Philadelphia hosted the 1787 Constitutional Convention celebrated in America’s founding history and remembered during America250.
Delegates met at the Pennsylvania State House, now called Independence Hall, from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The convention was initially called to revise the Articles of Confederation, but delegates ultimately designed an entirely new framework for the federal government.
George Washington presided over the meetings. The delegates debated representation, executive power, federal taxation, and the relationship between national and state governments. The resulting Constitution was signed on September 17 and then sent to the states for ratification.
Philadelphia had already been central to the independence movement: the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence there in 1776. The city therefore connects two major milestones highlighted by the United States’ 250th-anniversary observance.