The 1787 Constitutional Convention that produced the U.S. Constitution took place in Philadelphia.
Delegates met at the Pennsylvania State House, the building now known as Independence Hall. The convention formally ran from May 25 to September 17, 1787. It was originally called to revise the Articles of Confederation, the first national governing framework of the United States, but the delegates ultimately drafted an entirely new constitution.
George Washington presided over the convention, while James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and other delegates promoted stronger national institutions. Major disputes concerned representation, executive power, federal authority, and the relationship between large and small states. The Great Compromise created a bicameral Congress with different forms of representation in the two chambers.
Philadelphia is sometimes confused with Annapolis, where the 1786 Annapolis Convention discussed commercial problems and called for a broader meeting. New York City later became the first national capital under the Constitution, but it was not the site of the 1787 convention.