New York City was the first U.S. capital under the Constitution, a milestone in the founding history commemorated by America250.
After the Constitution took effect in 1789, the new federal government convened in New York City. Congress met at Federal Hall on Wall Street, where George Washington took the presidential oath on April 30, 1789. The city therefore became the national center for the first president, the first Congress, and the newly organized Supreme Court.
New York City’s capital role was brief. The Residence Act of 1790 selected Philadelphia as the temporary national capital while a permanent federal district was developed on the Potomac River. The government moved to Philadelphia in December 1790 and later moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800.
A common mix-up is confusing New York City’s first constitutional capital with the many earlier locations used by the Continental Congress and Congress of the Confederation. Those earlier governments operated under different arrangements before the Constitution established the federal government.