Rhode Island was the thirteenth and final state to ratify the United States Constitution.
Rhode Island approved the Constitution on May 29, 1790, nearly three years after Delaware became the first state to ratify. The state had initially declined to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention and was strongly suspicious of a more powerful federal government.
Rhode Island’s convention ratified the Constitution by a narrow vote of 34 to 32. Pressure from economic conditions and the possibility of being treated as an outsider by the new federal government helped move the state toward approval.
The Constitution had already taken effect after nine states ratified it, so Rhode Island’s decision did not determine whether the new government could begin. It completed the original thirteen-state ratification sequence and helped establish the Constitution’s nationwide legitimacy.