Our Constitution

In 1787 our country consisted of 13 states.

At that time, a group of men from 12 of the 13 states went to a

special meeting called a Constitutional Convention.

They met in a building called Independence

Hall, which is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In this room, they wrote a constitution for our new

government .

A constitution is a list of rules and laws that explain what

our government can and cannot

do.

George Washington

was chosen as the leader of

the Constitutional Convention.

James Madison paid close attention to

everything that was said and took careful

notes .

The oldest man to attend the

Constitutional Convention was

Benjamin Franklin. He was

81-years-old.

The meetings were held in secret, so all 55 men could talk freely about their ideas.

The men didn’t always agree, but they worked together to make many

important decisions.

After 4 months, the Constitution was finally completed.

Thirty-nine men signed the Constitution on

September 17, 1787.John Langdon

Nicholas Gilman

Nathaniel Gorham

Rufus King

William Samuel Johnson

Roger Sherman

Alexander Hamilton

William Livingston

David Brearly

William Paterson

Jonathan Dayton

Benjamin Franklin

Thomas Mifflin

Robert Morris

George Clymer

Thomas Fitzsimons

Jared Ingersoll

James Wilson

Gouverneur Morris

George Read

Gunning Bedford, Jr.

John Dickinson

Richard Bassett

Jacob Broom

James McHenry

Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer

Daniel Carroll

John Blair

James Madison, Jr.

William Blount

Richard Dobbs Spaight

Hugh Williamson

John Rutledge

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney

Charles Pinckney

Pierce Butler

William Few

Abraham Baldwin

George Washington

•The states were then asked to

vote for or against

the Constitution.

•Several states would not vote for the Constitution unless a bill of rights was added.

A bill of rights lists the rights or freedoms people

have such as:

•the freedom to say what they want to say

•the freedom to worship as they please

•the right to a fair trial

Those who were in favor of the Constitution promised that the

Bill of Rights would be added after

the Constitution was accepted.

The Bill of Rights was added,

as promised, in 1791.

Our Constitution is now over200 years old.

You can see the Constitution of the United States in the

National Archives in Washington, D.C.