Rhode Island became the final state among the original thirteen colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution on May 29, 1790. Fearful that a powerful federal government would crush its fragile economy and destabilize its paper currency, the fiercely independent state held out until its neighbors threatened a crippling trade embargo that would treat it as a foreign nation. In a last act of defiance, Rhode Island submitted its ratification alongside twenty‑one proposed amendments—a protective gesture that echoed the very spirit that soon shaped the Bill of Rights.
