Maryland held out ratifying due to border disputes with neighboring states.
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An example of Ratification (Formal Approval) is the Articles of Confederation in 1781. They needed to have 13 states to ratify the new government that would take place in the us.
The Articles of Confederation were revised, said to be too large to take in and was unusable to salvage, and the U.S Constitution was written.
All 13 states had to ratify the US Constitution for it to take effect.
The Virginians were loath to leave the protection of the British who had hundreds of years of experience in government, trade and warfare. It was only when they realised that the alternative was to side with the traitorous French who had only helped the Americans to get at their sworn enemies The British (as opposed to any real concern for the colonists) that they decided to reluctantly sign the constitution
Article VII of the US Constitution required 9 states to ratify it before it became effective.