Final answer:
Nine states out of 13 were required to ratify the United States Constitution before it could become effective according to Article VII. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify, thus enabling the Constitution to become the law of the land.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before the Constitution could go into effect, nine states out of 13 were required to approve it. When establishing the procedures for ratification, the Framers of the Constitution recognized that demanding unanimous consent from all thirteen states would impede the practical establishment of the new government. Hence, in Article VII of the Constitution, they stipulated that ratification by conventions in nine states would be sufficient to establish the Constitution among those states that approved it.The ratification process involved each state holding special conventions where delegates would vote to accept or reject the Constitution. This process was crucial because it ensured that the Constitution garnered the support of the states individually, rather than just being passed by delegates at the Constitutional Convention. The historic struggle to secure enough ratifying states underscores the importance and challenge of achieving consensus amongst the states during the nation's founding period. New Hampshire eventually became the pivotal ninth state to ratify the Constitution on June 21, 1788, allowing the Constitution to become the supreme law of the land.The main answer to the student's question is that nine states out of 13 were required to ratify the Constitution before it could go into effect. This number was chosen as a compromise between the need for broad support and the impracticality of unanimous approval.