It had been a stifling hot summer in Philadelphia, but on Sept. 17, 1787, the delegates were about to bring the Constitutional Convention to a conclusion. Seventy individuals had been chosen to attend the meeting with the purpose of amending the Articles of Confederation, but there were never more than 46 present at one time, and only 39 of that number actually signed the document. At the age of 81, Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate in attendance. He admitted to the other delegates that he had reservations regarding some provisions in the Constitution, and he wrote a speech that he planned ...