Constitutional Convention, 1787 United States Constitution. Printed Dunlap & Claypoole edition inscribed to Jonathan Williams
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03585 Author/Creator: Constitutional Convention, 1787 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Document signed Date: 17 September 1787 Pagination: 4 p. [of 6] 41 x 25.5 cm Order a Copy PDF Download(s): PDF copy (image only)
One printing of the United States Constitution by Dunlap & Claypoole dated September 17, 1787. This printing of the Constitution is missing the last two pages cutting off after the second paragraph of the sixth article. It is a members printing of the Constitution by Dunlap & Claypoole, inscribed by Benjamin Franklin (as President of Pennsylvania) to Jonathan Williams Sr., a successful Massachusetts businessman and husband to Franklin's niece, Grace Harris Williams. The members printing was intended to be distributed to state governments and influential Americans. This printing incorporates a significant change in Article I, Section 2, paragraph 3 of the Constitution, which places the printing of this version after the conclusion of the convention on 17 September. The last minute revision, which was made at the suggestion of Nathaniel Gorham, delegate from Massachusetts, and supported by George Washington, President of the Convention, altered the maximum number of representatives from each state - originally one for every forty thousand-to "one for every thirty thousand."
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