Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, a milestone in the founding story behind America250.
Delaware’s ratifying convention approved the Constitution unanimously on December 7, 1787. The state’s early approval earned it the nickname “The First State,” although that nickname was officially adopted much later by the Delaware General Assembly in 2002.
Article Seven required ratification by conventions in nine states for the Constitution to take effect. New Hampshire became the ninth state on June 21, 1788, while Rhode Island was the last of the original thirteen states to ratify, on May 29, 1790.
The question concerns ratification of the Constitution, not signing the Declaration of Independence or declaring independence. Delaware was one of the thirteen colonies that joined the revolutionary movement, but its first-state distinction comes from the later constitutional ratification process.