 In 1786 Collins was elected governor of Rhode Island and took office on May 3, 1786.When George Washington was inaugurated as President on April 30, 1789 Rhode Island was one of only two of the thirteen original states (along with North Carolina) not to have ratified the United States Constitution and was, technically speaking, an independent nation with Collins as it chief of state.Anti-Federalist elements in Rhode Island, up to 1790, vigorously fought against the calling of a convention to decide upon entering the Federal Union, but in that year (January 17) gave its sanction to such a call by a majority of one vote in the General Assembly.