Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 U.S. states to ratify the Constitution, doing so on May 29, 1790, in the founding era commemorated by America250.
Article Seven required nine state ratifications for the Constitution to take effect. New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify on June 21, 1788, but four states still remained outside the new constitutional system.
Rhode Island had declined to send delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention and initially resisted ratification. Its eventual convention approved the Constitution by a narrow vote of 34 to 32.
North Carolina was the second-to-last original state to ratify, in November 1789. Rhode Island’s delay helps explain why the anniversary story includes not only the Declaration of Independence but also the later creation of the federal government.