New York City became the first U.S. national capital under the Constitution.
The first Congress met in Federal Hall on Wall Street, where George Washington was inaugurated as the first president on April 30, 1789. New York served as the national capital from 1785 until 1790, including the first year of the constitutional government.
The federal government then moved to Philadelphia, which served as the temporary capital from 1790 to 1800. Washington, D.C., became the permanent capital in 1800.
New York’s Federal Hall was also the location where Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1789 and where the Bill of Rights was introduced. A common mistake is to identify Philadelphia as the first constitutional capital; it was the second capital under the new federal government.