Article VII of the United States Constitution explains how the Constitution would go into effect. It sets the requirement for ratification by the states before the Constitution could become the governing framework of the United States.
Text of Article VII
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
-Article 7 Section 1 Clause 1
What Article VII Does
Article VII sets the rule for how the Constitution would become effective. Rather than requiring unanimous approval from all thirteen states, it provided that ratification by conventions in nine states would be enough to establish the Constitution among those states that approved it.
Historical Importance
Article VII was crucial because it created the path by which the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation. By requiring ratification through state conventions rather than state legislatures, the framers chose a method that appealed directly to specially elected bodies in the states.
It also lowered the threshold from unanimous approval to ratification by nine states, making adoption of the Constitution politically possible.
Source Note
The wording above reflects the historic text of Article VII of the United States Constitution.
Now you’ve got the full set of the seven original articles of the Constitution. The next big layer, if you want the full constitutional text as Americans usually mean it today, is the amendments.