Jonah Patel
The United States Constitution, one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world, was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 delegates, with George Reed signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39. The process of drafting the Constitution began in May 1787, when the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia. The delegates, representing a wide range of interests and views, initially gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, but soon decided to completely redesign the government. The final document was the result of a series of compromises and took several months to finalize.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of the Constitutional Convention | 1787 |
| Month of the Constitutional Convention | May |
| Location of the Constitutional Convention | Philadelphia |
| Number of delegates | 41 or 42 |
| Number of signatures | 38 or 39 |
| Date of signing | September 17, 1787 |
| First state to ratify the Constitution | Delaware |
| Date of Delaware's ratification | December 7, 1787 |
| Date the Constitution became the official framework of the government | June 21, 1788 |
| Date of ratification by all states | May 29, 1790 |
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What You'll Learn
The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787
The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, almost four months after the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787. The delegates, who had gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation, decided to completely redesign the government.
The delegates shuttered the windows of the State House and swore secrecy so they could speak freely. There was little agreement about what form the new government would take. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation—should it be based on population or divided equally among the states? The framers compromised by giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate.
Another contentious issue was slavery. Slavery itself was a thorny question that threatened to derail the Union. It was temporarily resolved when the delegates agreed that the slave trade could continue until 1808, and that enslaved Africans would be counted as three-fifths of a person.
The final document was engrossed by Jacob Shallus. Several of the delegates were disappointed in the result, a makeshift series of unfortunate compromises. Some delegates left before the ceremony and three others refused to sign. Benjamin Franklin, who accepted the Constitution despite his reservations, summed up, addressing the convention:
> There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them. I am not sure that it is not the best.
The advocates of the Constitution were anxious to obtain unanimous support from all twelve states represented in the convention. Their accepted formula for the closing endorsement was "Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present". Thirty-eight or thirty-nine delegates signed the Constitution, with one delegate signing on behalf of an absent delegate from Delaware.
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The delegates aimed to revise the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, was adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777. The document established a “league of friendship” for the 13 sovereign and independent states. However, a few years after the Revolutionary War, prominent political thinkers like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington feared that the young country was on the brink of collapse due to the limitations of the Articles.
The Articles gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers, the ability to regulate commerce, and the authority to print money. The states' disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the country apart. As a result, in September 1786, delegates from five states met at the Annapolis Convention to discuss the need to address interstate protectionist trade barriers.
The delegates at the Annapolis Convention voted to invite all states to a larger convention in Philadelphia in 1787, which became known as the Constitutional Convention. The Confederation Congress endorsed this convention for the explicit purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention quickly realized that the defects in the government could not be remedied by altering the Articles, so they decided to draft a new constitution.
The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, with delegates from the states gathering to discuss revisions to the Articles of Confederation. They swore secrecy and shuttered the windows of the State House so they could speak freely. By mid-June, the delegates had decided to completely redesign the government. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation, with delegates debating whether it should be based on population or divided equally among the states.
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By mid-June, they decided to redesign the government
The United States Constitution, formed in 1787, is one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions globally. The process of its formation began with the Continental Congress in 1774, which led to the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Articles of Confederation in 1777. The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress rule-making and funding powers but lacked enforcement, commerce regulation, and money-printing capabilities.
By the mid-1780s, it became evident that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate for the young nation's future stability. Divisions among the states and local rebellions threatened to undo the Revolution's gains. Leaders like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington recognized the need for a stronger, more centralized government.
In 1786, Madison and Hamilton issued a report from a meeting in Annapolis, calling for a convention to revise the Articles. This proposal was considered a congressional authority overstep, but the Congress still issued a formal call for a convention. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, with delegates swearing secrecy to ensure open discussions.
By mid-June 1787, the delegates decided to go beyond amending the Articles of Confederation and instead opted for a complete government redesign. They disagreed on its form, particularly regarding congressional representation. They eventually compromised by granting each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate. They also made the contentious decision to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person and allowed the slave trade to continue until 1808.
The delegates' task was to revise the existing government, but they ended up creating a new one. Their loyalty to their states and wariness of centralized power led to a powerful central government with carefully crafted compromises. The final document was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 or 39 delegates, depending on the source. The Constitution's ratification process was challenging, with some delegates refusing to sign. However, Delaware became the first state to ratify it on December 7, 1787, and by June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to do so, making it the official framework of the US government.
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The final document was signed on 17 September 1787
The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 or 39 delegates, marking the end of the Constitutional Convention that had begun in Philadelphia in May of the same year. The final document was engrossed by Jacob Shallus.
The convention had been called to revise the Articles of Confederation, which had been adopted as the first US constitution on November 15, 1777, and ratified on March 1, 1771. However, the Articles gave the Confederation Congress no enforcement powers, and it couldn't regulate commerce or print money. Divisions among the states and local rebellions threatened to tear the young country apart.
The delegates to the 1787 convention, including George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, took an oath of secrecy and met behind closed doors. They soon decided to completely redesign the government, creating a powerful central government. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation and whether it should be based on population or divided equally among the states. They compromised by giving each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate.
The final document was not a unanimous decision. Several delegates were disappointed in the result, a series of compromises, and some refused to sign. Benjamin Franklin, who did sign, summed up, saying:
> "There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them...I expect no better, and I am not sure that it is not the best."
The Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it. However, it was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document.
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The ratification process was long and arduous
The road to the ratification of the US Constitution was indeed long and arduous. The process began in 1787, with the convening of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The delegates to the convention, which included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, had initially gathered to amend the Articles of Confederation, which was the existing form of government at the time. However, they soon decided to completely redesign the government, creating a powerful central government.
The delegates to the convention faced several challenges and disagreements, including the question of slavery and congressional representation. They eventually reached a series of compromises, including the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of congressional representation. They also agreed to allow the slave trade to continue until 1808.
The final document was signed by 39 delegates on September 17, 1787. However, the Constitution would not become official until it was ratified by nine of the 13 existing states. The first state to ratify was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. The ratification process was not without opposition, with some states arguing that the Constitution did not adequately protect individual rights and liberties.
The tide turned in Massachusetts, where a compromise was reached to propose amendments to the Constitution, which became the Bill of Rights. This helped secure ratification in several states, including Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and, finally, New Hampshire on June 21, 1788, becoming the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. The Constitution then became the official framework of the government of the United States of America.
However, the process was not yet complete, as it was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document. The Bill of Rights was ratified at the end of the following year, and the capital was set on July 16, 1790. The United States Constitution stands today as one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
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Frequently asked questions
The U.S. Constitution was formed and signed on September 17, 1787. The process took around four months, with the Constitutional Convention first assembling in Philadelphia in May of 1787.
The U.S. Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787.
The Bill of Rights was ratified at the end of 1791, after the first federal elections were held from December 15, 1788, to January 10, 1789.
