Dorr Rebellion

Dorr Rebellion
A polemic applauding Democratic support of the Dorrite cause in Rhode Island, 1844
Date 1841–1842 Location Rhode Island, United States Result Charterite victory
Belligerents
Charterites	Dorrites
Commanders and leaders
Samuel Ward King	Thomas Wilson Dorr

The Dorr Rebellion (1841–1842) (also referred to as Dorr's Rebellion, Dorr's War or Dorr War) was an attempt by disenfranchised residents to force broader democracy in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, where a small rural elite was in control of government. It was led by Thomas Wilson Dorr, who mobilized the disenfranchised to demand changes to the state's electoral rules. The state was still using its 1663 colonial charter as a constitution; it required that voters own land as qualification to vote. The rebellion established a parallel government alongside the existing chartered government and wrote a new constitution for Rhode Island. Although the rebellion was crushed militarily, it forced the rewriting of the state constitution to expand eligibility to vote.