Philadelphia Convention

Definition

Also known as Constitutional Convention held in 1787, the Philadelphia Convention was a meeting where delegates from twelve of the thirteen states gathered to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead, they ended up drafting a new Constitution for the United States.

Analogy

Think of the Philadelphia Convention as a group project meeting that went off-script. The original plan was to tweak an existing project (the Articles of Confederation), but instead, they decided to start from scratch and create something entirely new (the U.S. Constitution).

Related terms

James Madison: He is known as "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention.

Articles of Confederation: This was America's first constitution which created a weak central government and gave more power to individual states.

Great Compromise: Also known as Connecticut Compromise, it proposed a bicameral legislature with representation based on population in one house (House of Representatives) and equal representation in another (Senate).