Maps of the Ratification of the Constitution

Article VII of the Constitution stated that "The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution." Although the mechanism of conventions was a suggested procedure of ratification, all the states, with the exception of Rhode Island, did in fact call for conventions. Subsequently, between December 1787and May 1790 conventions were called by each of the original thirteen states. In many of these conventions there was significant debate over the merits of the Constitution. These debates provide of wealth of insight into the Federalist/Antifederalist debates. The maps below illustrate the final votes for and against the Constitution in each of the state conventions. These can also be found in each of our volumes in the Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution.