The Confederation Congress endorsed a convention on February 21, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation, America''s first constitution that created a weak central government unable to regulate commerce, print money, or enforce its own rules. Fifty-five delegates met in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787, but James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York pushed to scrap the Articles entirely rather than revise them. The delegates produced the world''s first written national constitution, establishing a federal government with specific powers over foreign relations and domestic affairs. The new Constitution divided authority among legislative, judicial, and executive branches with checks and balances, replacing the single-chamber Congress that had operated under the Articles. After the required number of states ratified the document, the Constitution took effect in 1789 and has governed the United States ever since, marking a fundamental shift from a loose confederation of sovereign states to a federal republic.