Which states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment?

Quick answer and definition: what fourteenth amendment ratification means

Short answer: the Fourteenth Amendment was declared ratified on July 28, 1868, after 28 of the 37 states then in the Union had returned instruments of ratification, meeting the three-fourths requirement specified in the Constitution, as shown in the Secretary of State’s certified roll.

This declaration is recorded in the federal certification that accompanies the amendment text and the state roll, which are held as primary documents in federal archives and reproduced in authoritative online project collections National Archives certificate and state ratifications.

Why the ratification question matters today: ratification determines when the amendment took legal effect and defines the primary documentary record reporters, students, and researchers cite when they assert the adoption date and the list of states that approved the amendment.

For quick fact checking, consult the Secretary of State’s certificate and the state-by-state returns, which together provide the authoritative proof of when the constitutionally required threshold was reached Constitution Annotated summary. For quick fact checking

How the ratification process worked and the legal threshold

Under Article V of the Constitution, after Congress proposes an amendment, the proposed text goes to state legislatures or state conventions for ratification; in the case of the Fourteenth Amendment, Congress approved and transmitted the text on June 13, 1866.

Congressional treatment and the transmission of the amendment are summarized in legislative history notes and the Constitution Annotated, which explains the procedural steps that led states to act on the proposed amendment Constitution Annotated.

The legal threshold for adoption was ratification by three-fourths of the states then in the Union. In 1866 and 1868 there were 37 states counted in the Union for amendment purposes, so three-fourths meant 28 ratifications were necessary before the amendment could be declared adopted.

The three-fourths rule as applied to the 37 states is reflected in the primary certification and in contemporary summaries that explain why 28 approvals constituted the necessary constitutional majority National Archives certificate and state ratifications.

Writers and readers should note that the counting rule depends on which entities are treated as states in force at the time of proposal and return; authoritative sources use the same baseline when producing the certified roll and the explanatory notes.

The timeline from proposal to certification

Congress proposed the Fourteenth Amendment on June 13, 1866, and the text was sent to the states for consideration, beginning a multiyear period in which states considered and returned instruments of ratification at different times and by different procedures. proposed the Fourteenth Amendment

Individual states enacted ratification through their legislatures or conventions and then transmitted certified copies of those ratification instruments to the Secretary of State, who maintained the roll of returns and prepared the formal certification when the required total had been received.

The Secretary of State’s certified declaration that the amendment had received the necessary ratifications and was adopted is dated July 28, 1868; that certificate and the set of state returns together form the primary documentary basis for the adoption date Yale Avalon Project text and documents.

Between the proposal in 1866 and the certification in 1868, some states acted quickly and others delayed, and the Secretary of State’s role was to collect and attest to the returns and to pronounce when the constitutional threshold had been met; that pronouncement is the documentary act reporters cite when they list the adoption date National Archives certificate and state ratifications. Secretary of State’s role

Overview: which states had ratified by July 1868 (summary count and pattern)

By July 1868, 28 of the 37 states had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, reaching the three-fourths requirement and enabling the Secretary of State to certify adoption; the count itself is recorded in the certified roll and in primary document collections. certified roll

The pattern of ratification reflected the political context of Reconstruction: some former Confederate states ratified as part of conditions for readmission or to meet federal requirements, while other states delayed, declined, or acted later, creating a mix of early approvals and holdouts across regions.

Contemporary and later reference works summarize which states approved early and which did not, but the primary roll provides the definitive state-by-state dates and the order in which returns were recorded OurDocuments ratification page.

Readers should keep two points in mind: the numerical fact that 28 approvals were required and recorded, and the separate, research-necessary fact that some state actions were contested or acknowledged later, which can affect efforts to reconstruct a fine-grained chronological sequence.

Secondary resources such as the Library of Congress and reference compilations provide useful overviews of the Reconstruction context and of which states acted later or refused to ratify at the time Library of Congress primary documents guide. reference compilations

State-by-state ratification list and dates (how to read the record)

The Secretary of State’s certified roll lists each state return and the date on which its ratification instrument was received or recorded; the National Archives reproduction and the Avalon Project text present the same state-by-state data in accessible formats.

Example entry format for reporting: State name – ratification date – primary source citation. For example, a writer would show a state entry and cite the certified roll as the source, using the National Archives or Avalon Project as the reference.

For convenience, the Avalon Project reproduces the amendment text and related documents, and the OurDocuments page compiles the ratification information as a primary document; both are appropriate starting points for compiling a state-by-state table for reporting purposes Yale Avalon Project text and documents.

When preparing a published list, include the state name, the ratification date as recorded, and the primary source citation in the line for each state; if sequencing is important, consult the original certificates in state archives as well as the federal roll to resolve any timing ambiguities.

Contested returns, later ratifications, and common pitfalls when reporting

Not all state actions from the Reconstruction era are simple to sequence. Some state ratifications were delayed, some states initially rejected the amendment, and a few later actions complicate claims about the exact order of returns.

Because secondary summaries sometimes condense or standardize dates for readability, relying only on such summaries can introduce errors; researchers should check the Secretary of State’s certified roll or the state certificate when precise timing or first-to-file questions arise National Archives certificate and state ratifications.

Common reporting errors include asserting an exact chronological order without consulting original certificates, rounding or misdating returns, or treating later acknowledgements as equivalent to original ratification instruments; careful citation and a note about contested returns prevent these mistakes.

Secondary references such as Britannica and the Library of Congress provide context and summaries that identify which states were holdouts or later ratifiers, and those resources can guide deeper archival checks when sequencing matters Britannica overview.

Where to read the primary documents and next steps for deeper verification

Key repositories for primary documentation are the National Archives, Yale’s Avalon Project, and the OurDocuments collection, each of which reproduces the amendment text and the Secretary of State’s certified roll in accessible formats for researchers and writers.

When reporting the amendment’s adoption date or compiling a state list, cite the Secretary of State’s July 28, 1868 certificate as the authoritative federal statement that the necessary ratifications had been received National Archives certificate and state ratifications.

Other useful steps include consulting state archives for the original ratification instruments if you need to resolve disputed receipt dates, and noting in any published list where sequencing is uncertain or subject to archival clarification. consulting state archives

Recap: Congress proposed the amendment on June 13, 1866, three-fourths of the 37 states meant 28 ratifications were required, and the Secretary of State certified adoption on July 28, 1868; for precise dates and the state-by-state order, the certified roll and state certificates are the sources to cite Yale Avalon Project text and documents.