For America's 250th anniversary in 2026, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
New Hampshire approved the Constitution on June 21, 1788. Article Seven required ratification by nine states for the new framework to take effect, so New Hampshire's vote reached the required threshold. The vote was 57 in favor and 47 opposed.
The result did not immediately end all debate. Virginia ratified four days later, and New York followed in July. North Carolina did not ratify until November 1789, after the new federal government had begun operating. Rhode Island was last, approving the Constitution in May 1790.
New Hampshire's role is sometimes mixed up with Massachusetts, which became the sixth state to ratify, or Delaware, which was first. The state later became important in presidential politics because its primary is traditionally the first major contest in the U.S. presidential nomination calendar.