How many states had to ratify the Constitution?

Article VII of the Constitution states that in order for the Constitution to become law, at least nine states needed to ratify it. The article is only one sentence long and states, “Article VII. The ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying the same.” Article VII is the last article of the United States Constitution. The states began to ratify the Constitution on December 7, 1787, and each state needed to hold a convention to debate the Constitution and either ratify or reject it. It took ten long and difficult months for the first nine states to approve the document. The ninth state, New Hampshire, ratified it on June 21, 1788, and the new Constitution went into effect on March 4, 1789. The first nine states to ratify the document were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and New Hampshire.