Ratification

The preamble to the Constitution, adopted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, begins with the words “We the People of the United States.” James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution,” suggested in essay 39 of The Federalist (1787–88) (see Federalist Papers) that “it appears, on one hand, that the Constitution is to be founded on the assent and ratification of the people of America, given by deputies elected for the special purpose; but, on the other, that this assent and ratification is to be given by the people, not as individuals composing one entire nation, but as composing the distinct and independent States to which they respectively belong.” Further, he wrote, “[i]t is to be the assent and ratification of the several States, derived from the supreme authority in each State—the authority of the people themselves. The act, therefore, establishing the Constitution will not be a national but a federal act.”

The procedure for ratifying the new document after it was adopted on September 17, 1787, was provided in Article VII: “The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.” Under the Articles of Confederation (1781), which had been in effect since 1781, any revision of the Articles required unanimous agreement by the Continental Congress and confirmation by the legislatures of every state. By proposing to draft a wholly new document and having it sent by the Congress to be ratified by “assemblies of Representatives…expressly chosen by the people,” Madison hoped to get around the requirement contained in the Articles and to bypass the state legislatures, which had a vested interest in maintaining their state independence. George Mason, Madison’s fellow delegate from Virginia, reasoned that because nine out of thirteen votes—a two-thirds majority—” had been required in all great cases under the Confederation,” that was as good a number as any to require for ratification of the Constitution.

The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware; the delegates to its ratification convention, held on December 7, 1787, did so unanimously. The other states that gave their assent, in order of the date of ratification, were Pennsylvania on December 12, New Jersey on December 18, Georgia on January 2, 1788, Connecticut on January 9, Massachusetts on February 6, Maryland on April 28, South Carolina on May 23, and New Hampshire on June 21. With ratification certified by the first nine states, the Constitution was adopted according to its terms for those states.

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