Very few people knew that the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations went to the brink of a revolution in the 1800's over suffrage. At the forefront of the debate over broader surffrage in the state was Thomas Wilson Dorr, a son of one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Providence, Rhode Island. The idea behind the suffrage movement that voting rights should not be only limited to white male landowners with property worth more that $134. It should be broadened to include all American citizens living within Rhode Island who were over the age of 21.

By 1841, this drive to broaden the electorate resulted in a People's Convention, which was actually held in the State House of the time period. The result of the convention was a state constitution that would, for the first time, replace the original colonial charter under which the state had continued to organize the government since its foundation. The biggest change was related to suffrage. This constitution was put to a vote and passed, though it was not recognized by the government of the state in the form of the General Assembly or Governor Samuel Ward King. The leadership viewed the actions as an attempt to overthrow the government.

Governor King was so concerned that he made a written appeal to President John Tyler requesting federal forces to defend the government against the Dorrists, a plea that Tyler said he could not meet unless an attack was made. Similarly, Dorr reached out to nearby states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York for support forces. While none of these requests were met, that did not prevent locals from forming up for confrontation.

The Dorrists actually built a small army in order to take a number of cannons from one of the armories in Providence. Dorr was forced to flee the state after the incident, but he returned in time to meet up with an army forming up in the village of Chepachet in the Town of Glocester. It was there that Rhode Island came its closest to a Civil War. No shots were fired there, though an innocent civilian was killed in nearby Pawtucket when Rhode Island forces were trying to defend the border from a potential invading army that never came. The Dorrists laid down their arms before the Rhode Island forces completed their 15 mile march from Providence.

Dorr was ultimately captured and placed on trial for treason. After being found guilty, he was forced into hard labor during his imprisonment. Cases related to the Dorrist movement were tried for months within Rhode Island with one appeal making its way up to the federal Supreme Court. Dorr was eventually released from prison, and his conviction was posthumously overturned by the General Assembly. For some time, his portrait hung in the state house with all the other state governors, though, it was taken down at some point and appears to have been lost.

This is a much mentioned incident in our state’s history, but I have to admit that I actually knew very little about it. I was glad that I read up on it with this short work so I could have a better understanding of something that seemed to play a pretty major role in our state’s attempt to become more equal over time. I also tend to like the small “quirky” details of history, particularly those of a local nature, and this really is something that falls under that category. Raven has done a wonderful job of presenting the details in a comfortable narrative that introduces a lot of historical characters, whose names will likely be familiar to those who know the streets and areas of Providence, without the reader becoming confused as to who is who and what side of the issue they supported. This is definitely worth a try for history buffs.