Show THE STORY OF OUR STATES by JONATHAN BRACE by mcclure Syndi af RHODE ISLAND la not really the name of tills state As can be seen from the state seal the official name 1 i of rhode land proal dence plantations it originated from two district settlements the first was made by roger williams in tie v as the pastor of a church in salem As he advocated radical reforms he was ordered to return to england but fled to the narragansett tribe of indians from them he obtained a tract of land and billed the town which he established providence in token of god gods s mercy which had so far proved cd for him about the same time sirs anne hutchinson and her followers were expelled from massachusetts on account of a theological dispute she made her way to the island of arnld neck which she purchased from the indians tor 40 fathoms of white wampum 20 hoes and 10 coats the name of this island was changed to the isle of rhodes probably after the famous greek island in the mediterranean by common usage it became known as rhode island in aggs charles II 11 gave rhode island a very liberal charter and this remained in force until 1841 when a new state constitution ution was adopted by mass conventions vent ions and two years later another new constitution wad legally voted the change la constitutions caused what was known as dorrs rebellion the entrance of rhode island into the union in 1790 completed the list of the original thirteen states though rhode island Is the smallest of all the states with only 1248 square miles it Is very thickly populated and has five presidential electors which Is more than those of a number of states of much larger territory VERMONT tw HE derivation of r the name bep bont comes from the french verts monts or green mountains and it was likewise the french who were probably the first white men to see those lofty landmarks which so appropriately pria tely give this state its name this was in july 1609 when Champ lalo made his memorable voyage up the lake now called after him the first permanent settlement was made tn 1724 at where the massachusetts colony established a fort as a buffer against invasion from the north the territory used was part of what was known as the equivalent linds which were sold at public auction in Uart tord for about a earthine ear thing an acre the proceeds being donated to yale college shortly after this settlers joshed eastward from ew york across lake cham plain and westward from new hampshire led to disputes between these two colonies as to their boundaries under the leadership of ethan alien new yorks claims were resisted by a local military force which proudly called themselves the green mountain boys it was these same men who played such a brilliant part during the revolution in 1777 a formal constitution tor the was adopted and Vr are proud of the act that theirs was the first of the states to prohibit slavery by constitutional provision for a number of years vermont remained ns a separate republic but in 1791 it was admitted to the union as the first addition to the original thirteen states in size vermont has square miles and its congressional delegation numbers four it thus casts four votes or the president |