Rhode Island sent no delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
The convention met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, but it ultimately produced an entirely new Constitution. Delegates from 12 states attended; Rhode Island declined to participate because its leaders opposed increasing federal power and feared the convention would threaten state authority.
Rhode Island’s absence is significant because the Constitution’s final signing represented the states that were present, not all 13 states. Thirty-nine delegates signed on September 17, 1787, while three delegates at the convention refused to sign. The Constitution was later sent to the states for ratification.
Rhode Island eventually became the 13th state to ratify the Constitution, doing so on May 29, 1790, after the new federal government had already begun operating. It is easy to confuse Rhode Island’s nonattendance with Delaware, New Jersey, or New Hampshire, all of which sent delegates and had representatives among the convention’s participants.