Why did the constitution only need 2/3 of the states to ratify it before it was made official. ?

Question

I know that the other states finally ratified it, but why did they only need 9 to make the constitution official.

Answer 1

That's just the number they chose.

2/3s is what they felt would be enough colonies.  It could have been 3/4 or 5/16.  

Once the Constitution was made official, the rest of the colonies would want to hop in the bandwagon and ratify it.  

Answer 2

Unanimity as a rule give power to the last hold out.  So the majority tends to get held hostage by a single vote.  In ratification, this was Rhode Island.  This was a way of saying :the train is leaving the station and you better get on".  As is it was Rhode Island took another three years to ratify.  

Answer 3

The United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later ratified by conventions in each state in the name of "The People"; it has since been amended twenty-seven times, the first ten amendments being known as the Bill of Rights.[1][2] The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was actually the first constitution of the United States of America. The U.S. Constitution replaced the

Articles of Confederation as the governing document for the United States, and transformed the constitutional basis of government from confederation to federation, also making it the world's oldest federal constitution.[3] The Constitution has a central place in United States law and political culture.[4] The handwritten, or "engrossed", original document is on display at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

In September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, the Congress of the Confederation endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787.[5] Twelve states, Rhode Island being the only exception, accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in May 1787.[5] The resolution calling the Convention specified that its purpose was to propose amendments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution.[6] The Philadelphia Convention voted to keep the debates secret, so that the delegates could speak freely. They also decided to draft a new fundamental government design, which eventually stipulated that only nine of the thirteen states would have to ratify for the new government to go into effect (for the participating states).[6] Current knowledge of the drafting and construction of the United States Constitution comes primarily from the diaries left by James Madison, who kept a complete record of the proceedings at the Constitutional Convention.[7]

Answer 4

cuz the ponies wre gettin tired

Answer 5

Article 13 of the Articles of the Confedration.