Constitutional Convention, 1787
Washington at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, by Junius Brutus Stearns, 1856 (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Creative Commons CC-BY-NC.)
The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government under the Articles of Confederation. The fifty-five delegates presented their ideas, argued, and compromised over slavery, representation, states’ rights, tariffs, and other divisive issues. They emerged with a new document, the US Constitution, that defined a strong national government with three branches to establish checks and balances. This new government also brought the individual states together as one nation. Finally, they ensured a flexible document that could be amended. The Constitution went into effect in 1789 and has served as the basis of the US government ever since.
