Blair James Madison George Mason* James McClurg* Edmund Randolph* George Washington George Wythe* Rhode Island Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Convention. (*) Did not sign the final draft of the U.S. Constitution. Randolph, Mason, and Gerry were the only three present in Philadelphia at the time who refused to sign. Several prominent Founders are notable for not participating in the Constitutional Convention. Thomas Jefferson was abroad, serving as the minister to France. John Adams was in Britain, serving as minister to that country, but he wrote home to encourage the delegates. Patrick Henry refused to participate because he "smelt a rat in Philadelphia, tending toward the monarchy." Also absent were Samuel Adams, John Hancock and John Jay. Many of the states' older and more experienced leaders may have simply been too busy with the local affairs of their states to attend the convention, which had originally been planned to strengthen the existing Articles of Confederation, not to write a constitution for a completely new national government. In popular culture The 1989 film A More Perfect Union, which portrays the events and discussions of the Constitutional Convention, was largely filmed in Independence Hall. In the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton's proposal of his own plan during the Constitutional Convention was featured in the song "Non-Stop", which concluded the first act. See also Constitution Day (United States) Convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution The Federalist Papers Founders Online Founding Fathers of the United States History of the United States Constitution National Constitution Center Syng inkstand Timeline of drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution United States Bill of Rights References Notes Sources Further reading External links Notes of debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 Reported by James Madison Constitutional Convention Founders Online: Correspondence and Other Writings of Seven Major Shapers of the United States TeachingAmericanHistory.org Constitutional Convention Topics National Constitution Center Lesson Plan: Constitutional Convention, National Endowment for the Humanities Constitutional Convention Broadside Collection, Library of Congress 1787 conferences 1787 in Pennsylvania 18th century in Philadelphia American Revolution Conventions in Philadelphia American constitutional conventions Drafting of the United States Constitution Political compromises in the United States