Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution during the founding era highlighted by America250.
Delaware’s ratifying convention approved the Constitution unanimously on December 7, 1787. Because it acted first, Delaware later became known by the nickname “The First State.” Its position among the original states gives it a distinctive place in the constitutional history surrounding the nation’s 250-year story.
The Constitution required ratification by nine states before it could take effect. New Jersey became the third state to ratify, while New Hampshire supplied the crucial ninth ratification on June 21, 1788. The new federal government began operating in 1789.
Delaware should not be confused with Pennsylvania, where the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, or Virginia, whose ratifying convention produced a particularly influential debate. Delaware’s distinction is specifically the first ratification, not the first state admitted to the Union.