What 1787 Philadelphia gathering created the U.S. Constitution, a founding milestone featured in America250 history?

The Constitutional Convention created the United States Constitution during a 1787 meeting in Philadelphia. Delegates met at the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, from May 25 to September 17.

The convention was originally called to revise the Articles of Confederation, the United States’ first federal governing framework. Many delegates, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, instead supported designing an entirely new system of government with a stronger national structure.

George Washington presided over the convention. Delegates debated representation, executive power, taxation, federal authority, and the relationship between the national government and the states. Their work produced the Constitution, which was later submitted to the states for ratification.

The meeting is sometimes called the Philadelphia Convention or the Federal Convention. It should not be confused with the Continental Congress, which operated as a revolutionary and early national legislature, or the Annapolis Convention of 1786, which helped lead to the 1787 gathering.