Article Seven of the United States Constitution
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Article Seven of the United States Constitution describes the process by which the entire document is to be ratified and take effect.
- The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
This process posed a danger: if nine states ratified, but not all thirteen, the states would be split among two possibly incontiguous countries. When New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify in 1788, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island remained: the former two were the most populous and most wealthy American states, respectively. Congress, as established under the Articles of Confederation, chose March 4, 1789 as the day "for commencing proceedings under the Constitution." Virginia and New York ratified the constitution before that time; North Carolina and Rhode Island ratified later, after the new government took power in the remaining eleven states.
The Constitution was ratified by the states in the following order:
| Date | State | Votes | % Approval | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yea | Nay | ||||
| 1 | December 7, 1787 | Delaware | 30 | 0 | 100% |
| 2 | December 12, 1787 | Pennsylvania | 46 | 23 | 67% |
| 3 | December 18, 1787 | New Jersey | 38 | 0 | 100% |
| 4 | January 2, 1788 | Georgia | 26 | 0 | 100% |
| 5 | January 9, 1788 | Connecticut | 128 | 40 | 76% |
| 6 | February 6, 1788 | Massachusetts | 187 | 168 | 53% |
| 7 | April 28, 1788 | Maryland | 63 | 11 | 85% |
| 8 | May 23, 1788 | South Carolina | 149 | 73 | 67% |
| 9 | June 21, 1788 | New Hampshire | 57 | 47 | 55% |
| 10 | June 25, 1788 | Virginia | 89 | 79 | 53% |
| 11 | July 26, 1788 | New York | 30 | 27 | 53% |
| 12 | November 21, 1789 | North Carolina | 194 | 77 | 72% |
| 13 | May 29, 1790 | Rhode Island | 34 | 32 | 52% |
See Wikisource for the text of the Article.
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Original text: Preamble | Article 1 | Article 2 | Article 3 | Article 4 | Article 5 | Article 6 | Article 7 Amendments: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
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| Formation | History of the Constitution | Articles of Confederation | Annapolis Convention | Philadelphia Convention | New Jersey Plan | Virginia Plan | Connecticut Compromise | Signatories | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adoption | Massachusetts Compromise | Federalist Papers | |||
| Amendments | Bill of Rights | Ratified | |
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| Clauses | ||||
| Interpretation | Congressional power of enforcement | Double jeopardy | |
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