New York City was the first U.S. national capital under the Constitution and hosted George Washington’s inauguration in 1789.
The new federal government began operating in New York City on March 4, 1789. Congress met at Federal Hall on Wall Street, where Washington took the presidential oath on April 30, 1789. The city also hosted the first session of the Supreme Court and the drafting and ratification of the Bill of Rights.
New York had already served as a national capital under the Articles of Confederation. That earlier period began in 1785, when the Confederation Congress met in the city. The constitutional government therefore continued using New York while the permanent capital question remained unsettled.
The Residence Act of 1790 selected a site on the Potomac River for a permanent capital and designated Philadelphia as the temporary capital. The federal government moved to Philadelphia later in 1790, before relocating to Washington, D.C., in 1800.