Dorr Rebellion was an uprising against the state government of Rhode Island in 1842. It was led by Thomas W. Dorr, a Providence lawyer who thought the state government was undemocratic. The rebellion failed, but it helped bring about a new constitution.
At the time of the rebellion, Rhode Island was still governed by its colonial charter of 1663. Landholding conservatives held all the power because people without land did not have the right to vote. The landless, including many immigrants, could not convince the conservatives to draft a more democratic constitution.
Dorr and other radicals drew up a new constitution, which voters unofficially ratified in 1841. The following April, Dorr and his followers held their own elections, and Dorr was elected governor. But the conservatives refused to recognize the radical government.
The radicals believed in the right of the people to overthrow an unjust government. As a result, Dorr formed an army and attempted to take power by force. But the army suffered two humiliating defeats, and Dorr fled the state. The conservatives, anxious to avoid future uprisings, drafted a new constitution almost as democratic as the radicals’ constitution. The constitution took effect in 1843. Dorr returned to Rhode Island. He was convicted of treason and imprisoned in 1844 but was released in 1845.
