How many states were there when Washington first became President? Many people would think thirteen, as in the thirteen original colonies. But then answer is eleven. North Carolina and Rhode island had not yet ratified the constitution. Rhode Island did not send any delegates to the convention in 1788. North Carolina did attend the convention but after intense debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the delegates made it clear that they would not support the constitution until a Bill of Rights was added. Then, in November 1789 after General George Washington had been elected president, a second convention had convened. This time, a Bill of Rights had been added to the U.S. Constitution and on November 21, 1789 North Carolina ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the 12th state of the United States of America. George Washington could not have been more pleased and he opened his first state of the union address by congratulating Congress on the "recent accession of the important sate of North Carolina".
"I embrace with great satisfaction the opportunity which now presents itself of congratulating you on the present favorable prospects of our public affairs. The recent accession of the important state of North Carolina to the Constitution of the United States (of which official information has been received), the rising credit and respectability of our country, the general and increasing good will toward the government of the Union, and the concord, peace, and plenty with which we are blessed are circumstances auspicious in an eminent degree to our national prosperity."http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29431
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/ratification/overview/
http://www.historical-us-maps.com/images/original-13-states-12large.jpg
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