Petitions to the General Assembly
Item
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Country
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US
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Language of name of institution
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eng
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Contact information: postal address
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33 Broad Street, Providence, RI 02903
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Contact information: phone number
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001 (401) 222-2353
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Contact information: email
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statearchives@sos.ri.gov
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Reference number
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C#01179-C#00165-C#00063
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (official language of the state)
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Petitions to the General Assembly
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Language of title
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eng
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Creator / accumulator
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General Assembly
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Date(s)
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1725/1974
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Language(s)
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eng
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Extent
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18.70 linear metres
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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This fonds consists of petitions submitted to the General Assembly of Rhode Island by individual citizens, groups, municipalities, political, corporate and religious organisations and entities. It is divided into three sections: 1) Petitions Received, 1725-1890; 2) Petitions Failed/Withdrawn, 1811-1900; and 3) Committee on Prisoner and Judicial Petitions, 1827-1862. The first section includes petitions presented by Sephardic Jews settled in Rhode Island before the Revolution. It is the case of the petition presented by Aaron Lopez in 1762 to obtain British naturalisation.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The first governments established in Rhode Island began as written agreements between the original settlers of Providence (1636), Portsmouth (1638), and Newport (1639). The origins of the General Assembly of Rhode Island date from 1643, when the first Parliamentary Charter or Patent confirming uniting the three original towns under the title “the Incorporation of Providence Plantations in the Narragansett Bay in New England” was obtained from England. In or about that year, a fourth settlement at Warwick was established. Convening for the first time as a single body at Portsmouth in May 1647, representatives of the several towns formulated a set of rules and orders for the colony. However, this early iteration of a centralised colonial government functioned more like a town meeting than a cohesive legislative body, as most of the power was still vested with the towns. Soon, other factors brought into doubt the validity of the 1643 Patent. By 1663, a second Royal Charter was obtained from King Charles II, which firmly established the “English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New England, in America.” Under the Charter, the title of “General Assembly” came into being, initially organised as a unicameral body. The Charter provided for the election of Deputies and Assistants (former titles of current Representatives and Senators), who were chosen from the colony's Freeman. The Charter also provided for a more central governmental hierarchy with the establishment of offices of Governor, Deputy Governor and ten Assistants to manage and lead the colony. In 1696, the legislature became a bicameral body with the creation of the House of Deputies or Lower House and the House of Magistrates or Upper House. The position of Speaker of the House of Deputies was also established at that time.
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(source: The Rhode Island State Archives online catalogue)
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System of arrangement
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The collection is organised into three series, whose records are arranged chronologically.
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Author of the description
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Carla Vieira, 2023
