How George Washington’s time in Rhode Island shaped the USA

Added: 2026-06-07

[00:00:00]As the country inches closer to its 250th anniversary, we're looking at how Newport rolled out the welcome mat for our nation's first president and how his visit here was a turning point in our foundation freedom.

[00:00:13]>> Yeah, Erica Richie is in Newport to explain.

[00:00:16]>> Well, George Washington made four trips to Rhode Island, two of them here in Newport. First in 1781 when he was strategizing with French allies during the Revolutionary War. But it was his second trip in 1790 when he came to the Old State House, now the Colony House, that was perhaps the most significant in making America the country we know today.

[00:00:37]>> Washington had come because Rhode Island had just ratified the Constitution.

[00:00:41]>> It was the last of the original 13 colonies to do so. So when the young nation's first president came to commend Rhode Island for backing the Constitution, it was a celebration.

[00:00:50]>> Everyone greeted them down at the wharf when they when he arrived. There was a ball held in his honor.

[00:00:56]>> And a dinner for him served here in the Great Hall of the Colony House. Today, that space boasts a portrait of Washington and it's the starting point of a walking tour guided by the Newport Historical Society.

[00:01:07]>> You can truly walk in the streets that Washington walked on.

[00:01:11]>> Society director Rebecca Bertrand giving me a mini tour, talking about the Vernon House where Washington stayed, the Trinity Church where he worshipped, his pew still marked today, and the stores where he shopped.

[00:01:23]>> He bought a cologne here in Newport that they even still sell today.

[00:01:26]>> But she says the most impactful part of his 1790 visit happened outside of the festivities when Washington addressed the congregants of Newport's Touro Synagogue.

[00:01:35]>> Really staking an important moment in securing religious freedom for Americans.

[00:01:41]>> He was responding to a letter from the synagogue's leader, Moses Seixas, concerned about religious liberties. He wrote that Jewish-Americans should be entitled to the same privileges as any other denomination. Washington's written response paved the way for the First Amendment that protects the religious freedoms we know today.

[00:01:58]>> He noted to bigotry no sanction. Of course, we're the community that was founded on religious freedom, but to really actually have Washington declare that through a written letter and something read to the community was a really significant thing. We're proud to say that this Newport is the beginning of the end of the American Revolution.

[00:02:16]>> And the Colony House is open every day 10:00 to 4:00 now through October. If you want to learn more about how George Washington's time here in Newport helped shape our nation. In Newport, I'm Erica Ricci, 12 News.