History UsefulNotes / RhodeIsland

* Creator/CharlieDay: Born in New York City, raised in Middletown.

* ''Film/MoonriseKingdom'': Filmed in Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Jamestown, and Hopkinton. The titular beach is located in Jamestown

* ''ComicBook/{{Providence}}''
* ''Series/{{Providence}}''

Rhode Island today has a population of around 1.1 million people, packed into only 1,200 square miles. Its capital and largest city is Providence, whose metro area covers most of the state and parts of Bristol County, Massachusetts; The metro area for the city is often combined with those of the nearby Massachusetts cities of Fall River and New Bedford, and the three cities share a media market. Rhode Island, along with Connecticut, has no county governments, with the counties mainly existing as geographical subdivisions for the sheriffs (which are part of the state government) and decentralized courts located throughout the state, and the state uses the local, autonomous "town meeting" system. Despite its small size, Providence is home to five prominent universities: Brown University, the artsy Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson & Wales University which is famous for its culinary program, Rhode Island College, and Providence College. Satellite campuses for the Community College of Rhode Island (main campus in Warwick) and the University of Rhode Island (main campus in Kingston) are also in the city.

Rhode Island today has a population of around 1.1 million people, packed into only 1,200 square miles. Its capital and largest city is Providence, whose metro area covers most of the state and parts of Bristol County, Massachusetts; The metro area for the city is often combined with those of the nearby Massachusetts cities of Fall River and New Bedford, and the three cities share a media market. Rhode Island, along with Connecticut, has no county governments, with the counties mainly existing as geographical subdivisions for the sheriffs (which are part of the state government) and decentralized courts located throughout the state, and the state uses the local, autonomous "town meeting" system.

To gamers, Rhode Island is known for being at the center of the scandal involving the collapse of 38 Studios, the game developer headed up by former Red Sox star Curt Schilling, which had received a $75-million loan from the state. Following 38 Studios' bankruptcy, the state of Rhode Island now owns the rights to all of the studio's assets, including their sole release, ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning''. Does ''your'' state own a video game company? Didn't think so.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'': Sometimes. Fox Mulder’s family had a summer home in Westerly, and in the episode “[[Recap/TheXFilesS04E23Demons Demons]]” he suffers memory loss in Providence.

* ''Film/{{Amistad}}'': Filmed in Newport and Providence.
* ''Film/TheGreatGatsby1974'': Filmed in Newport

* Music/TheCowsills

Rhode Island's geography is dominated by Narragansett Bay in the middle of the state, to the point where most of the state is only about 30 miles from either the bay or the Atlantic Ocean at its furthest point in the forested northwest corner. As mentioned above, the southern portion is mostly comprised of a chain of islands inside the bay. While the state is only 37 miles wide and 48 miles long, its shoreline is 384 miles in length, hence its nickname of "the Ocean State."

Rhode Island today has a population of around 1.1 million people, packed into only 1200 square miles. Its capital and largest city is Providence, whose metro area covers most of the state. Like much of New England, it has a strong maritime tradition, and seafood like clams and lobster features prominently in local cuisine. Culturally, it's most famous as the home of the aforementioned Brown University, which is regarded as selective and prestigious even among the already-selective-and-prestigious Ivy League universities. In politics, it's one of the most resolute strongholds of the Democratic Party, having voted for Democratic candidates in every presidential election since 1988, and by a margin of at least 20 points since 1992. Rhode Island is "bluer" (i.e. more pro-Democratic party) even than the rest of solidly blue New England; many other New England states like Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire have strong local Republican parties, even as they favor the Democrats in national politics, and often vote for Republican governors. Rhode Island hasn't had a Republican governor in a decade.

Rhode Island, one of UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies, is a state in New England in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. It's most famous for being the smallest state by area -- less than half of Delaware, in second-to-last place -- however, with just a hair under 1.1 million residents (as of the 2020 Census), it ranks 44th out of 50 in population and is also the second most densely populated (after UsefulNotes/NewJersey)[[note]]It's about fifteen times larger than UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, however, which many think will become a state in the near future[[/note]]. Its small size makes it a convenient measuring tool for area comparisons in the US -- "the wildfires burned an area three times the size of Rhode Island!" [[NonIndicativeName Despite the name]], most of the state's territory and population are in fact on the mainland, and the origin of the name "Rhode Island" is a matter of some dispute.

Rhode Island, one of UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies, is a state in New England in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. It's most famous for being the smallest state by area -- less than half of Delaware, in second-to-last place -- however, with just a hair under 1.1 million residents (as of the 2020 Census), it ranks 43rd out of 50 in population and is also the second most densely populated (after UsefulNotes/NewJersey)[[note]]It's about fifteen times larger than UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, however, which many think will become a state in the near future[[/note]]. Its small size makes it a convenient measuring tool for area comparisons in the US -- "the wildfires burned an area three times the size of Rhode Island!" [[NonIndicativeName Despite the name]], most of the state's territory and population are in fact on the mainland, and the origin of the name "Rhode Island" is a matter of some dispute.

Rhode Island, one of UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies, is a state in New England in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. It's most famous for being the smallest state by area -- less than half of Delaware, in second-to-last place -- although, with just under 1.1 million residents, it ranks 43rd out of 50 in population and is also the second most densely populated (after UsefulNotes/NewJersey)[[note]]It's about fifteen times larger than UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, however, which many think will become a state in the near future[[/note]]. Its small size makes it a convenient measuring tool for area comparisons in the US -- "the wildfires burned an area three times the size of Rhode Island!" [[NonIndicativeName Despite the name]], most of the state's territory and population are in fact on the mainland, and the origin of the name "Rhode Island" is a matter of some dispute.

Rhode Island, one of UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies, is a state in New England in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. It's most famous for being the smallest state by area -- less than half of Delaware, in second-to-last place -- although it also ranks 43rd out of 50 in population and is hence the second-most densely populated (after UsefulNotes/NewJersey)[[note]]It's about fifteen times larger than UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, however, which many think will become a state in the near future[[/note]]. Its small size makes it a convenient measuring tool for area comparisons in the US -- "the wildfires burned an area three times the size of Rhode Island!" [[NonIndicativeName Despite the name]], most of the state's territory and population are in fact on the mainland, and the origin of the name "Rhode Island" is a matter of some dispute.

Rhode Island, one of UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies, is a state in New England in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. It's most famous for being the smallest state by area -- less than half of Delaware, in second-to-last place -- though it's 45th out of 50 in population and is hence the second-most densely populated (after UsefulNotes/NewJersey)[[note]]It's about fifteen times larger than UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, however, which many think will become a state in the near future[[/note]]. Its small size makes it a convenient measuring tool for area comparisons in the US -- "the wildfires burned an area three times the size of Rhode Island!" [[NonIndicativeName Despite the name]], most of the state's territory and population are in fact on the mainland, and the origin of the name "Rhode Island" is a matter of some dispute.

->''"Welcome to Rhode Island! Thank you for visiting Rhode Island!"''

Rhode Island today has a population of around 1.1 million people, packed into only 1200 square miles. Its capital and largest city is Providence, whose metro area covers most of the state. Like much of New England, it has a strong maritime tradition, and seafood like clams and lobster features prominently in local cuisine. Culturally, it's most famous as the home of the aforementioned Brown University, which is regarded as selective and prestigious even among the already-selective-and-prestigious Ivy League universities. In politics, it's one of the most resolute strongholds of the Democratic Party, having voted for Democratic candidates in every presidential election since 1988, and by a margin of at least 20 points since 1992. Rhode Island is "bluer" (i.e. more pro-Democratic party) even than the rest of solidly blue New England; many other New England states like Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire have strong local Republican parties, even as they favor the Democrats in national politics, and often vote for Republican governors. Rhode Island hasn't had a Republican governor in a decade.

Rhode Island, one of UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies, is a state in New England in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. It's most famous for being the smallest state by area -- less than half of Delaware, in second-to-last place -- though it's 45th out of 50 in population and is hence the second-most densely populated (after UsefulNotes/NewJersey)[[note]]It's about three times larger than UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, however, which many think will become a state in the near future[[/note]]. Its small size makes it a convenient measuring tool for area comparisons in the US -- "the wildfires burned an area three times the size of Rhode Island!" [[NonIndicativeName Despite the name]], most of the state's territory and population are in fact on the mainland, and the origin of the name "Rhode Island" is a matter of some dispute.

Rhode Island, one of UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies, is a state in New England in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. It's most famous for being the smallest state by area -- less than half of Delaware, in second-to-last place -- though it's 45th out of 50 in population and is hence the second-most densely populated (after UsefulNotes/NewJersey). Its small size makes it a convenient measuring tool for area comparisons in the US -- "the wildfires burned an area three times the size of Rhode Island!" [[NonIndicativeName Despite the name]], most of the state's territory and population are in fact on the mainland, and the origin of the name "Rhode Island" is a matter of some dispute.

Rhode Island today has a population of around 1.1 million people, packed into only 1200 square miles. Its capital and largest city is Providence, whose metro area covers most of the state. Like much of New England, it has a strong maritime tradition, and seafood like clams and lobster features prominently in local cuisine. Culturally, it's most famous as the home of the aforementioned Brown University, which is regarded as selective and prestigious even among the already-selective-and-prestigious Ivy League universities. In politics, it's one of the most resolute strongholds of the Democratic Party, having voted for Democratic candidates in every presidential election since 1988, and by a margin of at least 20 points since 1992.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rhode_island_8.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Go ahead, make the "actual size" joke. Everyone else already has.]]

On the other hand, the state boycotted the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and was the last state to ratify the Constitution a full three years after it had been adopted. Its small size and population led it to heavily favor the looser Articles of Confederation, which made the states more autonomous and provided for equal voices to all states regardless of population size, at the cost of any functional government for the US as a whole.