Annapolis << uh NAP uh lihs, >> Convention, was a meeting held in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1786 to discuss changes in the Articles of Confederation, which had served as the basic law of the United States since 1781. The proposed changes referred especially to commercial issues. Virginia invited all the states to the convention, but only New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia attended. Many political leaders, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, urged that all the states send delegates to a second convention. Meeting in Philadelphia in 1787, this second convention abandoned the Articles and wrote the Constitution of the United States.
