Delaware was the first U.S. state to ratify the United States Constitution, doing so on December 7, 1787.
The ratification took place at a convention in Dover, where delegates approved the Constitution unanimously, 30 votes to 0. This made Delaware the first of the 13 original states to accept the new framework of government.
Delaware’s early ratification earned it the nickname “The First State.” Pennsylvania followed on December 12, New Jersey on December 18, and Georgia on January 2, 1788. The sequence is sometimes confused with the order in which the states later joined the Union, but Delaware’s distinction specifically refers to constitutional ratification.
Article VII required approval from nine states for the Constitution to take effect among the ratifying states. New Hampshire became the ninth state on June 21, 1788, while Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 to ratify, on May 29, 1790.