George Washington was elected the first president of the United States in 1789. At the time of Washington's election, the nation had already won independence from Great Britain. But the government was still in its early stages. The Constitution had been written, but not all of the states had ratified it, or approved it. In the election of 1789, the only states that were counted were those that had ratified the Constitution.

Question

The following table shows the dates that each of the original 13 states ratified the Constitution. Look at the table. Then follow the instructions below.
State Constitutional ratification date
Connecticut January 1788
Delaware December 1787
Georgia January 1788
Maryland April 1788
Massachusetts February 1788
New Hampshire June 1788
New Jersey December 1787
New York July 1788
North Carolina November 1789
Pennsylvania December 1787
Rhode Island May 1790
South Carolina May 1788
Virginia June 1788

Answer 1

Based on the table showing the ratification dates of the Constitution by the original 13 states, here is a summary of which states had ratified the Constitution by the time of George Washington's election in 1789 and which had not:

States that Ratified the Constitution by 1789:

1. Delaware - December 1787
2. Pennsylvania - December 1787
3. New Jersey - December 1787
4. Georgia - January 1788
5. Connecticut - January 1788
6. Massachusetts - February 1788
7. Maryland - April 1788
8. South Carolina - May 1788
9. Virginia - June 1788
10. New Hampshire - June 1788
11. New York - July 1788

States that Had Not Ratified the Constitution by 1789:

1. North Carolina - November 1789
2. Rhode Island - May 1790

In summary, by the time of the election in 1789, 11 of the 13 original states had ratified the Constitution, allowing Washington to be elected president. North Carolina and Rhode Island had yet to ratify the Constitution at that point.