Malcolm Rivera
The Constitution required ratification by nine of the thirteen states before it could become law and a new government could be formed. Copies of the Constitution were sent to each state, which held ratifying conventions to either accept or reject it. The men attending the ratification conventions were delegates elected by their neighbours to represent their interests. They were not being asked to give up their power, but to place limits on the power of their state legislators.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of states required to ratify | 9 out of 13 |
| Who attended ratification conventions | Delegates elected by their neighbours |
| Who held ratification conventions | State legislatures |
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What You'll Learn
Ratification by nine of the thirteen states
Article VII, the final article of the Constitution, required that before the Constitution could become law and a new government could form, the document had to be ratified by nine of the thirteen states. Copies of the Constitution were sent to each of the states, which were to hold ratifying conventions to either accept or reject it. This approach to ratification was unusual. Since the authority inherent in the Articles of Confederation and the Confederation Congress had rested on the consent of the states, changes to the nation's government should also have been ratified by the state legislatures.
The men attending the ratification conventions were delegates elected by their neighbours to represent their interests. They were not being asked to give up their power; they were being asked to place limits upon the power of their state legislators, whom they may not have elected in the first place. Because the new nation was to be a republic in which power was held by the people through their elected representatives, it was considered appropriate to leave the ultimate acceptance or rejection of the Constitution to the nation's citizens. If convention delegates, who were chosen by popular vote, approved it, then the new government could rightly claim that it ruled with the consent of the people.
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Ratifying conventions
Since the new nation was to be a republic in which power was held by the people through their elected representatives, it was considered appropriate to leave the ultimate acceptance or rejection of the Constitution to the nation’s citizens. If convention delegates, who were chosen by popular vote, approved it, then the new government could rightly claim that it ruled with the consent of the people.
The framers avoided asking the legislators to approve a document that would require them to give up a degree of their own power. By calling upon state legislatures to hold ratification conventions to approve the Constitution, the framers avoided this issue.
The Constitution required that before it could become law and a new government could form, the document had to be ratified by nine of the thirteen states.
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Consent of the people
The final article of the Constitution, Article VII, required that the document be ratified by nine of the thirteen states before it could become law and a new government could be formed. Copies of the Constitution were sent to each of the states, which were to hold ratifying conventions to either accept or reject it.
The delegates at these conventions were chosen by popular vote. They were not being asked to relinquish their power, but to place limits on the power of their state legislators. The new nation was to be a republic in which power was held by the people through their elected representatives. As such, it was considered appropriate to leave the ultimate acceptance or rejection of the Constitution to the nation's citizens. If the delegates approved it, then the new government could rightly claim that it ruled with the consent of the people.
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Delegates elected by their neighbours
The ratification of the Constitution was an unusual approach. The Articles of Confederation and the Confederation Congress rested on the consent of the states, so changes to the government should have been ratified by the state legislatures. However, the framers avoided asking the legislators to approve a document that would require them to give up a degree of their own power. Instead, they called upon state legislatures to hold ratification conventions to approve the Constitution.
The delegates at these conventions were elected by their neighbours to represent their interests. They were not being asked to relinquish their power, but rather to place limits on the power of their state legislators, whom they may not have elected in the first place. This was considered appropriate because the new nation was to be a republic in which power was held by the people through their elected representatives.
The delegates at the Philadelphia convention approved the Constitution, and copies were sent to each of the states. These states were then to hold ratifying conventions to either accept or reject it. If the convention delegates, who were chosen by popular vote, approved it, then the new government could rightly claim that it ruled with the consent of the people.
The ratification process was an important step in ensuring that the new government had the support of the people and that the power was held by the people through their elected representatives.
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Approval by state legislatures
The ratification of the Constitution was an unusual approach. Since the authority inherent in the Articles of Confederation and the Confederation Congress rested on the consent of the states, changes to the nation's government should have been ratified by the state legislatures. Copies of the Constitution were sent to each of the states, which were to hold ratifying conventions to either accept or reject it. The men attending the ratification conventions were delegates elected by their neighbours to represent their interests. They were not being asked to give up their power, but to place limits on the power of their state legislators. The new nation was to be a republic in which power was held by the people through their elected representatives, so it was considered appropriate to leave the ultimate acceptance or rejection of the Constitution to the nation's citizens. If convention delegates, who were chosen by popular vote, approved it, then the new government could rightly claim that it ruled with the consent of the people.
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Frequently asked questions
Nine out of thirteen states were required to ratify the Constitution before it could become law and a new government could form.
Delegates elected by their neighbours to represent their interests.
The delegates were asked to place limits on the power of their state legislators.
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