Farmers were a powerful voting bloc in Rhode Island in the early days of statehood and ruled the General Assembly.
That’s because the structure of state government through the 19th century gave rural communities outsized representation in Rhode Island’s citizen legislature, meaning that the seats of the General Assembly were largely filled with those who owned large tracts of land – farmers.
Oh, how the times have changed.
In 1886, the earliest year for which the state has complete data available, the 106-member legislature still had 27 farmers. This year there are two among 113 state lawmakers.
But among today’s legislators, there are 17 attorneys, 11 educators, 15 retirees, and two stay-at-home parents. And still other state lawmakers have occupations that would have left early Rhode Islanders scratching their heads. There’s a data scientist, a personal trainer and a speech language pathologist, too.
That’s what citizens get with a part-time state legislature: lawmakers who respond to constituents while juggling careers – in some cases enhancing careers – sitting in session for about 60 days a year over the course of six months. Today they earn a $16,600 salary, plus health insurance benefits.
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A look at the occupations of Rhode Island’s part-time legislators through the years offers snapshots of a shifting economic landscape and a glimpse at how the political reins of the state have changed hands over the years.
For instance, an analysis of General Assembly records shows that in 1921 nearly 9% of state lawmakers earned a living in the state’s manufacturing sector, then a vital piston in Rhode Island’s economic engine.
A century later, however, after decades of factory closures and countless jobs lost, there are just two legislators who work in the manufacturing industry, both for defense contractor Raytheon Co.
At the same time, in 1921 there were no teachers occupying seats in either chamber at the Statehouse. Now, there are 11 educators – nearly 1 out of every 10 state legislators. Along the same lines, only three public employees served as legislators in 1921. This year’s session? Twelve.
Steven Frias, a local historian, said the shifting numbers are an indication of the growth of organized labor in the 20th century, and the growing importance of the public sector in the local economy.
“Today, labor union members and government employees play just as an important role in the General Assembly as manufacturers, merchants and farmers did over a century ago,” said Frias, a Cranston lawyer who has run for a House seat twice as a Republican.
Frias noted that there has been one constant since the beginning. Because the legislature spends much of its time debating and making laws, lawyers have always made up a high percentage of its membership.
“No matter how much the economy changes, there will be a lot of lawyers in the legislature,” Frias said.
Still, the makeup of today’s General Assembly stands in stark contrast to the state’s legislative gatherings the past two centuries. And the differences go far beyond occupations – Black Rhode Islanders weren’t represented for nearly a century. The first woman wasn’t elected until 1922.
In fact, for its first 53 years of statehood, Rhode Island operated under the British royal charter that had been granted to the colony in 1663 – a document that gave Rhode Island residents religious freedoms unique for the time but also restricted voting rights to landowning, native-born white males and also apportioned legislative representation by town rather than population.
‘No matter how much the economy changes, there will be a lot of lawyers
in the legislature.’
STEVEN FRIAS, local historian and lawyer
Patrick T. Conley, the state historian laureate, said that in the 18th and early 19th centuries, the state was primarily agricultural, and that was reflected in the General Assembly. “Most legislators were large or small farmers,” he said.
And “malapportionment” to rural communities delineated by the royal charter allowed those farmers to keep political control, even as urban centers such as Providence and Newport made up larger percentages of the population.
The situation came to a head in 1841 when Providence lawyer Thomas Dorr led an attempt by middle-class residents to gain broader voting rights and more political representation. Dubbed the Dorr Rebellion, Dorr and his supporters drafted their own state constitution, formed a legislature, voted Dorr governor and mustered an army of 300. The General Assembly declared them outlaws, leading to skirmishes between militia soldiers on both sides.
Eventually, Dorr was arrested and jailed, but the event prompted the legislature to draft a new state constitution, which extended voting rights to all free-born male citizens. When the constitution was ratified in 1843, it marked a major shift in the General Assembly.
Conley says businessmen from more-populated Rhode Island communities were voted into office in greater numbers after that.
By 1886, farmers still had a substantial voting bloc, holding about 25% of the seats in both chambers. But attorneys, manufacturers and merchants from the state’s growing population centers made up a combined 33% of the legislators, according to an analysis of historical records.
Conley said that trend continued through the mid-20th century, with attorneys and business owners gaining more control before teachers and union members – including state and municipal employees – became more influential.
Changes took place in other ways, too. In 1885, Mahlon Van Horne of Newport became the first African American elected to the General Assembly. The pastor served three one-year terms in the House.
Isabelle Ahearn O’Neill, a Democrat and educator, was the first woman elected to the House in 1922. And in 1928 Lulu Mowry Schlesinger, a Republican, was the first woman to serve in the Senate. Today there are 32 women in the House and 19 in the Senate.
The evolution has continued into the 21st century with a new group of young, progressive lawmakers looking to exert their influence.
Sen. Tiara Mack, D-Providence, an LGBTQ Black woman, said it is necessary to have lawmakers that know the struggles of their constituents and can speak to the issues with their lived experience.
“It’s a voice of hope and change,” said Mack, who works as an organizer for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England Inc. “I hesitate to call myself progressive because I don’t think there is anything progressive about living a life that is common to most Rhode Islanders.”
Mack, who was first elected last November, says there has been a desire for a voice in the legislature that is accessible and relatable.
“It’s important because since the farming and merchant times, our communities have changed,” she said. “We have a lot more diversity. We have a growing population of folks who have [immigrated] to this country. I think it’s important that they see people who not only look like them but know their language and know the lifestyle that they either left or are trying to cultivate here.”
Cassius Shuman is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Shuman@PBN.com.
