Constitutional Convention

American  

noun

1. the convention in Philadelphia (1787) of representatives from each of the former Colonies, except Rhode Island, at which the Constitution of the United States was framed.

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Constitutional Convention Cultural  

1. The gathering that drafted the Constitution of the United States in 1787; all states were invited to send delegates. The convention, meeting in Philadelphia, designed a government with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It established Congress as a lawmaking body with two houses: each state is given two representatives in the Senate, whereas representation in the House of Representatives is based on population.

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Example Sentences

Thirteen of the 39 signers of the Constitution were from the South, and it’s estimated that 25 delegates to the Constitutional Convention owned slaves.

From Salon • May 14, 2026

At the Constitutional Convention, delegates debated whether to give Congress the power to “make war” or merely to “declare war.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025

Benjamin Franklin, when asked what kind of government had been delivered to the new republic after the 1787 Constitutional Convention, offered a timeless warning: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention were desperate to protect their young nation against venal officeholders, discussing fears of corruption so frequently that James Madison made a special note of their preoccupation with the subject.

From Slate • May 12, 2025

He fell ill just before the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and almost missed that major moment.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis