This Site Department of State Home
Pay-to-Play Ordinances
Will Registry
Certified Civil Celebrants
Rules & Authority
e-Notification Lists
In But Not Of
Higher Education Student Assistance Authority
Office of the Secretary of Higher Education
NJ State Library
NJ Sports and Exposition Authority
Business/Economic Dev
Business Action Center
Business Advocates
Small Business Advocates
Planning Advocates
Non-Profit Portal
Motion Picture andTelevision Commission
Red-Tape Commission
Arts/History/Cultural Programs
Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development
Governor’s Office of Volunteerism
Commission on National & Community Service
Cultural Trust
Office of Faith Based Initiatives
Council on the Arts
War Memorial - Patriots Theater
Cultural Heritage Commissions
Commission on American Indian Affairs Israel Commission
Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission
Additional CulturalHeritage Commissions
Contact the NJ State Archives
NJ State Archives
225 West State Street - 2nd Floor
Trenton, NJ Contact Information
Email: Feedback@sos.state.nj.us
DOS Home > New Jersey State Archives > Documentary Treasures > Documents relating to the United States Constitution
Convention Minutes
On December 18, 1787, New Jersey become the third state to ratify the United States Constitution. The minutes of the ratification convention document the quick work of the delegates. The delegates required only six days to establish rules, review the document, and complete their deliberations.
New Jersey's Ratification
Following the unanimous approval of the federal constitution by New Jersey's ratification convention, the delegates directed their secretary to engross the ratification on parchment for signature. This document contains the full text of the constitution, the form of ratification, the original delegates' signatures, the convention secretary's attestation.
New Jersey's Bill of Rights
On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights. Of the twelve proposed, New Jersey actually approved eleven. Articles 3 through 12 became the 1st through 10th Amendments, guaranteeing the fundamental rights and freedoms of all American citizens.
Since its ratification in 1788, the United States Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times. New Jersey was the first state to ratify the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. In all, our state has ratified 26 of the 27 proposed amendments that have passed the required three-fourths of the states.