December 7: Delaware Day
Prayer Idea
Pray for the people and government of Delaware.
History Note
Delaware was the second-smallest of the 13 British colonies and had the second-smallest population at the beginning of the American Revolution. As in other colonies, people in Delaware were divided on whether to separate from the British. Those who favored the patriot cause were known as Whigs, while those who were loyal to the British Crown were called Tories.
As the Continental Congress was debating whether to adopt the Declaration of Independence, Delaware delegate Caesar Rodney was away from Philadelphia. Rodney hurried back on horseback overnight to cast his vote for independence on July 2, 1776. Delawareans Caesar Rodney, Thomas McKean, and George Read (who initially opposed independence), all signed the Declaration of Independence.
The First Delaware Regiment served in the Continental Army throughout the war, from 1776 to 1783. Captain Thomas Holland, a former British officer, provided military training for the soldiers.
All five of Delaware’s delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 agreed to the final document: George Reed, Gunning Bedford Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, and Jacob Broom. John Dickinson played a major role in negotiating the compromise that each state, regardless of size, would have equal representation in the U.S. Senate.
In order to accept or reject the new Constitution, people in each state were to elect delegates to meet in a state convention. Delaware held an election on November 26. Each of Delaware’s three counties chose ten men to attend the state convention.
On December 3, these 30 men met in Dover to discuss the proposed Constitution. On December 7, they voted unanimously to approve the document:
We the Deputies of the People of the Delaware State, in Convention met, having taken into our serious consideration the Federal Constitution proposed and agreed upon by the Deputies of the United States in a General Convention held at the City of Philadelphia on the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven, Have approved, assented to, ratified, and confirmed, and by these Presents, Do, in virtue of the Power and Authority to us given for that purpose, for and in behalf of ourselves and our Constituents, fully, freely, and entirely approve of, assent to, ratify, and confirm the said Constitution.
Thus Delaware became the first state under the new form of government for the United States of America. In 1933 the Delaware state legislature declared December 7 to be recognized as Delaware Day.
Delaware adopted its current state flag in 1913. It prominently features the date that Delaware ratified the U.S. Constitution.
Learn More
Though the vote in Delaware to ratify the U.S. Constitution was unanimous, lingering political disagreements caused some drama.
Find more resources at Homeschool History.
