Claim: George Washington was a politician.

The Constitutional Convention -LRB- also known as the Philadelphia Convention , the Federal Convention , or the Grand Convention at Philadelphia -RRB- took place from May 25 to September 17 , 1787 , in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Although the Convention was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation , the intention from the outset of many of its proponents , chief among them James Madison and Alexander Hamilton , was to create a new government rather than fix the existing one . The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the Convention . The result of the Convention was the creation of the United States Constitution , placing the Convention among the most significant events in the history of the United States .   The most contentious disputes revolved around composition and election of the Senate , how `` proportional representation '' was to be defined -LRB- whether to include slaves or other property -RRB- , whether to divide the executive power between three persons or invest the power into a single president , how to elect the president , how long his term was to be and whether he could run for reelection , what offenses should be impeachable , the nature of a fugitive slave clause , whether to allow the abolition of the slave trade , and whether judges should be chosen by the legislature or executive . Most of the time during the Convention was spent on deciding these issues , while the powers of legislature , executive , and judiciary were not heavily disputed . Once the Convention began , the delegates first agreed on the principles of the Convention , then they agreed on Madison 's Virginia Plan and began to modify it . A Committee of Detail assembled during the July 4 recess eventually produced a rough draft of the constitution . Most of the rough draft remained in place , and can be found in the final version of the constitution . After the final issues were resolved , the Committee on Style produced the final version , and it was voted on and sent to the states .