Which city served as the U.S. national capital from 1789 to 1790?

New York City served as the U.S. national capital from 1789 to 1790.

The First Congress met at Federal Hall in New York City when the government under the Constitution began operating. George Washington took the presidential oath there on April 30, 1789. New York was therefore the setting for the first federal executive, legislative, and early judicial arrangements under the new Constitution.

The Residence Act of 1790 selected a permanent capital site along the Potomac River. Philadelphia then became the temporary national capital for the next ten years while the federal district was planned and constructed. The government moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800.

This history can cause confusion because Philadelphia had hosted the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and much of the early national government before 1789. New York City was the first capital under the Constitution, while Philadelphia was the second. Washington, D.C., became the permanent capital.