Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, a milestone connected to America250 history.
Delaware’s convention approved ratification on December 7, 1787. Because it acted first, Delaware earned the nickname “The First State,” which remains its official state nickname. The vote came less than three months after the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia.
The Constitution’s Article VII required approval by conventions in nine states before the new federal system could take effect. New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify, on June 21, 1788, providing the constitutional threshold. The remaining states later joined, although Rhode Island ratified last, in 1790.
A frequent mix-up is confusing the first state to ratify the Constitution with the first colony to declare independence from Britain. Delaware’s distinction concerns constitutional ratification, not the Declaration’s adoption in 1776. America250’s broader historical scope includes both founding milestones.