UCLA Presents voteview.com beta 3

In 1841, Rhode Island had the same constitution that it did in 1663, the King’s charter, enacted long before the United States’ independence. This constitution barred anyone who didn’t own land from voting in elections. This was eventually changed to $134 in property, but it still excluded the majority of the state’s white male population from voting in 1841. To help secure voting rights for all male Rhode Islanders, Thomas Wilson Dorr started a rebellion, including by declaring himself governor. Martial law was declared in Rhode Island, and eventually the rebellion was put down in September 1842. A coalition was formed for the 1842 elections between elected Whigs and Democrats called the Law and Order Party. After the rebellion was put down, the Law and Order Party recognized the archaic nature of the state’s constitution and passed a new one guaranteeing all men (regardless of race) the right to vote. The Law and Order Party coalition did not last long after the Dorr rebellion, and the last elected Law and Order party members left office in 1850.