The Constitution's Ratification: A Group Effort

The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1788, with Delaware being the first state to ratify it on December 7, 1787. The Constitution was ratified by several states in quick succession, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. However, some states, such as Massachusetts, opposed the document due to concerns over the lack of protection for certain rights and the centralisation of power. A compromise was reached in February 1788, leading to the ratification of the Constitution by Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and eventually New Hampshire.

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The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware

Some states voiced opposition to the Constitution on the grounds that it did not provide protection for rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press. However, the terms of the Massachusetts Compromise reached in February 1788 stipulated that amendments to that effect—what became the Bill of Rights—would be immediately proposed. The constitution was subsequently ratified by Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and, finally, New Hampshire.

Other states, including Massachusetts, opposed the document

The U.S. Constitution was ratified on 21 June 1788. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on 7 December 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. However, other states, especially Massachusetts, opposed the document. They believed it failed to reserve undelegated powers to the states and lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

Rhode Island also resisted ratifying the Constitution, as it opposed federal control of currency and was critical of the compromise on the issue of slavery. It only voted to ratify the document in May 1790 when the U.S. government threatened to sever commercial relations with the state.

In February 1788, a compromise was reached under which Massachusetts and other states agreed to ratify the document with the assurance that amendments would be immediately proposed. The Constitution was thus narrowly ratified in Massachusetts, followed by Maryland and South Carolina.

The delegates who signed the Constitution on 17 September 1787 were wary about centralised power and loyal to their states. They created a powerful central government while crafting compromises to represent different interests and views. They bypassed the state legislatures, reasoning that their members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government.

The Constitution was ratified by Virginia and New York

The Constitution was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787, with George Reed signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The delegates were tasked with revising the existing government, but they ended up creating a powerful central government. Representing a wide range of interests and views, they crafted compromises to accommodate different perspectives.

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North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution

The U.S. Constitution was ratified by individual states, with Delaware being the first to do so on 7 December 1787. North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on 21 November 1789. It was the only state to have two ratification conventions.

The Constitution was signed by 38 delegates on 17 September 1787, with George Reed signing on behalf of the absent John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The delegates were tasked with revising the existing government but ended up creating a powerful central government. They crafted compromises to represent their different interests and views.

Some states, including Massachusetts, opposed the document as it failed to reserve undelegated powers to the states and lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press. In February 1788, a compromise was reached, and it was agreed that amendments would be immediately proposed. The Constitution was then ratified by Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and finally New Hampshire.

North Carolina initially held out for a Bill of Rights. In 1788, delegates at the Hillsborough convention decided neither to reject nor approve the Constitution because it lacked critical protections against government tyranny. Once assured that a Bill of Rights would be added, delegates reconvened in Fayetteville in 1789, where the Constitution was approved by a vote of 195 to 77.

Rhode Island resisted ratifying the Constitution until the U.S. government threatened to sever commercial relations with the state

The U.S. Constitution was ratified by state legislatures, with Delaware being the first state to ratify it on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. However, some states, such as Massachusetts, opposed the document due to concerns over the lack of protection for certain political rights and the centralisation of power. A compromise was reached in February 1788, leading to the ratification of the Constitution by Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and eventually New Hampshire.

Rhode Island, however, remained resistant to ratifying the Constitution due to its opposition to federal control of currency and its critical stance on the compromise regarding slavery. The state only relented when the U.S. government threatened to sever commercial relations, and on May 29, 1790, Rhode Island narrowly voted to ratify the document, becoming the last of the original 13 colonies to join the United States.

The process of ratifying the Constitution involved navigating complex political interests and views, with delegates crafting compromises to address the concerns of different states. The founders intentionally bypassed state legislatures, recognising that their members might be reluctant to cede power to a national government. This resulted in a powerful central government, which has endured as one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.

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