North Carolina ratified the United States Constitution on November 21, 1789, by a vote of 194 to 77 at a convention in Fayetteville, becoming the twelfth of the original thirteen states to join the Union.1NCpedia. Convention of 1789 The ratification came more than a year after the Constitution had already taken effect and the new federal government had begun operating without the state. That delay was deliberate. North Carolina had refused to ratify at an earlier convention in 1788 because the proposed Constitution contained no bill of rights, and the state’s holdout helped push Congress to propose one.
The 1788 Refusal at Hillsborough
North Carolina’s first ratification convention met at St. Matthews Church in Hillsborough from July 21 to August 4, 1788, with 270 delegates.2NCpedia. Convention of 1788 By then, ten states had already ratified and the Constitution had cleared the nine-state threshold needed to take effect. North Carolina still said no.
Anti-Federalists held a commanding majority. Their leader was Willie Jones, a wealthy Halifax planter who reportedly said he “would rather be eighteen years out of the Union than adopt it in its present defective form.”3North Carolina History Project. Willie Jones: Anti-Federalist and Co-Founder of the United States4NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Constitutional Convention, 17885NCpedia. Bloodworth, Timothy On the Federalist side, James Iredell led the floor with support from William R. Davie, Archibald Maclaine, and Governor Samuel Johnston, but they were badly outnumbered.2NCpedia. Convention of 1788
After eleven days of debate, delegates voted 184 to 84 to neither ratify nor reject. Instead, they sent Congress a Declaration of Rights with 20 articles and 26 proposed amendments as conditions for eventual approval.2NCpedia. Convention of 17886Avalon Project, Yale Law School. Ratification of the Constitution by the State of North Carolina North Carolina was the only state convention to make its ratification explicitly contingent on a bill of rights being presented to Congress and the ratifying states first.4NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Constitutional Convention, 1788
What the State Was Asking For
The Hillsborough package was sweeping. The Declaration of Rights covered freedom of the press, religion, and assembly; the right to bear arms; protection against self-incrimination, excessive bail, and cruel and unusual punishments; and a requirement that warrants issue only upon oath.6Avalon Project, Yale Law School. Ratification of the Constitution by the State of North Carolina Many of these protections would later appear nearly verbatim in the federal Bill of Rights.
The 26 proposed amendments targeted the structure of federal power: a reserved-powers clause, restrictions on standing armies, two-thirds Senate approval for commercial treaties, limits on the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction over matters of fact, and annual publication of congressional expenditures.6Avalon Project, Yale Law School. Ratification of the Constitution by the State of North Carolina Most of these structural demands were not adopted, though the reserved-powers principle became the Tenth Amendment.
A Year Outside the Union
When the Constitution took effect on March 4, 1789, North Carolina was in a peculiar position: a former colony that had fought for independence and helped create the new nation, now standing outside it. Governor Samuel Johnston warned that without ratification, the state would be “entirely out of the Union” and treated as a “foreign power.”7Journal of the American Revolution. The Admission of North Carolina and Rhode Island Into the Union
In practice, the arrangement was workable. North Carolina collected tariffs on imported goods and turned the revenue over to the United States, and in return the federal government allowed North Carolina vessels to enter U.S. ports without charge. Hugh Williamson acted as a kind of unofficial ambassador for the state at the federal capital in Philadelphia.8North Carolina History Project. Ratification Debates Historian Akhil Amar has observed that when George Washington took office, North Carolina and Rhode Island were “not part of the United States as the Constitution used the term.”7Journal of the American Revolution. The Admission of North Carolina and Rhode Island Into the Union
What Changed in 1789
The decisive shift was in Congress. In June 1789, James Madison introduced a list of proposed amendments in the House, drawing on the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the English Bill of Rights, and state ratification demands like North Carolina’s.9National Archives. The Bill of Rights: How Did It Happen10National Constitution Center. On This Day: Congress Proposes the Bill of Rights to the States11National Archives Foundation. 10 Bill of Rights Facts
That action removed the central Anti-Federalist argument. Willie Jones recognized the shift and declined to run for the second convention.12North Carolina History Project. Fayetteville Convention of 17891NCpedia. Convention of 1789 Federalists also controlled most of the state’s newspapers and used them to press for ratification.
The Fayetteville Vote
Elections for the second convention were held in August 1789. Anti-Federalists won fewer than a third of the 272 seats.1NCpedia. Convention of 1789 The convention met in Fayetteville from November 16 to 23, 1789, with Governor Samuel Johnston presiding.13Documenting the American South. Journal of the Convention Called by the Freemen of North Carolina Debate was far less heated than at Hillsborough. James Galloway of Rockingham County made a last attempt to demand further amendments before ratification, but his motion was defeated 187 to 82.12North Carolina History Project. Fayetteville Convention of 1789
On November 21, William R. Davie formally moved for ratification. The vote was 194 to 77 in favor. As a final gesture, John Huske of New Hanover County led roughly 68 Anti-Federalist delegates in a walkout described as a “previously planned” protest, but the convention continued its business and adjourned on November 23.1NCpedia. Convention of 1789 Before adjourning, it passed a resolution directing the state’s future members of Congress to keep pushing for additional amendments on taxation, soldier enlistment terms, and supermajority votes on navigation and commerce laws.13Documenting the American South. Journal of the Convention Called by the Freemen of North Carolina
What Followed
North Carolina moved quickly to join the new government. The legislature elected Samuel Johnston to the U.S. Senate on November 26, 1789, five days after the ratification vote; he took his seat on January 29, 1790. Benjamin Hawkins was elected to the second Senate seat on December 8 and took his seat on January 13, 1790.14U.S. Senate. North Carolina Senate Timeline15Early American Elections. North Carolina 1st Congressional Election12North Carolina History Project. Fayetteville Convention of 1789
If you are searching for when North Carolina adopted its own state constitution rather than the federal one, that is a separate question with three answers: the first state constitution was approved in 1776 at Halifax, the second in 1868 under Reconstruction, and the current one in 1971.16North Carolina General Assembly. NC Constitution Infographic17UNC Library. North Carolina Statutes and Constitution