The Constitutional Convention Rewrites the Government
Delegates gather to fix the Articles and end up drafting an entirely new Constitution
Quick facts
- Location
- Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall), Philadelphia
- Date
- 14 May - 17 September 1787
- Presiding officer
- George Washington
- Signed
- 17 September 1787
What happened
Delegates from twelve states (Rhode Island refused to attend) convened at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia starting 14 May 1787, with a quorum finally present by 25 May, ostensibly to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates, including Washington as presiding officer and James Madison as its most influential drafter, shuttered the windows and swore secrecy so they could debate freely, and by mid-June had decided to abandon the Articles entirely in favor of a new frame of government with a stronger federal structure, including an executive, judiciary, and power to tax. After months of debate and compromise, including the Great Compromise balancing representation between large and small states, the delegates signed the finished four-page Constitution on 17 September 1787.
Why it matters
The Convention replaced a confederation that could not tax, field an army, or enforce its own laws with a federal government that could, establishing the constitutional structure, separation of powers, and checks and balances still in use today. The secrecy of the debates let delegates change positions and negotiate compromises, like the one over representation, that might have been impossible in public.
How we know
The National Archives holds the signed original Constitution and its own account of the Convention's proceedings, drawn from delegates' notes, especially Madison's detailed record of the debates.
Sources
- National Archives. Constitution of the United States (1787) · Primary source (author-declared)archives.gov · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- National Archives. The Constitution: How Did it Happen? · Primary sourcearchives.gov · The domain "archives.gov" is on our Primary source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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