Rhode Island is most well-known for being the smallest state in the United States with a total area of 1, 045 square miles and a width of only 37 miles. It is also the state with the longest official state name : State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
The last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution, it was also the first of the colonies to declare itself independent of British rule, doing so two months prior to the other colonies on May 4, 1776. Rhode Island never ratified the 18th Amendment (prohibition) and was the first state to respond to President Abraham Lincoln's request for troops during the Civil War. Despite its small size, Rhode Island ranks second in population density.
