The Constitution of Rhode Island and Equal Rights (Classic Reprint)
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| Hersteller: | Forgotten Books (Association, Equal Rights) |
| Stand: | 2015-08-04 03:50:33 |
Produktbeschreibung
Excerpt from The Constitution of Rhode Island and Equal Rights The following article, which appeared in the Boston Herald of November 6, 1880, is here inserted, together with a brief addendum by the same writer, Dr. L. F. C. Garvin: To the Editor of the Herald: - As our little State, with its something more than 250,000 inhabitants, is the only one of the 38 in which a popular government does not exist, a succinct statement of our condition may be interesting to some of your readers without, as well as to the many within, the borders of Rhode Island. The best way to understand our present status is to glance briefly at the successive´ steps which have led to it. The extreme conservatism of Rhode Island, first exhibited by the hesitancy with which she gave in her adhesion to the union of the States, is still more manifest in the fact that, until after 1840, she never had a Constitution of her own, but continued under the old colonial charter of 1663. The voters under the old regime included only possessors of real estate to the amount of $134, and their eldest sons. At first, because farming was the chief occupation of the people, and because younger sons who engaged in other employments, such as fishing, trading, smithing, etc., could easily purchase a homestead for a few hundred dollars, the restriction was scarcely felt to be a burden, and did not remove the control of affairs from the hands of the majority. But, in process of time, land in the villages augmented in value, and the number of persons engaged in occupations which did not require the ownership of real estate so increased that at the presidential election of 1840, in which the excitement probably exceeded the one just closed, it became painfully manifest that a minority of the people had for years been governing the State. The vote cast at that election, then the largest ever polled in the State, was 8,292, and yet the United States census of the same year gave the male adult population as about 25,000, thus showing that only one-third of all the men exercised the franchise. That a condition of affairs so different from what existed in other States, and so contrary to the principles upon which not only the general government, but also that of Roger Williams, had been based, should have given rise to A Widespread Feeling Of Discontent cannot be wondered at. Consequently, all who were deprived of the suffrage, and, as the event proved, a majority of those who possessed it, were ready to engage in a movement for the extension of the franchise. The present Constitution was adopted in December, 1842. In the spring of 1843, the first vote cast for Governor in accordance with its provisions reached the high figure of 16,520, just double that of two and a half years before, and a clear majority of all the adult males. Thus, again, Rhode Island enjoyed popular government, stood in line with her sister States, in accord with the principles of ´76, and her people were satisfied. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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