Thirty-nine delegates signed the United States Constitution in 1787, a document remembered by America250.
The signing took place at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, after the Constitutional Convention had spent roughly four months designing a new federal government. The delegates represented twelve states; Rhode Island declined to send delegates.
Not every delegate who attended the convention approved the final document. Three delegates—George Mason, Edmund Randolph, and Elbridge Gerry—refused to sign. Other delegates had already left Philadelphia, so the number present at the final signing was smaller than the convention’s total attendance.
The Constitution then required ratification by the states. Delaware was the first state to ratify, while Rhode Island was the last of the original thirteen, approving it in 1790. The Constitution took effect after the required number of states ratified it.