The 1787 Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Delegates gathered in the Pennsylvania State House, the building now known as Independence Hall.
The meeting ran from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Congress had originally called the convention to revise the Articles of Confederation, but delegates instead created an entirely new framework of federal government.
Philadelphia was already a major political center. The Continental Congress had met there, and the Declaration of Independence had been adopted in the same building in 1776. Rhode Island declined to send delegates, while 12 states ultimately participated.
The convention produced a document with legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Delegates signed the Constitution on September 17, although ratification by the states was still required before it could take effect.