The delegates

The total number of delegates who served at the Constitutional Convention was 55. There was no Rhode Island delegation. Of the 55, not all were in Philadelphia during the entire summer. Some arrived late (New Hampshire's delegation, for instance), others left early, a few stayed only briefly, some were temporarily absent for business or personal reasons, a few were serving simultaneously in the Continental Congress. When the United States Constitution was finally adopted, the state delegations unanimously voted their approval, and 38 delegates present that final day signed the document (with George Read authorized to sign for ailing John Dickinson and thus bringing the total signatures to 39). Three delegates refused to sign. The delegates are listed below, an asterisk indicating those who were not present for the signing on Sept. 17. The three who were present but refused to sign are in italics.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

John Langdon

Nicholas Gilman MASSACHUSETTS

Elbridge Gerry

Rufus King

Caleb Strong*

Nathaniel Gorham CONNECTICUT

Roger Sherman

William Samuel Johnson

Oliver Ellsworth* NEW YORK

Alexander Hamilton

John Lansing Jr.*

Robert Yates* NEW JERSEY

William Paterson (Patterson)

William Livingston

Jonathan Dayton

David Brearly (Brearley)

William Churchill Houston* PENNSYLVANIA

Benjamin Franklin

Robert Morris

James Wilson

Gouverneur Morris

Thomas Mifflin

George Clymer

Thomas FitzSimmons (Fitzsimons, FitzSimons)

Jared Ingersoll DELAWARE

John Dickinson (authorized signature by George Read)

George Read

Richard Bassett (Basset)

Gunning Bedford Jr.

Jacob Broom MARYLAND

Luther Martin*

Daniel Carroll

John Francis Mercer*

James McHenry

Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer VIRGINIA

George Washington

James Madison Jr.

George Mason

Edmund Jennings Randolph

John Blair

James McClurg*

George Wythe* NORTH CAROLINA

William Richardson Davie*

Hugh Williamson

William Blount

Alexander Martin*

Richard Dobbs Spaight Jr. SOUTH CAROLINA

John Rutledge

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney

Pierce Butler

Charles Pinckney III GEORGIA

Abraham Baldwin

William Leigh Pierce*

William Houstoun*

William Few