New York City served as the first capital of the United States under the new Constitution in 1789.
The first Congress met in Federal Hall on Wall Street, where the new federal government began operating. George Washington took the presidential oath there on April 30, 1789, making the site central to the country’s constitutional beginnings.
The capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790 under the Residence Act. Philadelphia remained the national capital until 1800, when the federal government moved to Washington, D.C., on the Potomac River.
New York City had also served as the capital under the Articles of Confederation from 1785 to 1788. It is therefore important to distinguish the city’s early federal role from Washington, D.C., which became the permanent capital. Federal Hall’s location is now marked by Federal Hall National Memorial.