For what it's worth, Orestes Brownson, in his work The American Republic (1865), would likely conclude that RI and NC were only territories and not states until they had ratified the Constitution. Simplifying Brownson's interesting typology, the former colonies could only be states or non-states. They achieved independence together and could exist as states only within the Union.
For those who don't know the book, I recommend reading the sections on the American Constitution and Secession. Woodrow Wilsopn, Arthur Schlesinger and others thought Brownson one of America' few real political thinkers. Gerald J. Russello
