 On September 13, 1788, New York City was established as America’s first capital under the Constitution of the United States. New York had already hosted the nation’s legislature and served as the de facto capital since 1785. In late 1784, the Continental Congress, operating under the Articles of Confederation, voted to make New York City its meeting place until a federal district on the banks of the Delaware River near Philadelphia could be completed. They chose Old City Hall, which was then renamed Federal Hall, to serve as capital building. Federal Hall was then redesigned by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, who later became famous for designing the layout of Washington, D.C. Congress met for the first time in Federal Hall on January 11, 1785. Three years later, the U.S. Constitution was ratified, outlining the roles of the national government. The new Congress had several decisions to make – including where the seat of government should be. It was an issue of great debate. Some wanted to remain in New York City, while others wanted to meet in Philadelphia, Annapolis, Baltimore, or Lancaster. Finally, on September 13, they passed an ordinance declaring the capital would remain at the “the present Seat of Congress,” specifically leaving out reference to New York City because of the bitterness felt by some. The following year, Federal Hall was the site of Washington’s inauguration, the first meetings of Congress and the Supreme Court, and the drafting of the Bill of Rights. In 1790, talks continued on where the permanent capital would be. It was a controversial debate. Some wanted to make lower Manhattan into a federal district. Others didn’t want the capital to be in such a commercially-oriented location. In part, there were fears that the city might have aristocratic leanings, as members of high society still enjoyed British fashions and luxuries as well as court-style entertaining. After much debate, it was finally decided that New York wouldn’t make a suitable capital, largely due to financial concerns. Congress met for the last time in Federal Hall on August 12, 1790, before relocating to Philadelphia, and later Washington, D.C. Click the images to add this history to your collection. Did you like this article? Click here to rate:
What was the capital of the United States? It certainly wasn’t Washington, D.C. – the nation’s current capital city wasn’t approved by the US Congress until 16 July 1790 and wasn’t founded until 1791. So which American city can claim to be the first capital? It is a surprisingly difficult question to answer – different places served as temporary capitals at different stages in the USA’s constitutional evolution from 13 colonies to independent nation state. The First Continental Congress met in the Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1774. This fact gives Philly a strong claim for pre-eminence in the first capital question. It certainly sells this role in history with the historical quarter around Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Constitution Centre. Philadelphia’s position was bolstered by hosting the Second Continental Congress in 1775. The capital of America under the Articles of Confederation was a travelling political carnival, taking in Philadelphia, Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton and New York. After the Constitution was brought in force in 1789, the United States Congress first convened briefly in New York’s Federal Hall before settling in Philadelphia in 1790 until it finally moved to its new, permanent home in Washington, D.C. a decade later in 1800. So it is impossible to say which city was the first capital of the United States without determining which United States is being discussed:
Similarly, the Supreme Court of the United States met in different places before settling in Washington, D.C. in 1800. It first met in New York City, at the Merchants’ Exchange Building, in 1790. The Court followed Congress in moving to Philadelphia in 1791, first setting up shop in Independence Hall and then occupying the Old City Hall.
Philadelphia was the early capital of the United States after the Constitution was ratified, but on May 14, 1800, the nation’s capital moved to Washington. Here's a look behind the deal that changed the face of American government. The City of Brotherly Love became the ex-capital for several reasons, including a deal between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, and a compromise over slavery. And some rowdy actions in 1783 by Continental soldiers in Philadelphia, and the reaction from the state militia, didn’t help arguments to keep the capital in Pennsylvania. Until then, Philadelphia had been the hub of the new nation. Important decisions were made there, and it was equally accessible from the North and the South. The Confederation Congress was meeting in Philadelphia in June 1783 at what we now call Independence Hall. However, there were serious problems afoot: The government had problems paying the soldiers who fought in the war against the British for their service. The Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 was a crisis that literally forced the Congress to focus on its personal safety and pitted the federal government (in its weakened form) against the state of Pennsylvania. Unpaid federal troops from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, marched to Philadelphia to meet with their brothers-in-arms. A group of about 400 soldiers then proceeded to Congress, blocked the doors to the building, and demanded their money. They also controlled some weapons-storage areas. James Madison noted that the soldiers were pointing muskets at the State House and appeared to be imbibing "spirituous drink." Congress sent out one of its youngest delegates to negotiate with the troops: Alexander Hamilton, a former soldier himself. Hamilton convinced the soldiers to back down so Congress could meet quickly and reach a deal about repaying the troops. Hamilton did meet with a small committee that night, and they sent a note to Pennsylvania’s state government asking for its state militia for protection from the federal troops. Representatives from Congress then met with John Dickinson, the head of Pennsylvania’s government; Dickinson discussed the matter with the militia, and the state told Congress it wouldn’t use the state’s troops to protect it. That same day, Congress packed up and moved temporarily to Princeton, New Jersey. It traveled to various cities over the following years, including Trenton, New Jersey; Annapolis, Maryland; and New York City. Delegates agreed to return to Philadelphia in 1787 to draw up the current U.S. Constitution, while the Congress of the Confederation was still seated in New York City. Part of the new Constitution addressed the concerns caused by the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783. Article I, Section 8 gave Congress the power to create a federal district to “become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful buildings." When Congress met in 1789, two locations were proposed for the capital: one near Lancaster and another in Germantown, an area just outside Philadelphia. However, Hamilton became part of a grand bargain to move the capital to an undeveloped area that encompassed parts of Virginia and Maryland, receiving some help from Thomas Jefferson along the way. The Residence Act of 1790 put the capital in current-day Washington as part of plan to appease pro-slavery states who feared a northern capital as being too sympathetic to abolitionists. In turn, Hamilton received a commitment to reorganize the federal government’s finances by getting the southern states to indirectly pay off the war debts of the northern states. A twist in the deal was negotiated by Robert Morris. Until the new capital was built on the Potomac, the capital would move back to Philadelphia for 10 years. During the following decade, Philadelphians lobbied hard for the capital to stay in Pennsylvania. They offered President Washington an elaborate mansion as an incentive to stay. Instead, he and his successor, John Adams, lived in a more modest house near Congress. A yellow fever epidemic hit Philadelphia in 1793, raising doubts about the safety of the area. And native Virginians like Washington, Madison, and Jefferson were actively planning for a capital near their home.
So one May day in 1800, Congress ended its business in Philadelphia and started the move to the new Federal District. President Adams also left Philadelphia in April and moved into the White House in November. |
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