1st United States Congress Author

The Constitutional Convention (1787) was a gathering of delegates in Philadelphia intended to revise the system of government established under the Articles of Confederation. The delegates, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, elected George Washington as President of the convention before changing course from a revision of the Articles of Confederation to a complete overhaul of the United States government and the creation of a new Constitution. After debating over the merits of James Madison’s Virginia Plan and William Paterson’s New Jersey Plan, delegates agreed on the former, which proposed a centralized government made up of three branches and argued for a bicameral legislature. After deliberating for a period over the Connecticut Compromise, delegates composed a draft of the Constitution which was refined and resubmitted in September to be signed by thirty-nine of the fifty-five delegates. Ratified the following year, The Constitution of the United States is the single most important document in American political history. The 1st United States Congress (1789-1791) was the first legislature to meet under the laws established by The Constitution of the United States. Comprised of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, the 1st United States Congress was led by Senate President John Adams during the first two years of George Washington’s presidency. Its most enduring accomplishment was the creation and ratification of The United States Bill of Rights. Spearheaded by James Madison, these ten amendments, ratified in 1791, added essential freedoms, protections, and limitations to the Constitution which continue to shape the United States and the lives of its people today.