New York City became the first capital of the United States under the new federal government in 1789. The government operated there from the Constitution’s ratification until it moved to Philadelphia in 1790.
Congress met at Federal Hall on Wall Street, where George Washington was inaugurated as the first president. New York had already served as the capital under the Confederation Congress beginning in 1785, so the city continued its national role after the Constitution took effect.
Philadelphia then served as the temporary capital from 1790 to 1800. The federal government finally moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800, following the construction of new government buildings along the Potomac River. This sequence means Washington, D.C., was the first permanent capital under the Residence Act, but not the first U.S. capital after the Constitution. New York’s Federal Hall site is now a national memorial commemorating the early federal government.