Article Seven of the United States Constitution

Article Seven of the United States Constitution sets the number of state ratifications necessary in order for the Constitution to take effect and prescribes the method through which the states may ratify it. Under the terms of Article VII, constitutional ratification conventions were held in each of the thirteen states, with the ratification of nine states required for the Constitution to take effect. Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, doing so on December 7, 1787. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, ensuring that the Constitution would take effect. Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the Constitution under Article VII, doing so on May 29, 1790.

For the closing endorsement following Article Seven, see Signing of the United States Constitution
This article is part of a series on the
Constitution of the
United States
Preamble and Articles
of the Constitution
Amendments to the Constitution
Unratified Amendments
History
Full text of the Constitution and Amendments
  • United States portal
  • Law portal
  • Politics portal
  • Wikipedia book
Dates the 13 states ratified the Constitution

Text

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.[1]

Background

On September 20, 1787, three days after its adoption by the Constitutional Convention, the drafted Constitution was submitted to the Congress of the Confederation for its endorsement. After eight days of debate, the opposing sides came to the first of many compromises that would define the ratification process. The Confederation Congress voted to release the proposed Constitution to the states for their consideration, but neither endorsed nor opposed its ratification.[2]

Ratification

The Constitution was ratified by the 13 states between December 7, 1787 and May 29, 1790 as follows:[3]

State and date Votes PCT
Yea Nay
1 Delaware – December 7, 1787 30 0 100%
2 Pennsylvania – December 12, 1787 46 23 67%
3 New Jersey – December 18, 1787 38 0 100%
4 Georgia – January 2, 1788 26 0 100%
5 Connecticut – January 9, 1788 128 40 76%
6 Massachusetts – February 6, 1788 187 168 53%
7 Maryland – April 28, 1788 63 11 85%
8 South Carolina – May 23, 1788 149 73 67%
9 New Hampshire – June 21, 1788 57 47 55%
10 Virginia – June 25, 1788 89 79 53%
11 New York – July 26, 1788 30 27 53%
12 North Carolina – November 21, 1789 194 77 72%
13 Rhode Island – May 29, 1790 34 32 52%
Total: 1071 577 65%

Implementation
Further information: Confederation Period § Struggle for ratification

In 1787 and 1788, following the Constitutional Convention, a great debate took place throughout the United States over the Constitution that had been proposed. The supporters of the Constitution began the ratification campaign in those states where there was little or no controversy, postponing until later the more difficult ones.

On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, thus establishing it as the new framework of governance for the United States. Though officially enacted, four states, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island remained outside the new government. The Congress of the Confederation chose March 4, 1789 as the day "for commencing proceedings under the Constitution."[4] Virginia and New York ratified the Constitution before the members of the new Congress assembled on the appointed day to bring the new government into operation.

After twelve amendments, including the ten in the Bill of Rights, were sent to the states in June 1789, North Carolina ratified the Constitution. Finally, Rhode Island, after having rejected the Constitution in a March 1788 referendum, called a ratifying convention in 1790. Faced with the threat of being treated as a foreign government, it ratified the Constitution by the narrowest margin (two votes).[5]

See also

References
  1. "Article VII, Ratification". Cornell University Law School. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  2. "The Six Stages of Ratification - Teaching American History".
  3. "The States and the Ratification Process". Center for the Study of the American Constitution, University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of History.
  4. "Article VII. Ratification". Justia.
  5. "Observing Constitution Day". National Archives. August 15, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.