On this day – September 17th

The United States Constitution is signed

The Signing of the United States Constitution occurred on September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, representing 12 states (all but one, which declined to send delegates), endorsed the Constitution created during the four-month-long convention. In addition to signatures, this endorsement included a brief declaration that the delegates' work has been successfully completed and that those whose signatures appear on it subscribe to the final document.

The U.S. Constitution lays out the frame of the nation's federal government and delineates how its 3 branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) are to function. Of those who signed it, virtually every one had taken part in the American Revolution; seven had signed the Declaration of Independence, and thirty had served on active military duty. In general, they represented a cross-section of 18th-century American leadership, with individuals having experience in local or colonial and state government. Jonathan Dayton, age 26, was the youngest to sign the Constitution, while Benjamin Franklin, age 81, was the oldest

Which state declined to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention?

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