In the summer of 1787, many Americans were worried about their country’s future. The U.S. had won its independence from Great Britain four years earlier, but the 13 states were hardly united. They were loosely held together by a weak central government. Disagreements among the states threatened to tear the young nation apart.
Starting in May of that year, a group of 55 men met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to figure out how to strengthen the federal, or national, government. The meeting was called the Constitutional Convention.
The delegates represented their home states at the convention. They ranged in age from 26 to 81 and came from many different backgrounds. Some, like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, were famous throughout the country. Others weren’t well known outside their home states. Many of them had never met.
It’s no surprise that the delegates spent a lot of time debating how the country should be run. But they eventually compromised on many key details. By September 17, they had a Constitution most of them agreed on. The document divided the government’s power among three branches—the president, the Congress, and the Supreme Court. It also described how much control the federal government had over the states.
Get to know some of the delegates who created the historic document that today is still “the supreme Law of the Land.”