Beginning on May 25, 1787, fifty-five delegates representing twelve of the thirteen states united by the Articles of Confederation (1781) met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many felt that the national government created by the Articles was too weak to be effective. Virginia delegate George Washington (1732-1799; see entry in volume 1) was among those calling for a stronger central government. He presided over the convention.

After much debate, the new U.S. Constitution was completed on September 17, 1787. The document was submitted to individual states: nine of them had to ratify the Constitution in order for it to go into effect. Representatives of the state of Delaware voted to ratify the Constitution on December 7, 1787, and, thus, Delaware became the first state in the union. On June 21, 1788, the state of New Hampshire became the ninth state to approve the Constitution, and the U.S. government became official...