Early Republic

Pennsylvania Ratifies U.S. Constitution

December 12, 1787
Pennsylvania
Date
December 12, 1787
Location
Pennsylvania
Type
legislation

What happened

Pennsylvania ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 12, 1787, becoming the second state to do so after Delaware.

When this happened

Pennsylvania Ratifies U.S. Constitution occurred in December 12, 1787, during the early republic period of American history.

Where this happened

Pennsylvania Ratifies U.S. Constitution took place in Pennsylvania. Explore the full history of Pennsylvania and primary source records from this era.

Historical context — Early Republic

The early republic period saw the United States move from the weak Articles of Confederation to the federal Constitution ratified in 1788, with the Bill of Rights added in 1791. George Washington served two terms as president (1789–1797), establishing precedents for executive authority, and the federal capital moved permanently to Washington D.C. in 1800. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubled the nation's territory for roughly $15 million, opening vast trans-Mississippi lands to American expansion. The War of 1812 against Britain ended inconclusively but produced a surge of American national identity and eliminated most British support for Indigenous resistance east of the Mississippi. The Northwest Indian Wars (1785–1795) and the Creek War (1813–1814) broke Indigenous confederacies that had resisted US expansion. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 temporarily balanced slave and free states as the nation expanded westward, but embedded the contradiction of slavery in every subsequent territorial debate.

Source

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: State and federal constitutions.

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About Pennsylvania Ratifies U.S. Constitution

What was Pennsylvania Ratifies U.S. Constitution?
Pennsylvania ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 12, 1787, becoming the second state to do so after Delaware.
When did Pennsylvania Ratifies U.S. Constitution happen?
Pennsylvania Ratifies U.S. Constitution occurred in December 12, 1787.
Where did Pennsylvania Ratifies U.S. Constitution take place?
Pennsylvania Ratifies U.S. Constitution took place in Pennsylvania.

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