250 Years of Rhode Island Independence
Celebrating Rhode Island Independence Day with some favorites from around the Ocean State.
Two hundred and fifty years ago today, on May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first colony to renounce allegiance to Great Britain, two months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. From Roger Williams' founding principles of religious freedom in 1636, to the first military action against the Crown with the burning of the Gaspee in 1772, and the birth of the Industrial Revolution at Slater Mill in 1793, Rhode Islanders have always moved first.
Now, 250 years later, the Independent Man still stands tall atop the State House, carrying that spirit of defiance forward.
