National Rhode Island Day Date in the current year: October 5, 2025

The first colonial settlement in present-day Rhode Island was established by Roger Williams, a Puritan minister and theologian. After residing in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Williams was expelled in 1635 for what the colony’s leaders considered “seditious views”, including his advocacy of religious freedom, separation of church and state, and fair treatment of Indigenous peoples.

In the spring of 1636, Williams and his followers arrived at Narragansett Bay, where they asked the local tribe for permission to settle. Williams named the new settlement Providence Plantations, attributing their arrival to divine providence, and declared it a refuge for those seeking religious freedom.

The colony quickly became a destination for religious dissenters and independent thinkers. In 1638, John Clarke, William Coddington, Ann Hutchinson, and Philip Sherman consulted with Williams and founded Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island. The following year, after a dispute with Hutchinson, Coddington established a separate settlement in the southern region of the island, naming it Newport.

In 1644, the settlements of Providence, Portsmouth, and Newport united to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. After the Stuart monarchy was restored, King Charles II granted the Rhode Island Royal Charter in 1663, officially recognizing the colony. Charles, a monarch known for his sympathy toward Catholics in a Protestant nation, supported Rhode Island’s commitment to religious freedom.

From its earliest days, Rhode Island sought to preserve its autonomy. Thus, it is not surprising that it was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to formally declare independence from Great Britain. Rhode Island did so on May 4, 1776—two months before the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

In 1787, delegates from twelve states met in Philadelphia to amend the Articles of Confederation. Rhode Island alone refused to send representatives. Rather than amending the Articles, the convention produced an entirely new constitution, which Congress approved and sent to the states for ratification. Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey ratified it in 1787; eight more states followed in 1788; and North Carolina joined in 1789.

Rhode Island resisted ratification longer than any other state because its General Assembly was dominated by the anti-federalist Country Party. Only after the federal government threatened a trade embargo did the assembly relent. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island ratified the Constitution, officially becoming the thirteenth state in the Union.

National Rhode Island Day does not coincide with Rhode Island’s admission anniversary. National Day Calendar established it as part of its National State Days project, which celebrates the states in the order in which they joined the Union. In this cycle of celebrations, National Rhode Island Day falls on October 5.