New York City was the first capital of the United States government established under the Constitution in 1789.
The First Congress met at Federal Hall in Manhattan beginning on March 4, 1789, when the new constitutional government formally began. George Washington took the presidential oath there on April 30, 1789. Federal Hall also hosted early congressional work on the Bill of Rights.
New York had previously served as a meeting place for Congress under the Articles of Confederation, but the constitutional government gave the city a new role. The capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790, where it remained for ten years. Washington, D.C., became the permanent capital in 1800.
This history can cause confusion because Washington, D.C., is the modern capital and Philadelphia is strongly associated with the founding era. Annapolis also served briefly as a wartime and Confederation-era capital, but it was not the first capital under the Constitution.