09/17/2024
Constitution Day commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. The document laid
the foundation for our government, and while many states quickly ratified the Constitution,
North Carolina initially refused to do so. The decision was pivotal to the development of the Bill of Rights, and North Carolina’s insistence on the protection of individual liberties shaped the
course of our country’s history.
The new Constitution was a sharp departure from the weak Articles of Confederation, and Anti-Federalists widely criticized the document for what it lacked: an explicit guarantee of individual rights. North Carolina, in particular, was among the states that found this omission unacceptable.
North Carolina’s Anti-Federalists, including Willie Jones and Timothy Bloodworth, argued that
the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government and left citizens vulnerable to a centralized government that had, in their view, broad and unchecked powers. While Anti-
Federalists in other states expressed similar concerns, North Carolina took a firm and principled stand.
At the Hillsborough Convention, North Carolina delegates voted overwhelmingly not to ratify
the Constitution until protections for individual liberty were added. In doing so, North Carolina
was able to exert real pressure on the Federalists to address these concerns.
In response to this growing pressure, James Madison, who initially was skeptical of the need for a bill of rights, conceded and drafted a series of proposed amendments which would later
become known as the Bill of Rights. In 1789, Congress moved forward with the proposed
amendments, and North Carolina’s objections were resolved. North Carolina finally ratified the
Constitution on November 21, 1789, becoming the 12th state to do so.
