Rhode Island was the last of the original U.S. states to ratify the Constitution.
Rhode Island approved the Constitution on May 29, 1790, nearly three years after Delaware became the first state to ratify. The vote was close: the state convention approved ratification by 34 votes to 32. Rhode Island’s delay reflected strong local opposition to a more powerful central government and concern about the absence of a bill of rights.
The Constitution had already taken effect in 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it. North Carolina had also initially declined to ratify but later approved the document in November 1789. Rhode Island’s eventual ratification completed the original thirteen-state sequence.
This fact is sometimes confused with the last state to join the Union or the last state to ratify an amendment. Rhode Island was the final original state to approve the Constitution itself, not the final state admitted to the United States.