Massachusetts Enters the Union
Massachusetts adopt the Constitution on this day in 1788
It was on this date in 1788 that Massachusetts officially ratified the Constitution of the United States and became part of the Union.
Five Fun Facts About Massachusetts Entering the Union
- The Constitution was ratified in the Old State House. Every year on July 4th, at 10am the Constitution is read from the balcony.
- The Massachusetts Constitution was adopted in 1780.
- John Hancock was elected as the first governor on October 25th, 1780 and was the sitting governor when Massachusetts ratified the Constitution.
- Population in Massachusetts was 378,787 in 1790 (The first census)
- Boston was the third largest city in America - New York was number one and Philadelphia was number 2. Today Greater Boston is the 21st largest city in America.
Massachusetts Compromise
Today is also when the Bill of Rights became a requirement of the United States Constitution.
Many people may not know that Massachusetts didn't easily adopt the Constitution. Anti-Federalists felt that the Constitution didn't give many individual rights. It took a lot of convincing by notable Federalists John Hancock and Samuel Adams to get the members of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention to accept the United States Constitution.
The Massachusetts Compromise was to amend the Constitution with the "Bill of Rights." A set of rights that ensured that the Constitution didn't give powers to the elite and remove the individual ideas that so many people fought for.
The compromise help ratify the Constitution on this day in 1788 by a vote of 187 to 168.
Five other States soon passed the Constitution with four of them using the Massachusetts model of recommending amendments along with the ratification.
The Constitution was officially ratified on June 21st, 1788. George Washington inauguration was on April 30, 1789.