Rhode Island was the only state that sent no delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, a founding event linked to America250.
The convention met in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Delegates from 12 states attended at some point, but Rhode Island refused to send a delegation because many of its leaders opposed strengthening the central government.
The convention was initially authorized to revise the Articles of Confederation, but it instead produced the United States Constitution. Rhode Island therefore had no representatives in the debates that shaped the new federal system, including arguments over taxation, representation, and executive authority.
Rhode Island also became the last of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution. Its convention approved the document on May 29, 1790, by a narrow vote of 34–32. The state’s absence from Philadelphia is sometimes confused with the temporary departure of two New York delegates, Alexander Hamilton being the exception.