History tells us that all the elections were orderly with one exception—the one held in Sussex County. Delaware was such a small state in , and many were afraid that the much larger states surrounding Delaware would take advantage of her. Others believed that the only way to survive as a small state would be to join in a union with the larger states.
Fortunately, our leaders of Delaware were intelligent men and made the wise decision to ratify the Constitution as soon as possible. Rhode Island, on the other hand, was another small state in similar circumstances, but it was the last of the 13 states to ratify the Constitution. This decision gave Delaware its proud heritage which will be upheld as the citizens of Delaware continue to lead the Nation.
Douglass Buck , State of Delaware. The names of the state deputies are listed, probably in the hand of a clerk. The signature of the President of Delaware's convention, Thomas Collins, attests to the validity of the document, which also carries the state seal in its left margin. Delaware's speediness thwarted Pennsylvania's attempt to be first to ratify in the hope of securing the seat of the National Government in Pennsylvania.
The first real test for ratification occurred in Massachusetts, where the fully recorded debates reveal that the recommendation for a bill of rights proved to be a remedy for the logjam in the ratifying convention. New Hampshire became the ninth state to approve the Constitution in June, but the key States of Virginia and New York were locked in bitter debates.
Their failure to ratify would reduce the new union by two large, populated, wealthy states, and would geographically splinter it. When a bill of rights was proposed in Congress in , North Carolina ratified the Constitution. Finally, Rhode Island, which had rejected the Constitution in March by popular referendum, called a ratifying convention in as specified by the Constitutional Convention.
Faced with threatened treatment as a foreign government, it ratified the Constitution by the narrowest margin two votes on May 29, Click to Enlarge.
Read the Transcription. The initial purpose of the Convention was for the delegates to amend the Articles of Confederation; however, the ultimate outcome was the proposal and creation of a completely new form of government.
Three months later, on September 17, , the Convention concluded with the signing by 38 out of 41 delegates present of the new U. Under Article VII , it was agreed that the document would not be binding until its ratification by nine of the 13 existing states.
Hamilton and James Madison led the lobbying efforts for votes in favor of ratifying the Constitution. The essays were published in newspapers nationwide.
Some states voiced opposition to the Constitution on the grounds that it did not provide protection for rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and press. Hindman assembled a force at Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. World War II. Westward Expansion. Sign Up. Art, Literature, and Film History. Civil War.
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