Disputes between Maryland and Virginia over navigation rights on the Potomac River, which formed their common border, led to a conference of five states in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1786. Alexander Hamilton, a delegate from New York, said that such commercial issues were part of larger economic and political questions. What was needed, he said, was a rethinking of the Confederation. He and the other delegates proposed holding a convention to do just that. Support from Washington, unquestionably the most trusted man in America, won over those who thought the idea was too bold.

The gathering in Philadelphia in May 1787 was remarkable. The 55 delegates elected to the convention had experience in colonial and state government. They were knowledgeable in history, law, and political theory. Most were young, but the group included the elderly Benjamin Franklin, who was nearing the end of an extraordinary career of public service and scientific achievement. Two notable Americans were not there: Thomas Jefferson was in Paris as American ambassador to France, and John Adams was in London as ambassador to Great Britain.

The Continental Congress had authorized the convention to amend the Articles of Confederation. Instead, the delegates threw aside the Articles — judging them inadequate for the needs of the new nation — and devised a new form of government based on the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers. The gathering had become a constitutional convention.

Reaching consensus on some of the details of a new constitution would prove extremely difficult. Many delegates argued for a strong national government that limited states' rights. Others argued equally persuasively for a weak national government that preserved state authority. Some delegates feared that Americans were not wise enough to govern themselves and so opposed any sort of popular elections. Others thought the national government should have as broad a popular base as possible. Representatives from small states insisted on equal representation in a national legislature. Those from big states thought they deserved to have more influence. Representatives from states where slavery was illegal hoped to outlaw it. Those from slave states rejected any attempts to do so. Some delegates wanted to limit the number of states in the Union. Others supported statehood for the newly settled lands to the West.

Every question raised new divisions, and each was resolved by compromise.

The draft Constitution was not a long document. Yet it provided the framework for the most complex government yet devised. The national government would have full power to issue currency, levy taxes, grant patents, conduct foreign policy, maintain an army, establish post offices, and wage war. And it would have three equal branches — a congress, a president, and a court system — with balanced powers and checks against each other's actions.

Economic interests influenced the course of debate on the document, but so did state, sectional, and ideological interests. Also important was the idealism of the men who wrote it. They believed they had designed a government that would promote individual liberty and public virtue.

On September 17, 1787, after four months of deliberation, a majority of delegates signed the new Constitution. They agreed it would become the law of the land when nine of the 13 states had ratified it.

The ratification process lasted about a year. Opponents voiced fears that a strong central government could become tyrannical and oppressive. Proponents responded that the system of checks and balances would prevent this from happening. The debate brought into existence two factions: the Federalists, who favored a strong central government and who supported the Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists, who favored a loose association of states and who opposed the Constitution.

Even after the Constitution was ratified, many Americans felt it lacked an essential element. They said it did not enumerate the rights of individuals. When the first Congress met in New York City in September 1789, lawmakers agreed to add these provisions. It took another two years before these 10 amendments — collectively known as the Bill of Rights — became part of the Constitution.

The first of the 10 amendments guarantees freedom of speech, press, and religion; the right to protest, assemble peacefully, and demand changes. The fourth protects against unreasonable searches and arrest. The fifth provides for due process of law in all criminal cases. The sixth guarantees the right to a fair and speedy trial. And the eighth protects against cruel and unusual punishment.

Since the Bill of Rights was adopted more than 200 years ago, only 17 more amendments have been added to the Constitution.