June 21st, the Birthday of New Hampshire, and the Birthday of the U.S. Constitution!

June 21st is New Hampshire's 226th birthday.  This is the anniversary of the day our state ratified the U.S. Constitution and joined the United States of America on June 21, 1788.  We were the 9th colony to ratify the constitution, and since a 2/3 majority of the 13 colonies was needed to pass the document, we were the deciding vote.   So June 21st is also the birthday of the U.S. Constitution.

5 colonies, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut were the first to quickly ratify the constitution earlier in 1788.  The rest of the colonies wanted to be assured that there were going to be protections of certain political rights (the freedoms of speech, religion, press, etc. that became the first amendments).  This compromise was reached in February 1788, and Massachusetts, South Carolina and Maryland ratified next.

After New Hampshire passed the deciding vote June 21, 1788 it was agreed that the new government would begin on March 4, 1789.  That next New York and Virginia ratified, followed by North Carolina and lastly Rhode Island on May 29, 1790.

To celebrate, the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth is letting any New Hampshire resident visit this weekend (June 21 and 22) for FREE (bring proof of residence).

Also, to celebrate New Hampshire's birthday, UNH is sponsoring "Meet Your Milk Day" at the open barn 10am to 2pm on Saturday, June 21st.  Come to the NHAES/COLSA Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center to meet the cows, try some ice cream and milk, take a wagon ride and other fun activities. This is a fun day for the whole family to learn about the dairy industry in New Hampshire.

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A transcription of "Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New Hampshire"
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/ratnh.asp

Special events at Strawbery Banke Museum, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
https://www.strawberybanke.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18:search-caneldar&catid=18:search-calendar&Itemid=71#June

Meet Your Milk Day at UNH
http://colsa.unh.edu/article/nhaes/meet-your-milk-unh-open-barn-june-21

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "June 21st, the Birthday of New Hampshire, and the Birthday of the U.S. Constitution!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 20, 2014, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/06/june-21st-birthday-of-new-hampshire-and.html: accessed [access date]).