New York City served as the first U.S. national capital under the Constitution, a founding-era fact featured by 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 met in the city. New York’s period as the national capital lasted until 1790.
Philadelphia then became the temporary capital from 1790 to 1800, while a permanent federal district was developed on the Potomac River. Washington, D.C., became the national capital in 1800. Philadelphia is sometimes chosen incorrectly because it hosted the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, but those roles predated the federal government’s move to New York.