Rhode Island was the last of the original states to ratify the United States Constitution, a later founding milestone tied to America250.
Rhode Island approved the Constitution on May 29, 1790, nearly three years after the Philadelphia Convention completed the document. Its ratifying convention passed the measure by 34 votes to 32, making it the thirteenth and final original state to join the constitutional system.
The Constitution did not require unanimous approval. Article VII specified that ratification by nine states would establish the Constitution among the states ratifying it. New Hampshire supplied the ninth approval in June 1788, while North Carolina and Rhode Island waited for amendments and other assurances.
Rhode Island’s delay reflected strong concern about centralized power and the absence of a bill of rights in the original Constitution. The First Congress proposed amendments in 1789, and the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791. North Carolina ratified before Rhode Island, on November 21, 1789, so it was the eleventh state rather than the last.