Malcolm Rivera
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall. This was the same location where the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Constitution was drafted during the Philadelphia Convention, now known as the Constitutional Convention, which convened from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The document was submitted to the Congress of the Confederation in New York City, the nation's temporary capital, three days after its signing. The proposal was then forwarded to the 13 states for their ratification. The Constitution became the official framework of the US government when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it on June 21, 1788.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of the Constitutional Convention | May 25, 1787 |
| Location of the Constitutional Convention | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Date of the signing of the new Constitution | September 17, 1787 |
| Number of delegates who signed the new Constitution | 38 out of 41 |
| Date the new Constitution was submitted to Congress | September 28, 1787 |
| Number of states required to ratify the new Constitution | 9 out of 13 |
| First state to ratify the new Constitution | Delaware |
| Date of ratification by the ninth state | June 21, 1788 |
| Date the new Constitution became the official framework of the US government | March 4, 1789 |
| Date the Constitution was ratified by all states | May 29, 1790 |
| Date the Bill of Rights was ratified | End of 1791 |
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What You'll Learn
The Constitutional Convention
The convention was called to revise the Articles of Confederation, which gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. However, the convention soon abandoned the Articles, drafting a new Constitution with a much stronger national government. The convention was attended by delegates from 12 states, with 39 signatures in total, including George Reed, who signed for John Dickinson of Delaware.
The convention was ready to commit its resolutions to writing in July 1787, after two months of fierce debate over the structure and powers of a new federal government. A "committee of detail" was appointed to draft a written constitution, and Edmund Randolph of Virginia wrote out a rough draft, which was then revised by James Wilson. A clean copy was sent to Philadelphia printers John Dunlap and David Claypoole, who printed enough copies for use by the delegates.
On September 12, 1787, the Constitution was presented to the convention, and the delegates began to consider each section. The convention concluded on September 17, 1787, with the signing of the new U.S. Constitution by 38 out of 41 delegates present. The document was then submitted to the Congress of the Confederation in New York City, the nation's temporary capital. It was agreed that the Constitution would not be binding until its ratification by nine of the 13 existing states.
The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, making it the official framework of the government of the United States of America. The remaining states ratified the Constitution by May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island approved the document.
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A new form of government
The United States Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention, now known as the Constitutional Convention, which convened from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The convention was conducted under an oath of secrecy, so the first time Americans saw the Constitution was when it was published in The Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1787, two days after it was signed.
The Constitutional Convention was called to revise the Articles of Confederation, which was America's first constitution. The Articles of Confederation gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The states’ disputes over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart. It soon became clear, however, that the delegates were forming an entirely new form of government.
The new Constitution introduced a powerful central government, with a much stronger national government. The large states got proportional strength in the number of delegates, the state legislatures got the right to select delegates, and the House the right to choose the president in the event no candidate received a majority of electoral votes. The delegates, representing wildly different interests and views, crafted compromises to form this new government.
The Constitution needed to be ratified by nine of the 13 states to go into effect. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify, and the Confederation Congress established March 4, 1789, as the date to begin operating a new government under the Constitution. The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document.
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Ratification by 9 of 13 states
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, now known as Independence Hall. The document was originally intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, but it ended up introducing a new form of government. The Articles of Confederation had given the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it lacked enforcement powers and could not regulate commerce or print money. This led to disputes between the states, threatening to tear the young country apart.
The new Constitution was submitted to the Confederation Congress in New York City, the nation's temporary capital, within three days of its signing. On September 28, the Congress voted unanimously to forward the proposal to the 13 states for their ratification. Under Article VII of the proposed Constitution, ratification by nine of the 13 states was required for the establishment of the new government. This process bypassed the state legislatures, instead calling for special ratifying conventions in each state.
Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, marking its official establishment as the framework of the US government. The Confederation Congress set March 4, 1789, as the date for the new government to begin operating under the Constitution.
The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document. The Bill of Rights, consisting of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, was ratified on December 15, 1791.
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The Articles of Confederation
Alexander Hamilton helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May of 1787. The convention was conducted under an oath of secrecy, so the printing of the Constitution represented the first time that Americans saw it. The original signed, handwritten Constitution is at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was called to revise the ailing Articles of Confederation. However, the Convention soon abandoned the Articles, drafting a new Constitution with a much stronger national government. The delegates were tasked with revising the existing government, but they created a powerful central government. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises. The large states got proportional strength in the number of delegates, and the state legislatures got the right to select delegates.
On July 26, 1787, after two months of fierce debate over the structure and powers of a new federal government, the Constitutional Convention was ready to commit its resolutions to writing. Appointing a "committee of detail" to draft a written constitution, the Convention adjourned until August 6. To prepare themselves, the committee first studied the Convention's resolutions, state constitutions, the Articles of Confederation, and other applicable reports and documents. Then, Edmund Randolph of Virginia wrote out a rough draft of a constitution, which the committee then discussed. James Wilson revised Randolph's draft, the committee reviewed it, and a clean copy was sent to prominent Philadelphia printers John Dunlap and David Claypoole.
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The Bill of Rights
The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall. The Constitutional Convention, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, was conducted under an oath of secrecy, and so the printing of the Constitution in The Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1787, was the first time Americans saw the document.
The Constitution was not immediately binding, and it needed to be ratified by nine of the 13 existing states before it could come into effect. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, and the Confederation Congress established March 4, 1789, as the date to begin operating a new government under the Constitution.
The Constitution was drafted by a "committee of detail" appointed by the Constitutional Convention, and it was signed by 39 delegates, including George Reed, who signed for John Dickinson of Delaware, who was absent. The document was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, but instead, it introduced a completely new form of government. James Madison, one of the Constitution's most fervent advocates, felt that the success or failure of the American Constitution "would decide forever the fate of republican government."
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Frequently asked questions
The initial purpose of the convention was for delegates to amend the Articles of Confederation.
The convention proposed and created a completely new form of government.
The new constitution was submitted to the Congress of the Confederation. It was then forwarded to the 13 states for their ratification.
