Delegates appointed by the states gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, but early attendance was too low to begin. On May 25, enough state delegations were present to form a quorum, allowing the Convention to start formal business and begin debating a stronger national government.
On May 29, Virginia’s delegates introduced a proposal that became known as the Virginia Plan. It sketched a national government with separate branches and a two-house legislature, with representation tied to population—an approach favored by larger states. The plan became the main starting point for the Convention’s debates.
On June 15, William Paterson presented the New Jersey Plan as an alternative to population-based representation. It aimed to keep each state’s equal vote in the national legislature while strengthening Congress’s powers under a revised Articles of Confederation framework. The clash between these plans drove weeks of debate about fairness and state power.
As sectional tensions between slaveholding and non-slaveholding states grew, delegates negotiated how enslaved people would be counted in population totals. On July 12, the Convention moved toward a compromise that counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation and direct taxation, paired with a requirement for a regular census. This bargain helped hold the Convention together but embedded slavery-related rules into the new framework.
After deadlock between large and small states, delegates adopted what is often called the Connecticut (Great) Compromise on July 16. It created a bicameral Congress: proportional representation in the House and equal state representation in the Senate. This decision stabilized the Convention and allowed other major questions to move forward.
By late July, the Convention had agreed on many major principles but lacked a complete written constitution. On July 24, delegates appointed the five-member Committee of Detail to turn the Convention’s resolutions into a workable draft. This shifted the Convention from broad debate to line-by-line writing and revision.
On August 6, the Committee of Detail presented a full draft constitution to the Convention. Delegates used it as the main working document for the rest of the summer, debating details like congressional powers, executive authority, and the courts. The draft made earlier agreements concrete, which also revealed new conflicts that had to be settled.
Unresolved issues—especially how to choose the President—were sent to committees to propose workable solutions. On September 4, a committee report helped move the Convention toward the Electoral College system, balancing public input with state influence. This reduced a major source of gridlock late in the Convention.
With major decisions mostly settled, delegates created a Committee of Style and Arrangement to edit wording and organize the document. Beginning around September 8, the committee reshaped the draft into a clearer final structure, including a revised Preamble and a more readable layout. This step helped turn negotiated compromises into a coherent legal text.
On September 12, the Convention received the Committee of Style’s report, which closely resembled the final Constitution. Delegates then reviewed it carefully and made final adjustments during the last days of the Convention. This was the last major drafting milestone before the vote to approve and sign the document.
On September 17, 1787, the Convention completed its work and delegates signed the Constitution. Thirty-nine delegates from twelve states ultimately signed; Rhode Island had not sent delegates. The signing marked the Convention’s closing outcome: a proposed new frame of government ready to be submitted for ratification.
After signing, Convention leaders formally sent the Constitution to the Confederation Congress with a request that it be forwarded to the states. This handoff was crucial because the Convention itself could not make the Constitution law; it depended on the ratification process that followed. The transmission linked the Convention’s drafting work to the next stage—public debate and state conventions.
Constitutional Convention and Drafting of the U.S. Constitution (May–September 1787)