<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The United States Constitution was written in 1787 during the Philadelphia Convention . The old Congress set the rules the new government followed in terms of writing and ratifying the new constitution . After ratification in eleven states, in 1789 its elected officers of government assembled in New York City, replacing the Articles of Confederation government . The original Constitution has been amended twenty - seven times . The meaning of the Constitution is interpreted and extended by judicial review in the federal courts . The original parchment copies are on display at the National Archives Building . </P> <P> Two alternative plans were developed in Convention . The nationalist majority, soon to be called "Federalists," put forth the Virginia Plan, a consolidated government based on proportional representation among the states by population . The "old patriots," later called "Anti-Federalists," advocated the New Jersey Plan, a purely federal proposal, based on providing each state with equal representation . The Connecticut Compromise allowed for both plans to work together . Other controversies developed regarding slavery and a Bill of Rights in the original document . </P>

Prior to ratification of the constitution the u.s. was governed by