Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, a milestone in America250 history.
Delaware’s ratifying convention approved the Constitution unanimously on December 7, 1787, with a vote of 30–0. This earned the state its familiar nickname, “The First State,” although that nickname was formally adopted much later.
Article Seven of the Constitution required ratification by nine states for the new framework to take effect among the ratifying states. Delaware’s action was therefore the first step in a process that reached the required threshold when New Hampshire ratified on June 21, 1788.
The Constitution belongs to the later nation-building story connected with America250, rather than the 1776 declaration itself. Pennsylvania ratified second on December 12, 1787, followed by New Jersey on December 18. Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 states to ratify, doing so on May 29, 1790.