New Hampshire Ratifies the Constitution
New Hampshire's ratification of the U.S. Constitution on June 21, 1788, marked a significant moment in American history as it was the ninth state to approve the document, making the Constitution legally operative. Although New Hampshire was one of the smaller original states and had experienced relative stability under the Articles of Confederation, its approval was crucial to achieving the nine-state consensus needed for the new federal government to take effect. The ratification process was fraught with challenges, including initial apathy among citizens and the state legislature's reluctance to engage with the Constitutional Convention. However, after overcoming financial barriers and ensuring representation, New Hampshire's delegates participated in the late stages of the convention in Philadelphia, contributing to key discussions. The ratification convention held in February 1788 faced opposition, leading to a strategic adjournment to garner support. Ultimately, through targeted campaigning and negotiation, New Hampshire successfully ratified the Constitution, showcasing the evolving political landscape and the importance of consensus in the formation of the United States government.
New Hampshire Ratifies the Constitution
New Hampshire Ratifies the Constitution
Although the statehood of the 13 original states dates from their declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776, historians customarily place the first 13 states in chronological order according to the date on which they ratified the federal Constitution of 1787. Since New Hampshire on June 21, 1788, became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, it is generally considered the ninth state in the Union.
New Hampshire was one of the smaller and less populous of the 13 original states, and its approval of the new frame of government was therefore probably not so essential to the success of the federal experiment as that of some of the larger states. In another respect, however, New Hampshire's approval was pivotal. Article VII of the Constitution specified that the agreement of nine states would be necessary to bring the new government into existence. It was thus the affirmation of New Hampshire, the ninth state, that made the Constitution of 1787 legally operative.
To gain New Hampshire's approval of the Constitution, the Federalists, as those who favored the new frame of government were known, had to overcome considerable apathy. The state had for the most part fared well under the Articles of Confederation, and many New Hampshirites failed to recognize the urgent need to reform the government. In fact, the state legislature did not even respond to the appeal of the 1786 Annapolis convention that the states send delegates to a convention the following May to consider revisions of the Articles of Confederation. New Hampshire was therefore not represented when the Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787.
Since the New Hampshire legislature claimed that the state could not afford to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention, John Langdon, a wealthy citizen, offered to pay the expenses of such representatives. With the financial obstacle removed, the legislature late in June 1787 named four deputies: Langdon, Nicholas Gilman, John Pickering, and Benjamin West. They were sent to the Philadelphia convention “to discuss and decide upon the most effectual means to remedy the defects of our federal Union.” Pickering and West never attended the constitutional meetings, but Langdon and Gilman arrived in Philadelphia at the end of July 1787.
By the time that Langdon (who had served as speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, president of the state and delegate to Congress) and Gilman (who had also been a member of Congress) appeared at the convention, most of the major issues before that body had been resolved. The New Hampshire delegates therefore did not engage in public debate on such problems as representation in the national Congress, but their private correspondence indicates that they agreed with the compromises worked out by the other members of the convention. Langdon and Gilman remained in Philadelphia until September 1787, and during the final weeks of the meetings on the Constitution they helped decide such important questions as the length of terms for the president, senators, and representatives, and the power of Congress to regulate foreign and interstate commerce.
The Constitutional Convention concluded its work on September 17, 1787, and then submitted the new frame of government to the states. Supporters of the Constitution in New Hampshire immediately launched a campaign to win their state's approval of the document, and the state president, John Sullivan, called the legislature into special session in December to select a ratifying convention. Since many towns refused to bear the added expense of sending a representative to the special session, there was no quorum in attendance at the December meeting. However, despite the absence of more than two-thirds of the legislators, the December session was able to set the time and place for the ratifying convention. Realizing that the voters were hesitant to accept any additional burdens, they scheduled the ratifying convention to run concurrently with the regular session of the legislature, which was to take place at Exeter in mid-February 1788.
Many of the towns that had refused to finance delegates to the special legislative session took advantage of the opportunity to send representatives to the regular legislative session and the ratifying convention. In mid-February 1788, when the first session of the convention met, the vast majority of New Hampshire's towns were represented, and that gathering considered the merits of the Constitution without further delay. For ten days the convention debated the frame of government, and during that time the Federalists came to realize that a majority of the delegates opposed the document. Fearing that ratification would be defeated if a vote were immediately taken on the Constitution, they requested and won a four-month adjournment.
Federalist support was concentrated around Portsmouth, situated at the mouth of the Piscataqua River, since the fishing and shipbuilding industries of that area would greatly profit from the national regulation of commerce proposed by the new Constitution. However, the Piscataqua region alone could not bring about ratification, and to gain additional votes the supporters of the Constitution waged a spirited campaign during the four-month adjournment. The Federalists aimed their efforts at New Hampshire's northern towns and those situated along the Connecticut River, because their representatives seemed most likely to change their negative votes. This tactic was successful. On June 17, 1788, the delegates reconvened. They debated the question of ratification for four days. Then, on June 21, 1788, by a vote of 57 to 47, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution.