* Goals: create a new Constitution for the United States that addressed weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
* Main accomplishments:
* Drafting the US Constitution: The delegates produced the country’s new constitution, which established a much stronger federal government.
* Formulating the three branches of government: Legislative (Congress), Executive (President), and Judicial (Supreme Court).
* Establishing a system of checks and balances to limit the power of each branch: each branch has certain powers that allow it to limit the actions of the other two.
* Creating the Electoral College for choosing the President: originally designed as a way to choose the president when no candidate received a majority in the electoral vote.
* Including a Bill of Rights to protect individual freedoms and liberties: The first 10 amendments added to the Constitution were ratified at the same time as the Constitution itself.
* Determining that the Constitution would take effect after being ratified by at least 9 of the 13 states: 1787-88