New York City was the first U.S. capital under the Constitution, before Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
The first Congress under the Constitution met at Federal Hall in New York City beginning on March 4, 1789. George Washington was inaugurated there on April 30, 1789, and the First Congress drafted and approved the Bill of Rights in the same city. New York therefore became the setting for the new federal government’s first operations.
The Residence Act of 1790 established a permanent capital on the Potomac River but selected Philadelphia as the temporary capital for ten years. The federal government moved from New York to Philadelphia in December 1790. In 1800, the capital moved to Washington, D.C., which has remained the national capital ever since.
Earlier revolutionary governments met in several cities, including Philadelphia, Princeton, Annapolis, and Trenton. That complicated history can make the phrase “first capital” ambiguous. New York City is the precise answer when the question refers to the first capital under the Constitution.