“No. Apart from the fact that there weren’t any states in 1776, Rhode Island had banned it in 1652. First colony to do so. Also, at the time, the biggest importer of slaves. There’s a bit of history trivia for you.”
Where did you get that? RI was a major slave holding and slave trade colony even up until 1840. In fact, per capita they held the number one spot for many years.
Slave trading, perhaps. Slave holding, not so much. Rhode Island adopted an graduated emancipation program in 1784. By 1800 the census showed fewer than 400 slaves and by 1840, the last time any slaves were registered, the number had fallen to 5.