Ratification of the United States Constitution by Rhode Island

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, a 1940 painting by Howard Chandler Christy depicting the 1787 event. No representatives from Rhode Island are shown in this painting, as the state refused to send a delegation.

The ratification of the United States Constitution by Rhode Island was the 1790 decision by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ("Rhode Island") to accede to the United States Constitution. It was a controversial process which occurred only after the United States threatened a trade embargo against Rhode Island for non-compliance.