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Ratification of the Constitution
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Shays' Rebellion
The purpose of Shays' Rebellion was to get back at the government for not paying the veteran who fought in the war. They were mostly farmers and since the economy wasn't good the farmers' crops weren't selling. They wanted to rebel against the government under the leader, who was Daniel Shays. -
Constitutional Convention
On May 25, 1787, delegates from every state except Rhode Island were sent to Philadelphia's Pennsylvania State House for the Constitutional Convention. This building is known now as Independence Hall. The assembly immediately decided not to fix the Articles of Confederation, but to create a new government. George Washington was elected convention president. -
The Great Compromise
The Great Compromise was an event that took place in Connecticut. This event is significant to history because New Jersey and Virgina had disagreed on the government. New Jersey wanted a one-chamber house while Virgina wanted two chambers. The compromise was having each, with two Senate members, and the House of Representatives' members based on population. This is so that the smaller states at least have a say in the Senate! -
Constitution Adopted
The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. The Constitution still needed to be ratified by the 13 states. It was subsequently agreed that government under the U.S. Constitution would begin on March 4, 1789. -
Ratification by DE
Deleware was the first state to ratify.The state-ratifying convention for Delaware occurred on December 4, 1787 to December 7, 1787. Gunning Benford and Richard Bassett were the delegates for Delaware that attended the Constitutional Convention. The final vote was 30-0 for the ratifying of the constitiution for Delaware. -
Ratification of PA
Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify. The state-ratifying convention for Pennsylvania was held fromNovember 20, 1787 to December 12, 1787. The indoors and outdoors of the event were led by James Wilson, who had set the tone for the country with his amazing State House Speech. In the Pennsylvania-ratifying convention, there was a 46-23 divide among the elected delegates. -
Ratification by NH
New Hampshire was not in favor of the of the Constitution and didn't want this to go through! After long discussion on the topic, they finally compromised and passed it with a vote of 56-51. -
Inauguration of Washington
George Washington was inaugurated into office on April 30th 1789! He was the first President of the United States. The electoral college voted most for Washington and second most for John Adams making him Vice President. It took place in New York City. This showed that the government was working on getting their act together! -
Ratification by RI
The Ratification of Rhode Island wasn't easy. Rhode Island didn't send any representatives to the meetings to come up with the Constitution. After a while, they finally held a convention. With much thought, they had ratified the Constitution with a vote of 34-32. -
Bill of Rights (Officially Approved)
In September 1789, the first Congress of the United States approved 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. These were sent out to the states for ratification. On December 15, 1791, Virginia became the 10th of 14 states to approve 10 of the 12 amendments. This gave the Bill of Rights the two-thirds majority of state ratification essential to make it legal.