Article VII

The 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia produced the U.S. Constitution. But, by design, it could not take effect without state ratification. This highly influential period of American history drastically changed the way the United States governed itself. And without Article VII, we may not have gotten the Bill of Rights.

Article VII of the Constitution laid out how the document would take effect as the primary law for the United States of America. It states:

“The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same."

Amendments to the Constitution fall under Article V, which requires an amendment to be ratified by three-fourths of the states to take effect.

In this article, we discuss how the Constitution came to be and the importance of its ratification according to Article VII.

The Origins of the Constitution

The Constitution is often regarded as the foundational bedrock of American law, and in many respects, it fulfills that role. However, it was not the inaugural form of governance in the United States. In 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which established a “league of friendship" between 13 independent sovereign states.

The federal government held very little power under the Articles of Confederation. And this lack of power proved problematic within just a few years of the Revolutionary War.

By 1787, the new nation's economy was on the brink of collapse. Inflation soared as the states fought over territory and trade, and the Confederation Congress lacked the power and resources to intervene.

Alexander Hamilton proposed a conference to revise the Articles of Confederation. Congress agreed and invited representatives from all 13 states to convene in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787, for the Constitutional Convention.

The delegates (known as "the Framers") initially intended to amend the Articles of Confederation. This would have kept most government power with the states. But by mid-June, they decided it was time to start over.

The 55 men called to the convention spent a long, hot summer working on a plan for a new form of government. On September 17, 1787, they signed the new United States Constitution.

But their job wasn't quite done.

Federalism and Ratification of the Constitution

One of the biggest challenges of the Constitutional Convention was deciding how to allocate government power. Hamilton, along with his fellow Federalists, championed the cause of a robust national government. They were convinced that strengthening the central government was the key to addressing the myriad issues faced under the Articles of Confederation.

However, the colonists knew what life was like under an all-powerful central government. After all, they’d just fought a war with Great Britain to escape it. Anti-Federalists argued against giving more power to the central government, fearing tyrannical rule.

The delegates eventually arrived at a compromise. First, the proposed constitution would be the “supreme law of the land.” This created a strong national government, but they checked this power by dividing it among three branches. Second, they adopted a system of federalism, meaning a further division of power between the federal government and state governments.

Article VII of the U.S. Constitution is, in many ways, federalism in action. The document created a strong central government, but it could only take effect if nine of the thirteen states agreed to ratify.

The Ratification Process

After the Constitutional Convention, proponents of the new Constitution set out to convince the states to ratify it. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison wrote a series of anonymous essays in support of ratification. Known as The Federalist Papers, these essays outlined the benefits of the new Constitution and directly responded to Anti-Federalist arguments.

Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution on December 7, 1787. Shortly thereafter, Connecticut, Georgia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania followed suit. Nevertheless, a number of states were in opposition to a Constitution that did not include a bill of rights.

In early 1788, ratifying conventions in these holdout states agreed to adopt the Constitution. But only if Congress promised to add amendments protecting individual rights such as free speech and freedom of religion. Following this compromise, Massachusetts, Maryland, and South Carolina joined the ratification states.

On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the pivotal ninth state to ratify the Constitution. The new government took over on March 4, 1789. Later that year, Virginia and New York also ratified the Constitution. North Carolina agreed to ratification after the First Congress of the United States adopted the ten constitutional amendments we now know as the Bill of Rights.

Rhode Island refused to ratify the Constitution for several years. The state convention opposed the idea of the federal government controlling the nation's currency and disagreed with the Convention's compromise on slavery.

But when the federal government threatened to cut off trade with the state, Rhode Island agreed to get on board. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island narrowly voted to ratify, making it the last of the original 13 colonies to adopt the Constitution.

The U.S. Constitution is now the oldest operating constitution in the world.