Thirty-nine delegates signed the United States Constitution at the 1787 convention linked to America250’s founding story.
The signing took place on September 17, 1787, at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, now called Independence Hall. The 39 signers represented twelve states; Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Constitutional Convention. George Washington, the convention’s president, signed first.
The figure 39 refers specifically to delegates who endorsed the final Constitution. It is not the number of delegates who attended at some point during the convention, nor the number of states that later ratified the document. The convention itself included more participants over its four-month course.
The Constitution still required state ratification before it could take effect. Article Seven set nine state approvals as the threshold, and New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify on June 21, 1788. This constitutional milestone provides a neighboring chapter in the national history remembered during America250.