Rhode Island is a state located in both the New England and northeastern region of the United States. It is the smallest state at 1,214 square miles and the 8th least populated with just over 1 million residents. In 1776 it was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown and the 4th to ratify the Articles of Confederation in 1778. It refused to ratify the U.S. Constitution which lead to to being the last of the originals states to do so in 1790.