As the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2026, we’re telling a story that began before 1776. Rhode Island was the first colony to declare independence from Great Britain and the site of the Gaspee Affair, the first act of violent rebellion in the American Revolution. Yet much of this history remains untold.
Rhode to Independence is a local storytelling initiative that explores Rhode Island’s pivotal—but often overlooked—role in the founding of the United States. Through powerful stories, diverse voices, and fresh perspectives, we’ll explore key revolutionary events and the civic questions they still raise today. Join us as we continue on the Rhode to Independence.
Rhode to Independence: Rhode Island's Revolutionary Story
Tempest in a Teapot: Rhode Island Man Wants to Set Record Straight About Boston Tea Party
Bob Burke takes action against Massachusetts over who first fired shots against the British before the American Revolution broke out
Loyalists, Patriots and a Colossal Plaid Whale in Newport
Newport Historical Society takes visitors back to 1775 and asks “Whose side are you on?” in the American Revolution. And the Newport Art Museum features the nautical paintings of “Sean Landers: Lost at Sea.”
Take a deep dive into Rhode Island's past
Rhode Island was the first of the original colonies to break ties with England but is now the last to build a state archive to house such precious documents as original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
The impact of early European immigration on Native Americans in New England is examined through the story of Samson Occom, a brilliant Mohegan Indian from Eastern Connecticut who gains fame on two continents before his story takes a dramatic and unexpected turn.
Betrayed by his mentor Eleazar Wheelock and wary of all colonists, Samson Occom forms a new American Indian tribe in the mid-1770s and leads his followers on a journey further west.
After settling in Wisconsin, members of the Brothertown tribe are forced to give up their reservation to avoid a government ordered removal to present-day Kansas, setting in motion an unforeseen legal battle their ancestors will fight more than a century later.
It’s May of 1637, and English armies are preparing to attack a large Pequot fort in the Connecticut colony. What happens next will change the relationship between the Indigenous tribes of New England and colonists forever. And it’s all thanks to Roger Williams.
Aaron Lopez flees the Spanish Inquisition and arrives in Newport in 1752 a religious refugee. He quickly becomes a successful entrepreneur and a pillar of the Jewish community. At the same time, he’s actively funding slaving voyages.
Part II of the Aaron Lopez saga brings us to a burial ground in Newport, where headstones give us insight into the lives of enslaved and free Africans in colonial Rhode Island.
PBS LearningMedia Resources
Rhode Island State Archives | Treasures Inside the Museum
Gilbert Stuart Birthplace & Museum | Treasures Inside the Museum
Tomaquag Museum | Treasures Inside the Museum
Native Voices | Social Justice
Rhode Island Historical Society | Treasures Inside the Museum
Museum of Work and Culture | Treasures Inside the Museum
It all started in Narragansett Bay. The HMS Gaspee and her commander, Lieutenant William Dudingston, were sent to patrol the bay in response to years of abuse and attacks on British Customs vessels and officials at the hands of the Rhode Island colonists. Over the next five months, Dudingston gained a negative reputation for being an aggressive customs official and a violent man.
The “shot heard round the world”—the opening salvo of the American Revolution, fired at the Battles of Lexington and Concord—got 1775 off with a bang. Before the year was out, the Second Continental Congress had appointed George Washington to command the troops and Benjamin Franklin to run the post office. Meanwhile in France, King Louis XVI was crowned, likely unaware that he’d one day face his own revolution—and the guillotine.
“Our Town” is a documentary project where neighbors and friends become filmmakers to tell the stories and histories of their community, sharing the charm and character of Rhode Island’s towns and villages.
