New York City served as the first U.S. capital under the Constitution, a founding-era site relevant to America250.
The new federal government began operating in New York City in 1789. George Washington took the presidential oath at Federal Hall on April 30 of that year, and Congress and the Supreme Court also met there during the first federal administration.
New York was not the only early national capital. The Continental Congress met in several cities during the Revolutionary War and Confederation periods, including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Princeton, Annapolis, and Trenton. After New York, the federal capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790.
The Residence Act of 1790 selected a permanent capital on the Potomac River. The government moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800. New York City therefore holds the narrower distinction of being the first capital under the Constitution, not the country’s permanent capital.