ABSTRACT
The supporters of the US Constitution chose the name "Federalists" to designate themselves. Fifty-five men from twelve states formulated the document at the Constitutional Convention that met in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787. The Virginia delegation took the lead when Governor Edmund Randolph introduced a plan at the beginning of the convention that proposed adding to the powers of Congress, dividing Congress into two houses, and creating separate legislative and executive branches. Although delegates rejected many aspects of the Virginia plan and added many others, the plan succeeded in introducing the idea of both a bicameral Congress and independent branches of the national government. Many of the delegates who gathered in Philadelphia had fought in the American Revolution against Great Britain. Toward the end of the convention, Virginia's George Mason proposed adding a bill of rights to address civil liberties, but few thought that such a bill was necessary.
