The Process Behind Ratifying The Constitution

The ratification of the U.S. Constitution was a complex process that began when Congress turned the Constitution over to the state legislatures for consideration. The ratification process was carried out through specially elected state conventions of the people, with nine states needed to make the Constitution law. The process was not without its challenges, as evidenced by the corruption in Pennsylvania, where the state assembly tried to block the move by refusing to attend the last two days of the session.

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The ratification process started when Congress turned the Constitution over to the state legislatures for consideration

The ratification process began when Congress turned the Constitution over to the state legislatures for consideration through specially elected state conventions of the people. Five state conventions voted to approve the Constitution almost immediately (December 1787 to January 1788) and in all of them the vote was unanimous (Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia) or lopsided (Pennsylvania, Connecticut). The Federalists were well-organised and rapidly secured five of the nine states needed to make the Constitution law.

The Constitution seemed to have easy, broad, and popular support. However, a closer look at who ratified the Constitution in these early states and how it was done indicates that the contest was much closer than might appear at first glance. For example, the process in Pennsylvania, the one large early ratifier, was nothing less than corrupt. The Pennsylvania state assembly was about to have its term come to an end, and had begun to consider calling a special convention on the Constitution, even before Congress had forwarded it to the states. Antifederalists in the state assembly tried to block this move by refusing to attend the last two days of the session, since without them there would not be enough members present for the state legislature to make a binding legal decision.

The Convention also decided to substitute state conventions instead of state legislatures as the bodies to consider ratification. A proposal to allow each of the states their own discretion in deciding its method of ratification was rejected.

Five state conventions voted to approve the Constitution almost immediately

The ratification process began when the Congress turned the Constitution over to the state legislatures for consideration through specially elected state conventions of the people. Five state conventions voted to approve the Constitution almost immediately (December 1787 to January 1788) and in all of them the vote was unanimous (Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia) or lopsided (Pennsylvania, Connecticut). The Federalists were well-organised and rapidly secured five of the nine states needed to make the Constitution law. The Constitution seemed to have easy, broad, and popular support.

However, a closer look at who ratified the Constitution in these early states and how it was done indicates that the contest was much closer than might appear at first glance. For example, the process in Pennsylvania, the one large early ratifier, was nothing less than corrupt. The Pennsylvania state assembly was about to have its term come to an end, and had begun to consider calling a special convention on the Constitution, even before Congress had forwarded it to the states. Antifederalists in the state assembly tried to block this move by refusing to attend the last two days of the session, since without them there would not be enough members present for the state legislature to make a binding legal decision.

The delegates decided that nine states would be appropriate to implement the Constitution among the ratifying states. This was because nine was the number of states necessary in the Confederation Congress to adopt important matters such as borrowing money, declaring war, ratifying treaties, and admitting new states into the Union. The Convention also decided to substitute state conventions instead of state legislatures as the bodies to consider ratification. A proposal to allow each of the states their own discretion in deciding its method of ratification was rejected.

The Federalists rapidly secured five of the nine states needed to make the Constitution law

The ratification process started when the Congress turned the Constitution over to the state legislatures for consideration. The delegates decided that nine states would be appropriate to implement the Constitution among the ratifying states. This was because nine was the number of states necessary in the Confederation Congress to adopt important matters such as borrowing money, declaring war, ratifying treaties, and admitting new states into the Union. The Convention also decided to substitute state conventions instead of state legislatures as the bodies to consider ratification. A proposal to allow each of the states their own discretion in deciding its method of ratification was rejected.

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The Pennsylvania state assembly tried to block the move by refusing to attend the last two days of the session

The ratification process for the US Constitution started when Congress turned the Constitution over to the state legislatures for consideration through specially elected state conventions of the people. Five state conventions voted to approve the Constitution almost immediately (December 1787 to January 1788) and in all of them the vote was unanimous (Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia) or lopsided (Pennsylvania, Connecticut). The Pennsylvania state assembly tried to block the move by refusing to attend the last two days of the session. Antifederalists in the state assembly knew that without them there would not be enough members present for the state legislature to make a binding legal decision. This was because the Pennsylvania state assembly was about to have its term come to an end, and had begun to consider calling a special convention on the Constitution, even before Congress had forwarded it to the states.

The Federalists were well-organised and rapidly secured five of the nine states needed to make the Constitution law. The Constitution seemed to have easy, broad, and popular support. However, a closer look at who ratified the Constitution in these early states and how it was done indicates that the contest was much closer than might appear at first glance. Ratification by seven small states might not provide a majority of people. On August 31, the delegates decided (by a vote of eight states to three) that nine states would be appropriate to implement the Constitution among the ratifying states—nine was the number of states necessary in the Confederation Congress to adopt important matters such as borrowing money, declaring war, ratifying treaties, and admitting new states into the Union. The Convention also decided to substitute state conventions instead of state legislatures as the bodies to consider ratification. A proposal to allow each of the states their own discretion in deciding its method of ratification was rejected.

A proposal to allow each state its own discretion in deciding its method of ratification was rejected

The ratification process started when the Congress turned the Constitution over to the state legislatures for consideration through specially elected state conventions of the people. Five state conventions voted to approve the Constitution almost immediately (December 1787 to January 1788) and in all of them the vote was unanimous (Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia) or lopsided (Pennsylvania, Connecticut). The Federalists rapidly secured five of the nine states needed to make the Constitution law.

The process in Pennsylvania, the one large early ratifier, was nothing less than corrupt. The Pennsylvania state assembly was about to have its term come to an end, and had begun to consider calling a special convention on the Constitution, even before Congress had forwarded it to the states. Antifederalists in the state assembly tried to block this move by refusing to attend the last two days of the session, since without them there would not be enough members present for the state legislature to make a binding legal decision.

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