Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution on December 7, 1787, by a unanimous vote of 30-0. The Constitution would take effect once it had been ratified by nine of the thirteen state legislatures, and Delawares ratification was a significant step towards that goal. The other states followed in the order listed below:
- Pennsylvania: December 12, 1787
- New Jersey: December 18, 1787
- Georgia: January 2, 1788
- Connecticut: January 9, 1788
- Massachusetts: February 6, 1788
- Maryland: April 28, 1788
- South Carolina: May 23, 1788
- New Hampshire: June 21, 1788 (With this state’s ratification, the Constitution became legal.)
- Virginia: June 25, 1788
- New York: July 26, 1788
- North Carolina: November 21, 1789
- Rhode Island: May 29, 1790
It took 10 months for the first nine states to approve the Constitution, and the last state to ratify was Rhode Island on May 29, 1790.
