By the end of May 1788, proponents of the Constitution had secured the approval of eight of the nine required state ratifying conventions. Along the way, however, they made a critical tactical decision and an important, albeit non-binding, concession to deny the Antifederalists their first victory. In New Hampshire, facing sure defeat, the proponents secured an agreement at the ratifying convention to postpone a final decision, consult with the voters, hold a second election, and reconvene four months later. In Massachusetts, also in February, ten delegates abandoned their opposition to ratification in exchange for the proposition that “subsequent amendments” would be considered in the First Congress. This Massachusetts Compromise proposal, “ratify now, amend later,” moved an equally divided Convention to adopt the Constitution. Securing the ninth state was not going to be an easy task. In fact, North Carolina and Rhode Island did not ratify the Constitution until November 1789 and May 1790, respectively. They did so only after the First Congress sent twelve amendment proposals to the states for ratification. Everything rested on the three remaining states: New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York. The best evidence suggests that going into the three ratifying conventions, the Federalist-Antifederalist delegate split was 52-52 in New Hampshire, 84-84 in Virginia and 19-46 in New York. And all were scheduled to meet in June: Virginia on the 2nd, New York on the 17th, and New Hampshire on the 18th. It turns out that five delegates adopted the Massachusetts Compromise in New Hampshire after three days of debate. Thus, the Constitution was officially ratified on June 21, 1788. Virginia delegates debated the merits of the Constitution from June 2 through June 25, unaware of the speedy New Hampshire ratification. Five delegates changed their mind and accepted the “ratify now, amend later” proposition on June 25. News that New Hampshire and Virginia had ratified reached New York during the early stages of deliberations. On July 26, York ratified the Constitution by a vote of 30-27 and proposed a 25-item Bill of Rights, along with 31 amendments.