The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787 to draft the United States Constitution.
Delegates gathered in the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall, from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Although the meeting was initially called to revise the Articles of Confederation, delegates ultimately produced an entirely new framework of government.
George Washington presided over the convention. James Madison played a major role in shaping the Virginia Plan and keeping detailed notes, while delegates negotiated representation, executive power, federal authority, and slavery-related compromises.
The convention did not itself put the Constitution into effect. The document was submitted to the states for ratification, and it became operative after the required threshold was reached. The convention’s work is a separate event from the Declaration’s adoption in 1776, even though both occurred in Philadelphia.