New York City was the first capital of the United States under the Constitution, a fact recalled during America250.
The new federal government began operating in New York City in 1789. Congress met at Federal Hall on Wall Street, where George Washington was inaugurated as the first president on April 30, 1789. The first Congress also worked there on the early laws of the new government.
New York City served as the national capital until 1790, when the government moved to Philadelphia under a compromise connected to federal assumption of state war debts. Philadelphia then served as the temporary capital until Washington, D.C., became the permanent capital in 1800.
New York had also hosted the Congress of the Confederation before the Constitution took effect. That earlier role can cause confusion, because the United States had several temporary capitals under the Articles of Confederation. The constitutional capital sequence was New York City, Philadelphia, and then Washington, D.C.