Eleanor Finch
The United States Constitution, which lays out the framework for the nation's federal government and defines the functions of its three branches, was signed on September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The signing of the Constitution occurred at the conclusion of the four-month-long Constitutional Convention, which had assembled in Philadelphia in May of 1787. On the final day of the Convention, 39 delegates representing 12 states endorsed the Constitution, with 38 out of 41 delegates present signing the document. The Constitution was then submitted to the Congress of the Confederation in New York City, and the process of ratification by the states began. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787. The new government under the Constitution was set to begin on March 4, 1789, with George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | September 17, 1787 |
| Location | Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Number of signatures | 39 |
| Number of signatories | 38 |
| Youngest signatory | Jonathan Dayton, aged 26 |
| Oldest signatory | Benjamin Franklin, aged 81 |
| Time taken | Four months |
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What You'll Learn
The signing of the US Constitution
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This signing occurred at the conclusion of a four-month-long Constitutional Convention that began in May of the same year.
The convention was assembled to revise the Articles of Confederation, which had been ratified several months before the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781. However, by mid-June 1787, the delegates had decided to completely redesign the government, creating a powerful central government. The delegates, representing 12 of the 13 states (all except Rhode Island, which declined to send delegates), debated fiercely over issues such as congressional representation and slavery. They ultimately crafted compromises that laid the framework for the nation's federal government and its three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
On the final day of the convention, Benjamin Franklin, the oldest signer at 81 years old, delivered an address endorsing the Constitution. The delegates agreed that the Constitution would be endorsed by the delegates as individual witnesses of the unanimous consent of the states present. Out of 41 or 42 delegates present, 38 or 39 signed the Constitution, with George Reed signing for the absent John Dickinson of Delaware. Jonathan Dayton, aged 26, was the youngest signer.
Within three days of its signing, the Constitution was submitted to the Congress of the Confederation in New York City, the nation's temporary capital. It was then forwarded to the 13 states for ratification, with Article VII requiring ratification by nine of the 13 states for the document to become binding. Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. The new government under the Constitution was set to begin on March 4, 1789, with George Washington elected as the first president.
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The Constitutional Convention
The Convention was held in the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. Delegates from twelve of the thirteen states (all except Rhode Island) gathered to debate and shape the future of the nation. The delegates included prominent figures such as George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, who shared a vision for a stronger central government.
The Convention was marked by intense debates and compromises. One of the fiercest arguments centred around congressional representation, with delegates ultimately agreeing to a compromise that granted each state one representative for every 30,000 people in the House of Representatives and two representatives in the Senate. They also grappled with the issue of slavery, deciding to allow the slave trade to continue until 1808 and counting enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention crafted a new model of government that established a balance of power between the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches. They envisioned a strong central government with specific powers, including the authority to conduct foreign relations. The Constitution that emerged from the Convention laid the framework for the nation's federal government and delineated the functions of its three branches.
On September 17, 1787, the Convention concluded with the signing of the new U.S. Constitution by 39 delegates, representing the 12 states in attendance. The signing took place in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, and marked the endorsement of the Constitution created during the four-month-long convention. The Constitution came into effect in 1789 after the necessary state ratifications, and it has served as the foundation of the United States Government ever since.
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The role of the delegates
The signing of the United States Constitution occurred on September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, representing 12 states (all but Rhode Island, which declined to send delegates), endorsed the Constitution.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention played a crucial role in the creation and signing of the United States Constitution. They were tasked with revising the existing government under the Articles of Confederation, which had established the first national government. However, the delegates ultimately decided to completely redesign the government, creating a powerful central government.
The delegates represented a diverse range of interests and views, and their role was to craft compromises that would be acceptable to all the states. One of the fiercest arguments was over congressional representation—whether it should be based on population or divided equally among the states. The delegates compromised by agreeing to a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House and equal state representation in the Senate. They also agreed to count enslaved Africans as three-fifths of a person, temporarily resolving the contentious issue of slavery by allowing the slave trade to continue until 1808.
The delegates' work culminated in the creation of the Constitution, which was endorsed by 39 of them on September 17, 1787. This endorsement included signatures, a declaration of successful completion, and a statement of adoption by the states present. Benjamin Franklin, the oldest delegate at 81, delivered an address strongly endorsing the Constitution and proposing that it be endorsed by the delegates as individual witnesses of unanimous consent. This proposal was accepted, and the delegates signed as witnesses to the convention's actions, rather than on behalf of their individual states.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention, therefore, played a vital role in shaping the nation's federal government and ensuring the unanimous support of the states for the Constitution. Their work laid the foundation for one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
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Ratification by the states
The ratification process for the Constitution began on September 17, 1787, and ended when the final state, Rhode Island, ratified it on May 29, 1790. The process was a long and arduous one, with the document requiring ratification by nine of the thirteen existing states to become binding.
The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. These five states voted to approve the Constitution almost immediately, and in all of them, the vote was unanimous or lopsided. However, the process in Pennsylvania, the one large early ratifier, was marred by corruption. The Pennsylvania state assembly was nearing the end of its term, and some Antifederalists in the state assembly tried to block the move by refusing to attend the last two days of the session.
The first real test of the Constitution came in Massachusetts in January 1788, where influential older Patriots like Governor John Hancock and Sam Adams led the Antifederalists. The rural western part of the state was an Antifederalist stronghold due to Shays' Rebellion, which had occurred the previous year. A bitterly divided month-long debate ensued, ending with a close vote (187-168) in favor of the Constitution. This victory for the Federalists was crucial, as it helped secure victory in the final holdout states.
New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution on June 21, 1788, and the Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America. The remaining states to ratify the Constitution were Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and finally, Rhode Island. The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island approved the document.
Even after the Constitution's ratification, the U.S. did not begin to function as it does today until several years later. The capital was not set until July 16, 1790, almost a year and a half after the general elections.
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The oldest and youngest signers
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of the 74 delegates who were chosen, 55 attended and 39 signed the document. The signing ceremony concluded a four-month-long convention that began in May 1787.
The oldest person to sign the US Constitution was Benjamin Franklin, aged 81. Franklin was so infirm that he had to be carried to sessions in a sedan chair. Benjamin Franklin was also the first signer to die, in April 1790.
The youngest person to sign the Constitution was Jonathan Dayton, aged 26.
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