date the state convention ratification mode was used by Congress just once, to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution which ended prohibition. As a result, many states have statutory provisions providing for the elections of delegates for future ratification conventions. Conventions Under Article Seven of The United States Constitution The Delegates of the Philadelphia Convention chose state conventions instead of state legislatures as the bodies to consider ratification of the Constitution. They broadly believed that ratification by means of conventions would better represent the will of the People and this process "would make the new federal Constitution superior to any specific legislature." Thus the convention mode of ratification became enshrined within Article Seven of the United States Constitution. The Constitution was eventually adopted per the provisions of Article Seven as the Supreme Law of the Land through a series of Ratification Conventions that ultimately culminated on May 29, 1790, with the final ratification which was provided by the State of Rhode Island. Controversies Confusion Between State and Federal Conventions Despite this long history of conventions in the United States dating back well before the ratification of the Constitution, confusion and controversy has emerged in recent decades. Perhaps, most prominent among them is the distinction between what constitutes a state convention and what constitutes a federal convention. Fortunately this can be determined by identification of the convening authority. A federal convention is one called and convened for the purpose of exercising a federal function under authority deriving directly from the United States Constitution. Conversely, state legislatures only exercise federal functions when they apply to Congress for a convention to propose amendments or when they call a convention to ratify a proposed amendment submitted to the states by Congress. Otherwise conventions called and convened under authority deriving directly from a state's constitution, are limited to addressing the constitutional matters of that particular state alone. Lacunae in Statutory Law Nearly all of the sovereign states do not yet have statutory provisions for conventions beyond their permanent legislature, state amendatory conventions , and conventions for ratification of proposals to amend the Constitution . There are no state laws explicitly providing for the election of delegates for a convention to propose amendments to the Constitution. See also Academic conference Annual general meeting Business travel Caucus Convention center Delegate Event planning Forum Summit Symposium Seminar Workshop Event Convention Congress References Meetings Social events