Rhode Island Ratifies the Constitution: Last of the Original 13
Rhode Island held out for two years after George Washington became president, operating essentially as a foreign country negotiating trade deals with its former sister states. The holdout wasn't about principle—it was about money. The state had printed so much paper currency during the Radical War that accepting the Constitution meant accepting federal assumption of debts they'd already inflated away. They finally ratified by just two votes, 34-32, and only after the Senate threatened to classify them as a foreign nation and slap tariffs on their goods. Extortion works.
May 29, 1790
236 years ago
Key Figures & Places
United States
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United States Constitution
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U.S. State
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Rhode Island
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13 colonies
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United States
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Constitution of the United States
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U.S. state
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Thirteen Colonies
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Rhode Island
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List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union
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Instrument de ratification
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