Connecticut Ratifies the Constitution
On January 9, 1788, Connecticut ratified the United States Constitution, becoming the fifth state to do so with a decisive vote of 128 to 40 during a convention in Hartford. The state was represented at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 by notable figures including Oliver Ellsworth, William Samuel Johnson, and Roger Sherman, who played crucial roles in shaping the Constitution. Connecticut faced economic challenges under the Articles of Confederation, with a reliance on New York for imports after losing its colonial trade routes. The state's delegates aimed to strengthen the Union while protecting state sovereignty, opposing representation based solely on population and advocating for a compromise that accommodated both large and small states. This compromise, known as the "Great Compromise" or the "Connecticut Compromise," established a bicameral legislature. A robust Federalist campaign preceded the ratifying convention, which led to a majority favoring the new Constitution. Ultimately, Connecticut's ratification contributed to the establishment of a more equitable federal system and marked a significant step in the formation of the United States.
Connecticut Ratifies the Constitution
Connecticut Ratifies the Constitution
On January 9, 1788, Connecticut became the fifth state to ratify the United States Constitution, doing so by an overwhelming 128 to 40 vote in the ratifying convention.
Three eminent statesmen, Oliver Ellsworth, William Samuel Johnson, and Roger Sherman, represented Connecticut at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Oliver Ellsworth, 42 years old, was a state superior court judge and an accomplished orator. William Samuel Johnson was one of America's leading intellectuals. The 60-year-old scholar had been a lawyer and a judge, and had recently become the president of Columbia College. Roger Sherman, mayor of New Haven, had been a shoemaker, almanac maker, lawyer, and judge during his 66 years. He had a keen mind and was an extraordinarily shrewd politician. Sherman was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and a member of the Continental Congress.
Connecticut was at a disadvantage under the Articles of Confederation. In colonial days, the state had traded livestock, especially to the West Indies, but the British closed the market after the Revolution. Designed for carrying animals, Connecticut's fleet was unsuited for shipping other commodities, and the state's businessmen did not have the money to build new vessels. Unable to compete for transatlantic trade, Connecticut became dependent on New York for its European imports. Money, which Connecticut needed to pay its war debts and to invest in various manufacturing and mercantile enterprises, went instead to Manhattan merchants and to the coffers of the New York state government, which levied heavy import duties.
Deprived of control of its fortunes, Connecticut hoped that a new constitution would spread prosperity more equitably among the states. The Connecticut legislature authorized the state's representatives to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia to “discuss upon such Alterations and Provisions agreeable to the general principles of Republican Government as they shall think proper to render the federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government and the preservation of the Union.” Oliver Ellsworth, William Samuel Johnson, and Roger Sherman took these directions seriously and worked vigorously to create a document that would foster the interests of both their state and the nation.
Connecticut's goal was the difficult one of strengthening the Union without undermining the sovereignty of the states. Along with the other smaller states, Connecticut opposed the Virginia Plan, which would have allotted representation in the Congress on the basis of population, and preferred the New Jersey Plan, which would have provided each state with a single vote in the national legislature. Connecticut was not doctrinaire in this matter, however, and its delegates were instrumental in the adoption of a solution acceptable to both large and small states. Historians have sometimes dubbed this “Great Compromise,” which authorized representation by population in the lower house and an equal vote for each state in the upper house, the “Connecticut Compromise,” in recognition of the efforts of Ellsworth, Johnson, and Sherman.
The Constitutional Convention ended its work on September 17, 1787, and in November of that year the Connecticut legislature issued a call for the election of delegates to a ratifying convention, which was to meet in Hartford. In the weeks before the elections Federalists continued a newspaper campaign, which they had been conducting for several months, in favor of the new Constitution. The elections took place in early December at town meetings throughout the state, but the meaning of the outcome was not immediately clear, because the communities did not instruct their representatives either to ratify or reject the new frame of government.
When the ratifying convention opened at Hartford on January 4, 1788, the Federalists immediately took control of the proceedings. Matthew Griswold of Lyme was president of the gathering and Jedediah Strong of Litchfield its secretary. Oliver Ellsworth began the debates with a speech on behalf of ratification. A strong Union was necessary, Ellsworth argued, for purposes of defense, economy, internal harmony, and Connecticut's survival in the midst of powerful neighboring states. Ellsworth's fellow delegates found his arguments persuasive, and on January 9, 1788, then voted 128 to 40 to accept the Constitution. For purposes of establishing a chronology of the admission of the states into the Union, historians typically use the dates of their ratification of the Constitution, so Connecticut is considered to be the fifth state to join the Union.