United States Bill of Rights - Ratification Process

Ratification Process

On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify these amendments. On December 15, 1791, ten of these proposals became the First through Tenth Amendments — and U.S. law — when they were ratified by the Virginia legislature.

Ratification timeline:

• September 17, 1787 – Final draft of the Constitution is signed and convention adjourns.
• September 28, 1787 – Continental Congress approves sending proposed Constitution to states for their consideration.
• December 7, 1787 – Delaware is 1st state to ratify the Constitution.
• December 12, 1787 – Pennsylvania is 2nd state to ratify the Constitution.
• December 18, 1787 – New Jersey is 3rd state to ratify the Constitution.
• January 2, 1788 – Georgia is 4th state to ratify the Constitution.
• January 9, 1788 – Connecticut is 5th state to ratify the Constitution.
• February 6, 1788 – Massachusetts is 6th state to ratify the Constitution.
• March 24, 1788 – Rhode Island REFUSES to call ratifying convention.
• April 28, 1788 – Maryland is 7th state to ratify the Constitution.
• May 23, 1788 – South Carolina is 8th state to ratify the Constitution.
• June 21, 1788 – New Hampshire is 9th state to ratify the Constitution.
• June 25, 1788 – Virginia is 10th state to ratify the Constitution.
• July 26, 1788 – New York is 11th state to ratify the Constitution.
• March 4, 1789 – The Constitution goes into effect.
• September 25, 1789 – Congress proposes Bill of Rights.
• November 20, 1789 – New Jersey is 1st state to ratify the Bill of Rights; rejected article II
• November 21, 1789 – North Carolina is 12th state to ratify the Constitution.
• December 19, 1789 – Maryland is 2nd state to ratify the Bill of Rights, approved all
• December 22, 1789 – North Carolina is 3rd state to ratify the Bill of Rights, approved all
• January 19, 1790 – South Carolina is 4th state to ratify the Bill of Rights, approved all
• January 25, 1790 – New Hampshire is 5th state to ratify the Bill of Rights, rejected article II.
• January 28, 1790 – Delaware is 6th state to ratify the Bill of Rights, rejected article I
• February 24, 1790 – New York is 7th state to ratify the Bill of Rights, rejected article II
• March 10, 1790 – Pennsylvania is 8th state to ratify the Bill of Rights, rejected article II
• May 29, 1790 – Rhode Island is 13th state to ratify the Constitution, rejected article II
• June 7, 1790 – Rhode Island is 9th state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
• October 17, 1790 – Treaty between New York and Vermont paves way for Vermont's admission to the union.
• January 10, 1791 – Vermont becomes 14th state to ratify the Constitution — except that it's not a state until March 4, 1791.
• November 3, 1791 – Vermont is 10th state to ratify the Bill of Rights, approved all
• December 15, 1791 – Virginia is 11th state to ratify the Bill of Rights, approved all and the Bill of Rights goes into effect.
• March 2, 1939 – Massachusetts ratified the Bill of Rights as part of the Bill of Rights sesquicentennial celebrations.
• March 24, 1939 – Georgia ratified the Bill of Rights as part of the Bill of Rights sesquicentennial celebrations.
• April 19, 1939 – Connecticut ratified the Bill of Rights as part of the Bill of Rights sesquicentennial celebrations.

Articles III to XII were ratified by 11/14 states (> 75%). Article I, rejected by Delaware, was ratified only by 10/14 States (< 75%), and despite later ratification by Kentucky (11/15 states < 75%), the article has never since received the approval of enough states for it to become part of the Constitution. Article II was ratified by 6/14, later 7/15 states, but did not receive the 3/4 majority of States needed for ratification until 1992 when it became the 27th Amendment.