January 6 :North Carolina elects delegates to the proposed constitutional convention.
William Blount,
William Richardson Davie,
Alexander Martin,
Richard Dobbs Spaight, and
Hugh Williamson will attend.
March 3 :Massachusetts elects delegates to the upcoming constitutional convention.
Elbridge Gerry,
Nathaniel Gorham,
Rufus King, and
Caleb Strong will attend. (formerly the Pennsylvania Statehouse), Philadelphia, where the Constitution was forged
May 14 • Constitutional Convention scheduled to begin :As only a small number of delegates have arrived in Philadelphia, the convention's opening meeting is postponed for lack of a quorum.
May 14 :Connecticut elects delegates to the constitutional convention.
Oliver Ellsworth,
William Samuel Johnson and
Roger Sherman will attend. , who served as president of the 1787 Constitutional Convention , who served as chairman when delegates met as a Committee of the Whole
May 29 :
Virginia Plan (also known as the
Large State Plan or the
Randolph Plan) for structuring the federal government is presented by Edmund Randolph.
May 29 :
Pinckney Plan for structuring the federal government is presented by Charles Pinckney.
May 30 :Nathaniel Gorham is elected to serve as chairman of the
Committee of the Whole.
June 11 :Roger Sherman introduces the
Connecticut Compromise (also known as the Sherman or Great Compromise) which calls for
proportional representation (population-based) in the House of Representatives and equal representation for each state in the Senate. The plan would be referred to committee on July 2 and come up for a vote on July 16.
June 15 :
New Jersey Plan (also known as the
Small State Plan or the
Paterson Plan) for structuring the federal government is presented by William Paterson.
June 18 :
Hamilton Plan (also known as the
British Plan) for structuring the federal government is presented by Alexander Hamilton.
July 2 :Committee of Eleven, composed of Abraham Baldwin, Gunning Bedford, William Davie, Oliver Ellsworth, Benjamin Franklin, Elbridge Gerry, Luther Martin, George Mason, John Rutledge, William Patterson, and Robert Yates, is selected to work out a compromise on the issue of representation in the two houses of the federal legislature. Committees like this one, which included one delegate from each state represented, were established on several occasions during the convention in order to secure a breakthrough so that the deliberative process could move forward in a productive fashion.
July 12 :Delegates from
slave states and those from free states adopt the
Three-Fifths Compromise concerning how slaves would be counted when apportioning
representatives and
direct taxes.
July 16 :Committee of Eleven report calls for the adoption of the Connecticut Compromise introduced by Roger Sherman on June 11. The compromise allowed proportional representation for seats in the House and equal representation for states in the Senate. The plan, which also proposed that all money bills originate in the House, is approved by the convention (5–4–1).
July 24 :
Committee of Detail, composed of John Rutledge, Edmund Randolph, Nathaniel Gorham, Oliver Ellsworth, and James Wilson, is selected to write a first draft constitution reflective of the Resolutions passed by the convention up to that point.
August 18 :Committee of Eleven composed of Abraham Baldwin, George Clymer, John Dickinson, Rufus King, John Langdon, William Livingston, George Mason, James McHenry, Charles C. Pinkney, Roger Sherman, and Hugh Williamson, is selected to address issues related to Federal assumption of state debts. Issues related to the militia are referred to this committee on August 20.
September 13–14 :The official copy of the draft Constitution is
engrossed by
Jacob Shallus.
September 15 :The draft Constitution receives the unanimous approval of the state delegations. 's 1940
Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States September 17 • Constitution signed and convention adjourns :The approved Constitution is signed by thirty-nine delegates from twelve states (all but Rhode Island). One delegate, John Dickinson, who was ill and not present, had George Read sign his name by proxy. Three delegates present declined to sign the document: Edmund Randolph, George Mason, and Elbridge Gerry. George Washington, as president of the convention, signed first. The other delegates then signed, grouped by state in strict congressional voting order. Washington, however, signed near the right
margin, and so when the delegates ran out of space beneath his signature, they began a second column of signatures to the left. Jackson, the convention secretary, also signed as a witness. The convention then adjourned
sine die.
September 27 :First
Anti-Federalist letter by "Cato" is published.
September 28 :Congress of the Confederation votes to transmit the proposed Constitution to the thirteen states for ratification by the people in state conventions, as prescribed In its
Article Seven.
October 5 :First Anti-Federalist letter by "
Centinel" is published.
October 8 :First Anti-Federalist letter by "
Federal Farmer" is published.
October 18 :First Anti-Federalist letter by "
Brutus" is published. '', 1787, using the pseudonym "Philo-Publius"
October 27 :First of
The Federalist Papers by "Publius" (
Alexander Hamilton,
John Jay, and
James Madison), Hamilton's
Federalist No. 1, is published in
The Independent Journal. The planned series of essays would, the authors hoped, "give a satisfactory answer to all the
[Anti-Federalist] objections which shall have made their appearance, that may seem to have any claim to your attention."
November 20 :Ratifying convention begins in Pennsylvania.
December 3 :Ratifying convention begins in Delaware.
December 7 • Ratification by Delaware :Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the Constitution (30–0).
December 11 :Ratifying convention begins in New Jersey.
December 12 • Ratification by Pennsylvania :Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the Constitution (46–23).
December 25 :Ratifying convention begins in Georgia. ==1788==