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Meeting at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 55 delegates from all the states except Rhode Island, met to rework the failing Articles of Confederation. It quickly became apparent that amending the articles was unworkable and discussion soon turned to replacing them with a new government.

Many of our greatest founding fathers attended the convention as delegates from their respective states. George Washington (elected president of the convention), Ben Franklin, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton (a strong contributor and delegate from New York) all were in attendance.

Despite the greatness in leadership, the crafting of a new constitution proved a long and difficult task. Regional, political and economic differences threatened to jeopardize the process. It was only by carefully crafted compromise that a final document was achieved.

About the Major Figures at the Constitutional Convention:

• • James Madison-"Father of the Constitution" (view "Father of the Constitution" section)

  • George Washington (view "Convention Contributions" section)

  • Alexander Hamilton

    • Although he played a somewhat small role in drafting the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton was a strong supporter of increasing the strength of the national government. As an aide to Commander-in-Chief George Washington, Hamilton had seen firsthand the difficulties involved in funding and operating the Continental Army because of a weak national government. Hamilton was one of the strongest proponents for ratification of the Constitution after it was written. In 1787-88 he worked with John Jay and James Madison to write series of 85 essays in support of the Constitution. Known as "The Federalist," these remarkable essays proved critical in achieving ratification of the document in New York, as well as the rest of the nation. The essays were published under the pen name Publius. Hamilton himself wrote more than two-thirds of them.

• Roger Sherman