Which city was the U.S. capital when the Constitution took effect in 1789?

New York City was the U.S. capital when the Constitution took effect in 1789. The federal government operated there during the first months of the new constitutional system.

George Washington took the presidential oath at Federal Hall in New York City on April 30, 1789. Congress and the first federal departments also began their constitutional work in the city, making it the nation’s first capital under the Constitution.

Philadelphia became the capital in 1790, and Washington, D.C., became the permanent capital in 1800. These changes are often mixed up because Philadelphia had served as a major revolutionary meeting place and wartime capital, while Washington, D.C., is the modern seat of the federal government.