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Who wrote the U.S. Constitution?

In spirit, the U.S. Constitution, the document that outlines the principles and purposes of the United States government, was created by all of the fifty-five delegates (representatives) to the meeting of the Continental Congress, the law-making body of the newly formed United States. They convened on May 25, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When the thirteen states were asked to send representatives to the meeting, twelve responded by selecting their most experienced and most talented leaders. However, Rhode Island, which feared the interference of a strengthened national government in state affairs, sent no one to Philadelphia.

While many delegates had a role in writing the Constitution, New York lawyer Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816) actually drafted the resolutions reached by the convention. Morris relied on records that James Madison (1751–1836) of...

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