Over the span of four hot summer months, delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia hammered out what would be regarded as one of the most important documents in world history. But the drafting of the Constitution was fraught with contention and divisive issues that threatened the very future of the Union. Issues such as slavery and states' rights could have formed insurmountable barriers, but America's founders somehow reached enough of a consensus--and compromised when necessary--to produce this remarkable work.