New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on June 21, 1788. Its approval met Article Seven’s requirement that nine states ratify the document for it to take effect.
The Constitution had been signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, but signing did not itself establish the new government. The document had to be submitted to state conventions for ratification. The process produced intense debates between Federalists, who supported the Constitution, and Anti-Federalists, who objected to aspects including the absence of a bill of rights.
New Hampshire’s decision came after eight states had ratified, including Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and South Carolina. Virginia and New York ratified soon afterward, even though the constitutional threshold had already been reached.
North Carolina and Rhode Island ratified later. Rhode Island was the last of the original thirteen states, approving the Constitution on May 29, 1790.