The Constitution was signed on September 17—now known as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day—and was submitted to the states for ratification. Over the course of the following three years, it was ratified by all thirteen states then existing. The first ten amendments—the Bill of Rights—were added by the first Congress and ratified in 1791, to more explicitly safeguard individual rights.
The Constitution of the United States of America
Introduction | Encyclopedia Article The Preamble | Commentary The Articles: I II III IV V VI VII | Commentary The Amendments | Commentary Signers of the ConstitutionGlossary of Constitutional Terms
Writing and Ratification of the Constitution
The Continental Congress The Constitutional Convention The Federalist Papers | About the Federalists The Anti-FederalistsAnti-Federalist WritingsRatification by the States
Precursors to the Constitution
The Magna Carta (1215) | Encyclopedia Article The Mayflower Compact (Nov. 21, 1620) | Encyclopedia Article The Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) | Encyclopedia Article The Articles of Confederation (Adopted Nov 15, 1777) | Encyclopedia Article The Virginia Plan (May 29, 1787)
Celebrating the Constitution
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
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Ratification by the States
The draft (originally a preamble and seven Articles) was submitted to all thirteen states and was to become effective when ratified by nine states. It went into effect on the first Wednesday in March 1789, having been ratified by New Hampshire, the ninth state to approve, on June 21, 1788. The states ratified the Constitution in the following order:
