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S3237
2026 -- S 3237
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LC006249
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
COMMEMORATING MAY 4, 2026, AS RHODE ISLAND INDEPENDENCE DAY AND
THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S HISTORIC ACT OF
RENUNCIATION
Introduced By:
Senators Lawson, Urso, Lauria, LaMountain, Mack, Famiglietti,
DiPalma, Tikoian, and Ciccone
Date Introduced:
April 30, 2026
Referred To:
Recommended for Immediate Consideration
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WHEREAS, On June 9, 1772, Rhode Islanders attacked and burned the H.M.S. Gaspee
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in one of the first acts of open defiance against the British Crown; and
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WHEREAS, During 1773-74, Rhode Islanders participated in Committees of
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Correspondence to share intelligence and coordinate resistance to English authorities among the
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13 colonies; and
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WHEREAS, Following the 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord, Rhode Island raised
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militias and sent forces to relieve the siege of Boston; and
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WHEREAS, During the months that followed, Rhode Island began to resist royal
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authority; and
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WHEREAS, On May 4, 1776, both houses of the Rhode Island General Assembly met
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for session at the Providence Colony House at 150 Benefit Street; and
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WHEREAS, At that session, the General Assembly approved the Act of Renunciation,
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repealing prior legislation that had pledged allegiance to the English Crown; and
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WHEREAS, The Rhode Island General Assembly’s Act of Renunciation was the first
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and only legislation of its kind among the thirteen colonies in British North America; and
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WHEREAS, On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of
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Independence, which was signed by Rhode Islanders Stephen Hopkins and William Ellery, and
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which the Rhode Island General Assembly, meeting at the Newport Colony House, formally
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ratified on July 19, 1776; and
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WHEREAS, Rhode Islanders made important contributions to the American Revolution,
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including the brilliant generalship of Nathanael Greene; and
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WHEREAS, After the conclusion of the Revolution and the formation of the United
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States of America under the Articles of Confederation, Rhode Island persisted in its independent
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streak, refusing to attend the Constitutional Convention; and
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WHEREAS, In 1788, Rhode Island at first voted against ratifying the United States
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Constitution, but became the last of the 13 states to do so in 1790 after pressure from Congress
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and assurances of the passage of the Constitution’s Bill of Rights; and
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WHEREAS, On May 26, 1908, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed Public Laws
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Section 1591, declaring the fourth of May as Rhode Island Independence Day to be
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commemorated as a “just tribute to the memory of the members of the general assembly who
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passed an act renouncing allegiance of the colony to the British Crown . . . the first official act
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of its kind by any of the thirteen American colonies”; now, therefore be it
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RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby commemorates May
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4, 2026 as Rhode Island Independence Day and the 250th anniversary of the General Assembly’s
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historic Act of Renunciation; and be it further
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RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to
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transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Honorable Daniel J. McKee, Governor of
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the State of Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation.
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LC006249
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