Delaware ratified the U.S. Constitution first and became known as the “First State.”
Delaware’s convention approved ratification on December 7, 1787. It was the first of the original 13 states to accept the Constitution, making Delaware’s place in the constitutional founding especially prominent as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary.
The nickname “First State” refers specifically to this order of ratification, not to Delaware being the first colony founded or the first place settled by Europeans. Delaware was one of the Middle Colonies and had previously declared independence from Great Britain in 1776 along with the other colonies.
The state’s small size did not prevent it from playing an important role in the early republic. Delaware sent delegates to the Constitutional Convention and later became one of the states represented in the new federal government. Its first-in-ratification status remains a central part of Delaware’s civic identity.