Omar Bennett
The United States Constitution was born in September 1787, but it wasn't until June 21, 1788, that it was officially adopted when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it. The process of drafting the Constitution began in May 1787 when the Constitutional Convention first met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the aim of revising the Articles of Confederation. However, the delegates soon decided to completely redesign the government, and after a long and arduous process, the Constitution was signed and ratified.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of adoption | June 21, 1788 |
| Date of ratification | September 17, 1787 |
| Date of implementation | March 4, 1789 |
| Number of states required for ratification | 9 out of 13 |
| States that ratified the Constitution | Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Rhode Island |
| Number of delegates who signed the Constitution | 39 |
| Number of states with pro-Constitution majority | 6 |
| Compromises | Three-Fifths Compromise, Connecticut Compromise |
| Key figures | Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, George Washington, John Adams |
| Previous governing document | Articles of Confederation |
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What You'll Learn
The Constitutional Convention
The Convention was scheduled to begin on May 14, 1787, in Philadelphia, but due to a lack of delegates, the opening meeting was postponed. On May 25, with enough delegates present, the Convention was called to order, with George Washington elected as president of the convention. The delegates shuttered the windows of the State House and swore secrecy so they could speak freely.
Although the initial purpose of the Convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation, by mid-June, the delegates had decided to completely redesign the government. There was little agreement on what form it would take, with one of the fiercest arguments being over congressional representation. A compromise was reached, giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate. They also agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person and to allow the slave trade to continue until 1808.
After a summer of heated debate, the delegates appointed a Committee of Detail to put their decisions in writing. Near the end of the convention, a Committee of Style and Arrangement condensed the 23 articles into seven and presented the completed final draft to the convention for its consideration. On September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the Constitution, with George Reed signing for the absent John Dickinson, bringing the total to 39. Three delegates declined to sign the document.
The ratification process for the Constitution then began, with the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, fighting hard for votes in favour of ratification. The Anti-Federalists opposed them, arguing that a strong central government was a reminder of the one they had just overthrown. The Federalists won a big victory in Pennsylvania, but the Anti-Federalists held sway in other states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, and it was officially adopted. The new government officially started operating on March 4, 1789, with George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President.
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The Articles of Confederation
The Dickinson Draft of the Articles of Confederation named the confederation "the United States of America." The document consisted of six sheets of parchment stitched together, with the last sheet bearing the signatures of delegates from all 13 states. The Articles established a league of friendship for the 13 sovereign and independent states, with each state retaining "every Power...which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States."
The Articles outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state would have one vote in Congress. Ratification by all 13 states was necessary to set the Confederation into motion. The first state to ratify was Virginia on December 16, 1777, and 12 states had ratified the Articles by February 1779. However, Maryland refused to ratify until the other states ceded their western land claims. Maryland finally ratified the Articles on February 2, 1781, and the Congress of the Confederation officially proclaimed the Articles of Confederation to be the law of the land.
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The Federalist Papers
Hamilton, Jay, and Madison did not sign their names to the essays; they chose to publish using assumed names. The essays urged New York delegates to ratify the Constitution. To address fears that the Constitution would give the central government too much power and limit individual freedom, Hamilton, Jay, and Madison analysed the Constitution in detail and outlined the built-in checks and balances meant to divide power between the three branches of government and preserve the rights of the people and states.
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Ratification by the states
The process of ratifying the United States Constitution by the states was a long and arduous one. The Constitutional Convention, which crafted the document, had decided to bypass the state legislatures, instead calling for special ratifying conventions in each state. This was because the state legislatures' members would be reluctant to give up power to a national government. Ratification by 9 of the 13 states was required to enact the new government.
The Federalists, who believed in a strong central government, faced fierce battles in the remaining state conventions, especially in powerful states like New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia, where the Anti-Federalists retained enormous support. The Federalists had to convert at least three states to ratify the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution because it created a powerful central government and lacked a bill of rights.
The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on 7 December 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. Pennsylvania was a big victory for the Federalists, though it was not a sure bet. The Anti-Federalists were dragged to the statehouse and a vote was cast as they pounded on the doors to escape. The tide turned in Massachusetts, where the "vote now, amend later" compromise helped secure victory in that state and eventually in the final holdouts. Maryland and South Carolina became the seventh and eighth states to ratify the document.
On 21 June 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, and the document was officially adopted. The new government officially started operating on 4 March 1789, with George Washington elected as President and John Adams as Vice President. The final state, Rhode Island, ratified the Constitution on 29 May 1790.
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The new government
The Constitutional Convention, convened by Congress, crafted a new framework for governance in September 1787, but it took almost a year for the document to be adopted. The convention was called to address the flaws of the Articles of Confederation, which had proven inadequate in dealing with the issues facing the new nation, such as war debts, piracy, and rebellion. The delegates met in Philadelphia in May 1787 and decided to create a completely new form of government, with a powerful central government.
The ratification process was not easy, as Federalists and Anti-Federalists battled for votes in the states. The Federalists believed in a strong central government, while the Anti-Federalists opposed it, having just overthrown a similar form of government and wanting a Bill of Rights to restrain federal power. The Federalists were able to secure the necessary nine states for ratification, with New Hampshire being the final vote.
After ratification, Congress set dates for the first federal elections, which took place from December 15, 1788, to January 10, 1789. George Washington was elected as the first President, with John Adams as Vice President. The new government faced the challenge of implementing the Constitution, which was still evolving, with amendments being introduced and ratified by the states. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791.
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Frequently asked questions
The process for adopting the Constitution began with the Constitutional Convention, which assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787. The Convention was convened to address the flaws of the Articles of Confederation, which had previously served as the country's first constitution. Over the course of three months, the delegates debated and ultimately proposed a completely new form of government, which was signed by 38 delegates on September 17, 1787. The new Constitution required ratification by nine of the 13 states to go into effect. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, and it officially became the framework of the US government.
The key dates in the process of adopting the Constitution were:
- May 25, 1787: The Constitutional Convention first met in Philadelphia.
- September 17, 1787: The Constitution was signed and ratified by 38 delegates.
- June 21, 1788: New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, officially adopting it.
- March 4, 1789: The new government officially began operating.
The Articles of Confederation gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers and could not regulate commerce or print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart, leading to calls for a stronger, more centralized government.
One of the fiercest arguments during the Constitutional Convention was over congressional representation—whether it should be based on population or divided equally among the states. The delegates compromised by agreeing to the Connecticut Compromise, which provided for proportional representation in the House and equal representation for states in the Senate. Another key debate was over slavery, with the delegates agreeing to the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning representatives and direct taxes.
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