United States. Constitutional Convention (1787)

Meeting in Philadelphia from May to September 1787, the Constitutional Convention brought together delegates from twelve states to address the failures of the Articles of Confederation. What began as an effort to revise the existing system quickly turned into the writing of an entirely new framework for national government.

George Washington presided over the convention, while figures including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and James Wilson played major roles in the debates. The delegates argued over representation, federal and state power, the presidency, and slavery, eventually reaching a series of difficult compromises that shaped the final document.

The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, and then sent to the states for ratification. The convention remains one of the defining moments in American history, not only because it created a new government, but because it revealed how contested and unfinished the nation’s founding ideals were.