Timeline of the United States Constitution

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From the 1786 Annapolis Convention, which recommended the calling of a Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia, to the end of the last state ratifying convention in 1790, the process of drafting and ratifying the United States Constitution took nearly four years. This timeline documents important events in that process.

After the Annapolis Convention, the states, with the exception of Rhode Island, elected delegates to the Constitutional Convention, which finally began deliberations on May 25, 1787. The Convention lasted until September 17, 1787. (Events at the Convention are listed on a blue background.) Once the Constitution was endorsed and signed by the Convention, it was transmitted to the states for ratification.

The process for ratification in each state was approximately the same: the state legislature called a state ratifying convention to decide whether or not that state would ratify the proposed Constitution. Delegates were elected to the ratifying conventions, and ultimately each state ratified the Constitution, although North Carolina had to hold a second convention after the first refused to ratify. (State ratifications are listed on a red background.) In addition to documenting these processes, this timeline includes other important events, such as the progress of the newly formed government and the publication of significant documents relating to the ratification debates.

Date	Event	Notes
September 11, 1786	Annapolis Convention begins
October 11, 1786	Congress creates committee to review report of the Annapolis Convention
November 23, 1786	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention is authorized – Virginia
November 23, 1786	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – New Jersey
December 4, 1786	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – Virginia
December 30, 1786	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – Pennsylvania
January 6, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – North Carolina
January 17, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – New Hampshire
February 3, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – Delaware
February 10, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – Georgia
February 21, 1787	Congress resolves in favor of a constitutional convention
February 22, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention is authorized – Massachusetts
February 28, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention is authorized – New York
March 3, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – Massachusetts
March 6, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – New York
March 8, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – South Carolina
March 14, 1787	Rhode Island declines to elect delegates to Philadelphia Convention
April 23, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – Maryland
May 5, 1787	Rhode Island declines to elect delegates to Philadelphia Convention (2nd time)
May 14, 1787	First meeting of Philadelphia Convention – no quorum present
May 14, 1787	Election of delegates to Philadelphia Convention – Connecticut
May 25, 1787	Convention meets with quorum for first time
May 29, 1787	Virginia Plan presented to Convention by Edmund Randolph[1]
June 11, 1787	Connecticut Compromise proposed to Convention by Roger Sherman[2]
June 15, 1787	New Jersey Plan presented to Convention by William Paterson[3]
June 16, 1787	Rhode Island declines to elect delegates to Philadelphia Convention (3rd time)
June 23, 1787	Convention establishes the Committee of Detail chaired by John Rutledge[4]	The Committee of Detail was formed to put down a draft text reflecting the agreements made by the Convention up to that point.
September 8, 1787	Convention establishes the Committee of Style chaired by William Samuel Johnson[5]	The Committee of Style was formed to set down and revise the actual text of the Constitution
September 17, 1787	Proposed Constitution signed; Convention adjourns indefinitely
September 20, 1787	The proposed Constitution is read in Congress
September 26, 1787	Congress takes up debate on the proposed Constitution
September 28, 1787	Congress refers the proposed Constitution to the states
September 28, 1787	State convention for ratification called – Pennsylvania
October 17, 1787	State convention for ratification called – Connecticut
October 25, 1787	State convention for ratification called – Massachusetts
October 26, 1787	State convention for ratification called – Georgia
October 27, 1787	First Federalist Paper appears[6]
October 31, 1787	State convention for ratification called – Virginia
November 1, 1787	State convention for ratification called – New Jersey
November 6, 1787	Delegates to state convention elected – Pennsylvania
November 8, 1787	The first Federal Farmer pamphlet appears in New York[7]
November 10, 1787	State convention for ratification called – Delaware
November 12, 1787	Delegates to state convention elected – Connecticut
November 19, 1787	Delegates to state convention elected – Massachusetts
November 20, 1787	Ratifying convention begins – Pennsylvania
November 26, 1787	Delegates to state convention elected – Delaware
November 27, 1787	State convention for ratification called – Maryland
November 27, 1787	Delegates to state convention elected – New Jersey
December 3, 1787	Ratifying convention begins – Delaware
December 4, 1787	Delegates to state convention elected – Georgia
December 6, 1787	State convention for ratification called – North Carolina
December 7, 1787	Constitution is ratified – Delaware	Unanimous vote - 30-0
December 11, 1787	Ratifying convention begins – New Jersey
December 12, 1787	Constitution is ratified – Pennsylvania	Vote 46-23
December 14, 1787	State convention for ratification called – New Hampshire
December 18, 1787	Constitution is ratified – New Jersey	Unanimous vote - 38-0
December 18, 1787	Pennsylvania convention minority publishes their "Dissent"[8]
December 25, 1787	Ratifying convention begins – Georgia
December 31, 1787	Constitution is ratified – Georgia	Unanimous vote - 26-0
December 31, 1787	Delegates to state convention elected – New Hampshire
January 3, 1788	Ratifying convention begins – Connecticut
January 9, 1788	Constitution is ratified – Connecticut	Vote 128-40
January 9, 1788	Ratifying convention begins – Massachusetts
January 19, 1788	State convention for ratification called – South Carolina
February 1, 1788	State convention for ratification called – New York
February 6, 1788	Constitution is ratified – Massachusetts	Vote 187-168
February 13, 1788	Ratifying convention begins – New Hampshire (first session)	The first session ends February 22
March 1, 1788	Rhode Island calls for popular referendum on the proposed Constitution
March 3, 1788	Delegates to state convention elected – Virginia
March 24, 1788	Rhode Island votes down Constitution in referendum
March 28, 1788	Delegates to state convention elected – North Carolina
April 7, 1788	Delegates to state convention elected – Maryland
April 11, 1788	Delegates to state convention elected – South Carolina
April 21, 1788	Ratifying convention begins – Maryland
April 26, 1788	Constitution is ratified – Maryland	Vote 63-11
April 29, 1788	Delegates to state convention elected – New York
May 12, 1788	Ratifying convention begins – South Carolina
May 23, 1788	Constitution is ratified – South Carolina	Vote 148-73
June 2, 1788	Ratifying convention begins – Virginia
June 17, 1788	Ratifying convention begins – New York
June 18, 1788	Ratifying convention begins – New Hampshire (second session)
June 21, 1788	Constitution is ratified – New Hampshire	Vote 57-47
June 21, 1788	Constitution is now established by the ratification of nine states
June 25, 1788	Constitution is ratified – Virginia	Vote 89-79
July 2, 1788	Congress creates a committee to put the new government into operation
July 21, 1788	Ratifying convention begins – North Carolina (first convention)
July 26, 1788	Constitution is ratified – New York	Vote 30-27
August 2, 1788	First North Carolina convention refuses to ratify Constitution without amendments
September 13, 1788	Congress sets date for first meeting of the new government and the Presidential election
November 30, 1788	Second state convention for ratification called – North Carolina
March 4, 1789	First United States Congress is seated
April 30, 1789	George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States
August 21, 1789	Delegates to state convention elected – North Carolina
September 26, 1789	Congress sends twelve amendments to the Constitution to the states for ratification. The last ten were eventually enacted as the Bill of Rights.
November 16, 1789	Ratifying convention begins – North Carolina (second convention)
November 21, 1789	Constitution is ratified – North Carolina	Vote 194-77
January 17, 1790	State convention for ratification called – Rhode Island
February 8, 1790	Delegates to state convention elected – Rhode Island
March 1, 1790	Ratifying convention begins – Rhode Island (first session)	First session ends March 6
May 24, 1790	Ratifying convention begins – Rhode Island (second session)
May 29, 1790	Constitution is ratified – Rhode Island	Vote 34-32

[edit] General references

• The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution. Vol. XIII-XIV. Ed. John P. Kaminski and Gaspare J. Saladino. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1981. (Appears in notes as DHRC.) A timeline appears on pp. xl-xlii in vol. XIII. Aside from material carrying a citation linking it to another source, all events on this timeline appear in this resource.
• The Anti-Federalist. Ed. Herbert Storing. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1985.
• The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. 2 vols. Ed. Max Farrand. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966. (Appears in notes as Records.)

[edit] Notes