What was the first state to ratify?

Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, voting unanimously 30 to 0 at its ratifying convention in Dover on December 7, 1787, less than three months after the document was signed in Philadelphia. The state's nickname, the First State, commemorates this distinction.

Delaware acted quickly for several reasons. First, it was a small state that had benefited enormously from the Great Compromise of July 16, 1787, which gave each state two senators regardless of population. Without that protection Delaware feared it would be overwhelmed by larger neighbors, and the new Constitution preserved its political weight. Second, Delaware merchants and farmers depended heavily on commerce with the Mid-Atlantic and were eager for a stronger national government that could regulate trade and currency. Third, Delaware delegates John Dickinson, Gunning Bedford Jr., Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom, and George Read had all signed the Constitution and could lobby their state.

The Delaware General Assembly elected delegates on November 26, 1787, the convention met at the Battell House (also called the Golden Fleece Tavern) in Dover, and after only five days of consideration ratified the Constitution unanimously.

The order in which the original 13 states ratified became part of the political mythology of the new nation. Delaware was followed by 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), and New Hampshire (June 21, 1788) as the crucial ninth state that under Article VII set the Constitution in force. Virginia ratified June 25, 1788, New York July 26, 1788, North Carolina November 21, 1789, and Rhode Island May 29, 1790.

Today Delaware proudly displays the words "The First State" on its license plates and at its state symbols. December 7 is celebrated as Delaware Day in the state. The state ratification order also forms the legal sequence in which states are typically listed in census and federal documents, and Delaware's first place is preserved in Article VII's documentation.

Delaware remains the second smallest state by area but is home to a disproportionate share of corporate registrations because of its corporate-friendly Court of Chancery and General Corporation Law, and its political weight in the Senate continues to reflect the equal representation that small state delegates fought to preserve in 1787.