Timeline of drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution Timeline of drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution The drafting of the Constitution of the United States began on May 25, 1787, when the Constitutional Convention met for the first time with a quorum at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to revise the Articles of Confederation, and ended on September 17, 1787, the day the Constitution drafted by the convention's delegates to replace the Articles was adopted and signed. The ratification process for the Constitution began that day, and ended when the final state, Rhode Island, ratified it on May 29, 1790. In
Constitution of Connecticut Orders of Connecticut" (1638) is considered by many to be the state's first constitution, although it was adopted while the state was still an English colony. The document recognized no allegiance to England but instead an independent government. "The Charter of the Colony of Connecticut" (1662) officially superseded the Fundamental Orders, but the local government continued operating under the previous rules. Even after the American Revolutionary War, the state retained its constitution for another 40 years. The colonial charter was abolished with the adoption of the first state constitution in 1818. In contrast to the Fundamental Orders, that constitution provided