Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 U.S. states to ratify the Constitution, approving it on May 29, 1790.
Rhode Island had refused to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and became the only state absent from that gathering. Its leaders were wary of a stronger national government and concerned about the Constitution’s effect on state power and economic policies.
The Constitution had already taken effect after New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it on June 21, 1788. Rhode Island nevertheless remained outside the new constitutional system until pressure increased. In May 1790, the U.S. Senate passed a bill proposing a trade embargo against Rhode Island, and the state ratified before the measure could be enacted.
Rhode Island’s convention approved the Constitution by a narrow vote of 34–32. Its ratification completed the original states’ process, although the new federal government had already been operating for more than a year. North Carolina was the next-to-last state, ratifying in November 1789.