Printed document on tan, creased paper, with newspaper title and header followed by “We the People…”
Photograph by Robert Kato

Constitution of the United States
The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser
Philadelphia: J. Dunlap and D.C. Claypoole, September 19, 1787
Rare Book Division

Constitution of the United States

Throughout the summer of 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention grappled with how to remedy the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation and create a stronger, more centralized American government. Among the points of contention were the composition of the proposed Congress and how its representatives, along with the nation’s chief executive, should be elected. Matters related to taxation, commerce, national defense, and the institution of slavery further divided attendees, threatening at times to derail the proceedings altogether.



Despite these bitter debates, a new governmental charter gradually took shape, and was approved and signed on September 17. Two days later, that document—the Constitution of the United States—made its public debut in The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser, the country’s first daily newspaper. 

: Rare Book Division

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