Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution after the founding era celebrated by America250. Its convention approved the Constitution unanimously on December 7, 1787.
Article Seven required nine states to ratify the Constitution before it could take effect among the ratifying states. Delaware’s early approval made it the first of the thirteen states to accept the new framework of government. The state’s nickname, “The First State,” reflects this distinction.
Pennsylvania followed on December 12, 1787, and New Jersey ratified six days later. New Hampshire became the ninth state on June 21, 1788, bringing the Constitution into effect. Rhode Island was last among the original thirteen, ratifying on May 29, 1790.
The Constitution belongs to the same founding sequence as the Declaration but was created more than a decade later. The Declaration announced separation from Britain in 1776; the Constitution established a federal government after the Articles of Confederation proved inadequate.