Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 states to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
Rhode Island approved the Constitution on May 29, 1790, by a narrow convention vote of 34 to 32. Its delay reflected strong concerns about federal power, taxation, and the absence of a bill of rights. The state had also declined to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
New Hampshire’s ratification in June 1788 had already provided the ninth approval needed for the Constitution to take effect, but several states had not yet joined the new union. Rhode Island’s decision completed ratification by all 13 original states.
The state’s late approval is sometimes confused with North Carolina’s, which ratified in November 1789. Rhode Island’s position gave it a distinctive place in the constitutional debates that followed independence.