The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 39 delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. These delegates represented 12 of the 13 states (Rhode Island did not send any delegates). The signers included many prominent American leaders of the time, such as George Washington (who presided over the convention), Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, and others. Of the 74 delegates chosen, 55 attended, and 39 signed; three refused to sign, and several left before the signing. The signing served as an endorsement of the Constitution, which laid out the new frame of the federal government. The Constitution's signers were grouped by state, with notable figures including John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Daniel Carroll, William Blount, John Rutledge, William Few, John Langdon, Rufus King, Roger Sherman, Alexander Hamilton, Jonathan Dayton, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, and James Wilson, among others. William Jackson, the convention’s secretary, also signed to attest to the authenticity of the document. This event marked a critical step in the formation of the United States government, with the signatories agreeing to the new Constitution as the foundation of the nation's laws and governance.