For America250, which document signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787 established the framework of the U.S. federal government?

For America250, the document signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, that established the framework of the U.S. federal government was the Constitution of the United States.

The Constitutional Convention met at Independence Hall to revise the Articles of Confederation, but the delegates ultimately produced an entirely new system of government. The Constitution divided federal authority among three branches: Congress, the president, and the federal courts. It also established federalism, sharing powers between the national government and the states.

The document was signed by 39 delegates representing 12 states; Rhode Island did not send delegates to the convention. It did not take effect immediately. Article VII required ratification by nine states, a threshold reached when New Hampshire approved it on June 21, 1788. The new federal government began operating under the Constitution on March 4, 1789.

A common mix-up is confusing the Constitution with the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments, added in 1791, rather than the original 1787 document.