The US Constitution In Washington D. C., every year thousands of tourists visit the National Archives to view the original US Constitution document which is on (1) display. This is the document that has shaped the US (2) for more than 180 years. In 1786 a call went out to all the states inviting them to send (3) to a meeting in Philadelphia in the spring of 1787. This meeting was the Constitutional Convention, a great turning point in American history. No more important meeting has ever been held in America. To it came 55 men, among them some of the most famous men in the history, including George Washington, who (4) the convention, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. They worked steadily and in secret from May well into September and (5) only after they had written a new plan of government to be sent to the 13 states for approval. That was the Constitution of the United States. The makers of the Constitution knew that (6) would be necessary and that if there was no way of making them, the Constitution would no longer be useful. Since 1789,26 (7) to the Constitution have been made. Ten of them were adopted immediately after the Constitution went into effect. They are the amendments called the Bill of Rights because they protect the right of (8) . It is something of a (9) that the Constitution has lasted so long. It was made for a Union of 13 states with a total population of about three millions, most of whom were living on farms. Today it serves a highly industrialized nation of 50 states with a population of more than 200 millions most of whom are living in cities. Americans are hopeful that a living Constitution will continue to guide their (10) in the future as it has in the past.