States and Dates of Ratification

On September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was finally accepted by the delegates. It did not contain any sort of Bill of Rights, even though that question had been heavily debated. Of the 42 delegates still present at the convention when it was finished, 39 signed the Constitution. Only Governor Edmund Randolph (Virginia), George Mason (Virginia), and Elbridge Gerry (Massachusetts) declined to sign.

The Founding Fathers now had to get the states to agree to the document and to vote in favor of it. Nine states needed to vote for the Constitution for it to be accepted. Each state was given six months to meet and vote on the proposed Constitution. On December 7, 1787, Delaware was the first state to vote in favor of, or ratify, it. New Hampshire became the ninth state to accept the Constitution on June 21, 1788, which officially ended government under the Articles of Confederation. It was not until May 29, 1790, that the last state, Rhode Island, finally ratified the Constitution.

The states and the dates of ratification are listed here, in order of ratification: