The Dorr Rebellion was a short-lived armed insurrection in Rhode Island in 1841 and 1842, led by Thomas Wilson Dorr who was agitating for changes to the state's electoral system. Official language(s) None Capital Providence Largest city Providence Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 50th 4,005 km² 50 km 65 km 32. ... Thomas Wilson Dorr was born in 1805 and died in 1854. ...

Precursors

Under Rhode Island's charter, originally received from King Charles II of England in 1663, only landowners could vote. At the time, when most of the citizens of the colonies were farmers, this was considered fairly democratic. By the 1840s landed property worth at least $134 was required in order to vote. However as the industrial revolution reached North America and people moved into the cities, it created large numbers of people who could not vote. By 1829, 60% of the state's free white males were ineligible to vote. Charles II (29 May 1630–6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (retrospectively de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... // Events Prix de Rome scholarship established for students of the arts. ... Democracy is a form of government under which the power to alter the laws and structures of government lies, ultimately, with the citizenry. ... // Events and Trends Technology First use of anaesthesia in an operation, by Crawford Long War, peace and politics First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi New Zealand. ... This article is about general United States currency. ... The Industrial Revolution was the major technological, socioeconomic and cultural change in the late 18th and early 19th century resulting from the replacement of an economy based on manual labour to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture. ...

This was held by some to violate Article IV, Section 4 of the United States Constitution, which provides that "the United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government." In short, many believed that an electorate made up of only 40% of the white males of the state was un-republican and hence in violation of the Constitution. The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. ...

Prior to the 1840s, several attempts were made to replace the colonial charter with a new state constitution that provided broader voting rights, but all failed. The Charter lacked a procedure for amendment. The legislature had consistently failed to liberalize the constitution by extending voting rights, enacting a bill of rights, or reapportioning the legislature. By 1840, Rhode Island was the only state without universal suffrage for white males. In the context of the United States of America, a state constitution is the governing document of a U.S. state, comparable to the U.S. Constitution which is the governing document of the United States. ... A constitutional amendment is an alteration to the constitution of a nation or a state. ... A legislature is a governmental deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... A bill of rights is a statement of certain rights which, under a societys laws, citizens and/or residents either have, want to have, or ought to have. ...

The Rebellion

In 1841, suffrage supporters, led by Dorr, gave up on attempts to change the system from within. In October, they held an extralegal People's Convention and drafted a new constitution that granted the vote to all white males with one year's residence. At the same time, the state legislature formed a rival convention and drafted the Freemen's Constitution, making some concessions to democratic demands. take you to calendar). ...

The two constitutions were voted on late in the year, with the Freemen's Constitution being defeated in the legislature, largely by Dorr supporters, while the People's Convention version was overwhelmingly supported in a referendum in December. Although much of the support for the People's Convention constitution was from the newly-eligible voters, Dorr claimed that a majority of those eligible under the old constitution had also supported it, making it legal.

In early 1842, both groups organized elections of their own, leading to the elections of both Dorr and Samuel Ward King as Governor of Rhode Island in April. King showed no signs of introducing the new constitution, and when matters came to a head he declared martial law. On May 4, the state legislature requested the dispatch of United States troops to suppress the 'lawless assemblages.' President John Tyler decided to sit the issue out, replying that he believed that "the danger of domestic violence is hourly diminishing." Nevertheless Tyler, citing the U.S. Constitution, added that Samuel Ward King (May 22, 1786 - January 20, 1851) of Johnston, Providence County, Rhode Island, was the Governor of Rhode Island, 1839-43, who took a strong stand against the expanded voting franchise that led to the Dorr Rebellion in 1841 - 1842. ... List of Rhode Island Governors Nicholas Cooke None 1775-1778 William Greene None 1778-1786 John Collins None 1786-1790 Arthur Fenner Anti-Federalist 1790-1805 Henry Smith Unknown 1805-1806 Isaac Wilbur Unknown 1806-1807 James Fenner Dem. ... Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect (usually after a formal declaration) when a military authority takes control of the normal administration of justice. ... May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth (1841-1845) President of the United States. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme...

if resistance is made to the execution of the laws of Rhode-Island, by such force as the civil peace shall be unable to overcome, it will be the duty of this Government to enforce the constitutional guarantee--a guarantee given and adopted mutually by all the original States.

Most of the state militiamen were newly enfranchised by the referendum and supported Dorr. The "Dorrites" led an unsuccessful attack against the Arsenal in Providence on May 19, 1842. Defenders of the Arsenal on the "Charterite" (those who supported the original charter) side included Dorr's father, Sullivan Dorr, and his uncle, Crawford Allen. At the time, these men owned the Bernon Mill Village in Woonsocket. After his defeat, Thomas Dorr and his supporters retreated to Chepachet where they hoped to reconvene the People's Convention. A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ... An arsenal is an establishment for the construction, repair, receipt, storage and issue of weapons and ammunition. ... Nickname: Beehive of Industry Motto: Official website: http://www. ... May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Location of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. ... Chepachet, Rhode Island is a village, a subdivision of the town of Glocester in northwestern Rhode Island in the USA. The center of town is an intersection of Route 44 (Putnam Pike) and Route 102 (Victory Highway), and the ZIP Code here is 02814. ...

Charterite forces were sent to Woonsocket to defend the village and to cut off the retreat of the Dorrite forces. The Charterites fortified a house in preparation for an attack, but it never came and the Dorr Rebellion simply fell apart shortly thereafter. Governor King issued a warrant for Dorr's arrest June 8 with a reward of $1000, increased June 29 to $5000. Dorr fled the state. Warrant has several meanings: In law, a warrant is a form of authorization, such as A writ issued by a judge. ... The Chicago Police Department arrests a man A protester is arrested during a demonstration. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ...

The Charterites, finally convinced of the strength of the suffrage cause, called another convention. In September 1842, a session of the Rhode Island General Assembly met at Newport, Rhode Island and framed a new state constitution, which was ratified by the old limited electorate, proclaimed by Governor King on January 23, 1843, and took effect in May. The new constitution greatly liberalized voting requirements by extending suffrage to any free white man who could pay a poll tax of $1, and was accepted by both parties. A side street in Newport, Rhode Island, showing the historic buildings near the waterfront Newport is a city located in Newport County, Rhode Island, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Providence. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A poll tax, head tax, soul tax, or capitation is a tax of a uniform, fixed amount per individual (as opposed to a percentage of income). ...

Dorr's Fate

Dorr returned that year, was found guilty of treason against the state, and sentenced in 1844 to solitary confinement at hard labor for life. The harshness of the sentence was widely condemned, and in 1845 Dorr, his health now broken, was released. He was restored to his civil rights in 1851, and in 1854 the court judgment against him was set aside. In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation. ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1851 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

A history of the Dorr Rebellion based on first-hand accounts was "Might and Right by a Rhode Islander" (1844), generally acknowledged to have been written by Frances Harriet Whipple Green McDougall. Frances Harriet Whipple Green McDougall, born Frances Harriet Whipple (1805-1878), was an abolitionist, poet, novelist, editor, botanist, spiritualist medium, and advocate of womens, voters, and workers rights. ...