The constitution written in 1789 was very similar to White's plan, except that state conventions would elect representatives directly to the General Convention. Bishops would be democratically elected and responsible to the General Convention and their respective state (later diocesan) conventions. Bishops would be "servants of the Church and not its lords". It is often said that the Constitutions of the United States and the Episcopal Church were written by the same people. While this is not true, both were written around the same time in Philadelphia by people who knew each other and who sought to "replace hierarchical rule with egalitarian, democratic government".