MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – On this day, June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth and last necessary state to ratify the United States Constitution, making the document the law of the land.
Congress began working on the Constitution after the Revolutionary War, and defects were found in the Articles of Confederation – such as the lack of central authority over foreign and domestic commerce.
In 1787, 38 of 41 delegates signed the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention. However, the document would no become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states.
Some states opposed the document, saying it failed to reserve undelegated powers to the states and lacked Constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, the press, and religion.
Until there was assurance that the amendments would be immediately proposed, a few states held out on ratifying the document.
The amendments, which later became the Bill of Rights, were adopted on Sep. 25, 1789.
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