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The Virginia delegation, led by James Madison, arrived before the quorum of seven states had assembled and used the time
to draw up an entirely new constitutional document. After the first formal session opened on May 25 and George Washington
was elected president of the convention, the Virginia Plan became the basis of disussion. At the very beginning of the convention,
the decision was made to scrap the Articles of Confederation altogether, write a new constitution, and form a new national
government.
The Founders were very confident of their powers and abilities. They had been selected by their state legislatures and
only Rhode Island refused to send a delegation since it was dominated by farmers. Among the nation's notables, only Thomas
Jefferson and John Adams were absent. Jefferson was then serving in the critical post of ambassador to France and Adams as
ambassador to England. The eventual success of the convention, and the ratification of the new Constitution, resulted in part
from the enormous prestige, experience, and achievements of the delegates themselves.
The delegates at Philadelphia were cosmopolitan. They approached political, economic, and military issues from a "continental"
point of view. Unlike most Americans in 1787, their loyalties extended beyond their states. They, truly, were nationalists.
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