The
Philadelphia Convention (now also known as the
Constitutional Convention, the
Federal Convention, or the "
Grand Convention at Philadelphia") took place from
May 25 to
September 17,
1787, to address problems in
the United States of America following independence from
Great Britain. Although it was purportedly intended only to revise the
Articles of Confederation, the intention of many of the Convention's proponents, chief among them
James Madison and
Alexander Hamilton, was from the outset to create a new government rather than "fix" the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the convention. The result of the Convention was the
United States Constitution. The Convention is one of the central events in the
history of the United States.
Before the Constitution was drafted, the thirteen colonies operated under the Articles of Confederation, created by the Second Continental Congress which eventually caused deep divides between the states that the national government could not resolve.[1] On January 21, 1786, the Virginia Legislature, following James Madison's recommendation, invited all the states to discuss ways to reduce interstate conflicts in Annapolis, Maryland.[1] At what came to be known as the Annapolis Convention, the few state delegates in attendance endorsed a motion that called for all states to meet in Philadelphia in May, 1787 to discuss ways to improve the Articles of Confederation in a "Grand Convention."[1]
The 55 delegates who drafted the Constitution included most of the outstanding leaders, or Founding Fathers, of the new nation. Thomas Jefferson, who was in France during the convention, characterized the delegates as an assembly of "demi-gods."[1] Thomas Jefferson and John Adams did not attend; they were abroad in Europe, but they wrote home to encourage the delegates. Patrick Henry was also absent; he refused to go because he "smelt a rat in Philadelphia, tending toward the monarchy." Rhode Island refused to send delegates to the convention.
Due to the difficulty of travel in the late 1700s, very few of the selected delegates were present on the designated day of May 14, 1787, and it was not until May 25 that a quorum of seven states was secured. The convention convened in the Pennsylvania State House, and George Washington was unanimously elected as president of the convention.[2] Although William Jackson was elected as secretary, Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 remain the most complete record of the convention.[1]
