how many states were needed to ratify the constitution before it could become law?

Nine of the thirteen states had to ratify the Constitution before it could become law.

Quick Scoop

• The framers set the threshold at nine states out of thirteen for ratification.

• This rule appears in Article VII of the Constitution, which explains how the new framework would take effect.

• New Hampshire became the crucial ninth state to ratify on June 21, 1788, which officially put the Constitution into operation.

Why nine states?

• Requiring all thirteen states was seen as too risky, since one holdout could block the entire new government.

• A simple majority (7 of 13) was viewed as too weak a mandate for such a major change, so they chose a stronger supermajority of 9.

In short: the Constitution became law once 9 of 13 states ratified it—not all thirteen.

TL;DR: The Constitution needed ratification from nine of the thirteen states before it could become the law of the land.

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