On September 17, 1787, the Constitutional Convention submitted its proposal for a new constitution to Congress. Congress had directed the Convention to amend the Articles of Confederation, not write a new Constitution. The first 3 Articles of the Constitution provide directions for how the legislative, executive & judicial branches should be organized and run.
Federalists and Anti-federalists in the states debated the merits of the new Constitution. In New York, the Federalists Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote a series of essays supporting the Constitution, later published as the Federalist Papers. One of the major concerns of the Anti-federalists was the absence of a ''bill of rights'' which would guarantee certain human rights. The Federalists argued that such a bill of rights could be added later.