Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in the America250 story.
Delaware’s state convention approved ratification on December 7, 1787. Because it acted before every other state, Delaware later became known by the nickname “The First State.”
The Constitution required approval from nine states to take effect, but Delaware’s action came first and did not by itself establish the new federal government. Pennsylvania followed on December 12, 1787, and New Jersey ratified on December 18.
Delaware was one of the original Thirteen Colonies and had also participated in the Revolutionary struggle commemorated by America250. Its early constitutional decision illustrates the sequence of state actions that transformed the wartime union into the government established under the Constitution.