Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 states to ratify the U.S. Constitution, a fact relevant to America's 250th anniversary.
Rhode Island approved the Constitution on May 29, 1790, by a convention vote of 34 to 32. Its decision came more than three years after the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and after the new federal government had already begun operating.
Rhode Island had refused to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Many residents feared that the proposed federal government would threaten state authority, individual liberties, and the state’s economic interests. The state’s narrow ratification vote reflected those concerns.
The Constitution became operative after New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it in 1788, but the remaining states were still politically important. Rhode Island’s late decision completed ratification by all 13 original states. It was also the only original state to reject the Constitution in a popular referendum before accepting it through a convention.