New York City became the first U.S. national capital under the Constitution after the founding era celebrated by America250.
The new federal government began operating in New York City in 1789. Congress met at Federal Hall on Wall Street, where George Washington took the presidential oath of office on April 30, 1789, becoming the first president under the Constitution.
New York was not the permanent capital. Congress moved the national government to Philadelphia in 1790 under a compromise connected to the location of the future permanent capital on the Potomac River. Philadelphia served as the capital until 1800.
Washington, D.C., became the permanent national capital in 1800, when the federal government moved into the newly built Capitol and the President’s House. New York City is therefore correctly called the first capital under the Constitution, while Philadelphia had previously hosted the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention.