Ratification of the Constitution

As the president of the Constitutional Convention that took place from May to September of 1787, George Washington rarely participated in the debates. However, he ensured delegates remained open to compromise in order to reach a stronger national government. Given his role, delegates assumed he would be the nation’s first president, and his leadership during the convention prompted them to envision an executive with wide-ranging powers. When the Constitution headed to the states for approval, Washington took an active role in the ratification process.

The New Government Under the Constitution

The Constitution promised a stronger central government that included a Congress with the power to tax, which had been a profound weakness under the Articles of Confederation. In this federal system, there would be three branches of government: an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. The executive would serve as President, and this person would act as the nation’s chief executive. Many delegates to the Convention believed Washington was a model for this role. The legislative branch included the expanded powers of Congress. Lastly, the Constitution promised a national court system. This framework was endorsed by Washington, believing, “The Friends of our Country have long seen and desired that the Power of making War Peace and Treaties, that of levying Money & regulating Commerce and the correspondent executive and judicial Authorities should be fully and effectually vested in the general Government of the Union.”¹

In his correspondence, Washington clearly laid out the reasons why he believed the Constitution should be ratified. The unity of the nation had been sorely tested under the Articles of Confederation. Washington, in fact, feared the current government was so powerless that it would soon dissolve either from deteriorating support of the people or from the fact that states would no longer bother to send representatives to the Confederation Congress. Washington understood that states wanted to retain their power, but argued that “Individuals entering into Society must give up a Share of Liberty to preserve the Rest.”² Washington urged people who had doubts about the Constitution to support it, reminding them that once it was approved it could be amended.

Ratification Efforts

Washington facilitated the ratification of the Constitution throughout various states, including Virginia. Before leaving the convention in Philadelphia for Virginia, Washington sent copies of the document to Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette, hoping for their support. He also sent copies to Benjamin Harrison, Patrick Henry, and Edmund Randolph, the three most recent governors of Virginia who each had serious reservations about the Constitution. Once back home at Mount Vernon, Washington spent his mornings writing letters to political leaders throughout the nation, urging them to support the Constitution, as nine of the thirteen stated needed to ratify the Constitution to establish a new, federal government.

Those like Washington who supported ratification of the Constitution, such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, referred to themselves as Federalists. Hamilton and Jay authored the “Federalist Papers,” to promote ratification. In these efforts, they argued for the need for a stronger central government and addressed people’s fears about a federal government. However, not all former Revolutionaries agreed with the newly proposed government.

By defending the Constitution, Washington parted company with older revolutionaries such as George Mason who did not support it, and allied himself with younger political leaders who did like James Madison. Washington disagreed with other planters in a similar social class who did not support the Constitution. As Washington explained in a letter to the Marquis de Lafayette, he found it "a little strange that the men of large property in the south should be more afraid that the constitution should produce an Aristocracy or a Monarchy than the genuine democratical people of the east."³  Deeply in debt himself, Washington was also troubled that so many Virginians believed they had a better chance for prosperity in a weak nation rather than a strong one.

At the start of the ratification convention in Richmond, Virginia in May of 1788, eight states had already approved the Constitution. While Washington did not attend the convention, he stayed in contact with Madison who defended the document in a series of brilliant debates. When the vote was finally taken on June 25, the Constitution was approved by the state of Virginia at a margin of 89 to 79.

Ratification of the Constitution

Upon hearing of Virginia’s ratification, Washington headed for a celebration in Alexandria, believing that Virginia had been the ninth state to approve the document, and therefore ensuring the Constitution would be enacted. Even when news arrived that New Hampshire had actually approved the Constitution immediately before Virginia on June 21, the celebrations went on. Many people agreed with James Monroe, that Washington’s influence had "carried this government."⁴ But a more humble Washington believed that "Providence" had once again smiled on the American people.⁵ After meeting the threshold required for ratification, Washington was unanimously elected the first president in April of 1789. It was ratified by every state by May 29, 1790.

Mary Stockwell, Ph.D., Revised by Zoie Horecny, PhD, 26 March 2025

Notes:

1. “From George Washington to the President of Congress, 17 September 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives.

2. Ibid.

3. "From George Washington to Marquis de Lafayette, 18 June 1788,” The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Confederation Series (1 January 1784–23 September 1788), Volume 6 (1 January 1788–23 September 1788).

4. “To Thomas Jefferson from James Monroe, 12 July 1788,” Founders Online, National Archives.

5. "George Washington to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 28 June 1788," Washington, George. George Washington Papers, Series 2, Letterbooks 1754 to 1799: Letterbook 15,- Nov. 14, 1788. - November 14, 1788, 1788.

Bibliography:

Chernow, Ron. Washington: A Life. New York: Penguin Press, 2010.

Ellis, Joseph. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.

Freeman, Douglas Southall. George Washington: A Biography, Volume Six, Patriot and President. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1954.

Maier, Pauline. Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010

Maier, Pauline. Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.