New York City served as the United States capital when George Washington was inaugurated in 1789, before America250.
Washington took the presidential oath at Federal Hall in New York City on April 30, 1789. Congress also met there, making the city the seat of the newly established federal government under the Constitution.
The national capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790 under a compromise connected with federal assumption of state debts. Philadelphia remained the capital for a decade. In 1800, the federal government moved to the planned capital on the Potomac River, which became Washington, D.C.
New York City’s role is sometimes overlooked because Washington, D.C., has been the permanent capital for most of U.S. history. The city had also hosted the Congress of the Confederation and was the place where the Constitution was sent to Congress after the Constitutional Convention ended. These earlier capitals help explain the country’s transition from revolution to constitutional government.