Article VII said the Constitution would take effect among the states that ratified it once nine state conventions had done so. After the great debate, the votes came in over two and a half years (more history).
Why it works
The fight was close in the big states. Massachusetts, Virginia and New York ratified only after Federalists agreed that amendments would be recommended, and several conventions sent lists of them. Anti-Federalists had made the missing bill of rights their strongest point: George Mason's first objection was "There is no declaration of rights" (Objections). Hamilton answered in Federalist No. 84 that a bill of rights was unnecessary and even dangerous: "why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?" Madison, once doubtful, promised amendments and in 1789 steered them through the First Congress. So the Bill of Rights was the price of ratification and a gesture of reconciliation.
Key idea
Nine states made the Constitution effective (New Hampshire, June 21, 1788); the new government began in 1789; North Carolina (1789) and Rhode Island (1790) joined after. Congress proposed twelve amendments in 1789, and ten, the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791.
Worked example: Counting to nine
By June 1788, eight states had ratified. Which state's vote made the Constitution effective, and why did Virginia and New York still matter?
- The ninth was New Hampshire, on June 21, 1788.
- But Virginia and New York were large, rich and central; a union without them would hardly work. They ratified within weeks.
Answer: New Hampshire; Virginia and New York were too important to leave out.
Worked example: Then three-fourths
In 1791 there were 14 states (Vermont joined that March). How many had to ratify the amendments under Article V?
- Three-fourths of 14 is 10.5.
- A state cannot half-ratify, so the next whole number: 11.
- Virginia was the eleventh, on December 15, 1791.
Answer: 11 states.
Common mistake
Thinking all thirteen states ratified at once. North Carolina rejected the Constitution in 1788 and ratified only in November 1789, after Washington was already President; Rhode Island waited until May 1790. Check the order: first Delaware, ninth New Hampshire, last Rhode Island.