | Following a heroic performance by Battery B, First Rhode Island Light Artillery Regiment, at the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union goes on to win the American Civil War, allowing Rhode Islanders are able to celebrate the end of hostilities.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
History of the Rhode Island combat units in the Civil War (1861-1865) by Harold R. Barker
Brown & Sharpe and the Measure of American Industry: Making the Precision Machine Tools That Enabled Manufacturing by Gerald M. Carbone
The Rhode Island Home Front in the Civil War by Frank J. Williams and Patrick T. Conley
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1861 - 1863 | Ambrose Burnside, a Union General from Bristol, Rhode Island, personally experiences the highs and lows of war while fighting Confederate forces in the American Civil War.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
History of the Rhode Island combat units in the Civil War (1861-1865) by Harold R. Barker
Brown & Sharpe and the Measure of American Industry: Making the Precision Machine Tools That Enabled Manufacturing by Gerald M. Carbone
The Rhode Island Home Front in the Civil War by Frank J. Williams and Patrick T. Conley
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1859 - 1861 | Rhode Island's political and military leaders respond as America is thrust into Civil War.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
History of the Rhode Island combat units in the Civil War (1861-1865) by Harold R. Barker
Kate Chase & William Sprague: Politics in a Civil War Marriage by Peg A. Lamphier
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1843 - 1845 | Following the murder of wealthy industrialist Amasa Sprague, Irish immigrant John Gordon is unjustly executed for the crime.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
The Hanging and Redemption of John Gordon: The True Story of Rhode Island's Last Execution by Paul F. Caranci
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1841 - 1845 | Thomas Wilson Dorr leads a political upheaval aimed at modernizing the state's archaic and extremely undemocratic government.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Democracy in Decline: Rhode Island's Constitutional Crisis Development 1776 - 1841 by Patrick T. Conley
The People's Martyr: Thomas Wilson Dorr and His 1842 Rhode Island Rebellion by Eric J. Chaput
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1832 - 1841 | After a decade of attempting to modernize the state's archaic political institutions, the people of Rhode Island come to the conclusion that the only way to achieve their goals is by leveraging more revolutionary tactics—or, as Seth Luther phrases it, they will obtain their rights by any means necessary: "peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must".
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Democracy in Decline: Rhode Island's Constitutional Crisis Development 1776 - 1841 by Patrick T. Conley
The People's Martyr: Thomas Wilson Dorr and His 1842 Rhode Island Rebellion by Eric J. Chaput
Peaceably if we can, Forcibly if we must: Writings by and about Seth Luther by Scott Molloy, Carl Gersuny, and Robert Macieski
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1808 - 1824 | With the Jefferson Embargo and the War of 1812 causing a significant decline in maritime trade, Rhode Island businessmen look to textile manufacturing as a new source of income
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Samuel Slater and the Origins of the American Textile Industry, 1790 - 1860 by Barbara M. Tucker
The Transformation of Rhode Island, 1790 - 1860 by Peter J. Coleman
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1796 - 1807 | Samuel Slater creates America's first water-powered cotton spinning mill and America's first factory town, giving Rhode Island the foundations it needs to move into the age of industrialization.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Samuel Slater and the Origins of the American Textile Industry, 1790 - 1860 by Barbara M. Tucker
The Transformation of Rhode Island, 1790 - 1860 by Peter J. Coleman
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1789 - 1790 | Only a year after arriving in Rhode Island, Samuel Slater builds the revolutionary machines that will ignite the American Industrial Revolution.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Samuel Slater and the Origins of the American Textile Industry, 1790 - 1860 by Barbara M. Tucker
The Transformation of Rhode Island, 1790 - 1860 by Peter J. Coleman
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
Prepare to embark on an exhilarating new season as we delve into the transformative power of industrialization in Rhode Island! Uncover the social and economic changes the state underwent throughout the 19th century and learn about how Rhode Island’s industrialized society helped to keep the Union intact.
Season 3 coming to you Sunday, May 4th!
1683 - 1723 | Throughout the late 17th and early 18th century, Rhode Island pirates contributed heavily to the Golden Age of Piracy and became such a nuisance that they almost got the colony's charter revoked.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Black Flag, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates by Eric Jay Dolin
Pirates of Colonial Newport by Gloria Merchant
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1784 - 1860 | With early abolitionists attempting to end Rhode Island's connection with slavery, the state's merchants and industrial leaders continue to find ways to profit off of the business of slavery right up until the Civil War.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island by Christy Clark-Pujara
Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution by Charles Rappleye
James DeWolf and the Rhode Island Slave Trade by Cynthia Mestad Johnson
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1638 - 1775 | From almost the moment Rhode Island was founded, indigenous war captives worked for the colony's earliest settlers without pay. Then, in the 18th century, Rhode Island's relationship with slavery deepened when it began playing a dominant role in the American slave trade.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Brethren by Nature: New England Indians, Colonists, and the Origins of American Slavery by Margaret Ellen Newell
Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island by Christy Clark-Pujara
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1781 - 1790 | With the Revolutionary War having come to an end, Rhode Island struggles to see eye to eye with their fellow Americans around what their new national government should look like, once again making them a group of outcasts.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Washington's General: Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution by Terry Golway
The Glorious Cause by Robert Middlekauff
Battles of the Revolutionary War by W.J. Wood
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1780 - 1781 | With the American's southern army on the verge of being defeated, an event that would likely lead to the patriot forces losing the Revolutionary War, George Washington calls on General Nathanael Greene to save the day.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
Washington's General: Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution by Terry Golway
The Glorious Cause by Robert Middlekauff
Battles of the Revolutionary War by W.J. Wood
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1778 | With the French Navy no longer able to support the retaking of Newport, the American army on Aquidneck Island must hold their ground so that they can safely retreat back to the Rhode Island mainland.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
The Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War by Christian M. McBurney
Colonial Rhode Island: A History by Sydney V. James
Washington's General: Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution by Terry Golway
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website
1778 | As the Americans prepare to retake the city of Newport with their French ally, they watch as a series of unexpected changes throw their plan into disarray.
My Favorite Books on this Topic:
The Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War by Christian M. McBurney
Colonial Rhode Island: A History by Sydney V. James
Washington's General: Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution by Terry Golway
*Map image from Rhode Island Boundaries by John H Cady.
To learn more about this episode go to The Story of Rhode Island website