On September 13, 1788, New York City was established as America’s first capital under the Constitution of the United States. This marked the beginning of a new era for the country, as the states moved from the loose Articles of Confederation to the stronger federal government outlined in the US Constitution.
Before New York became the capital, the United States was still struggling to find stability after the Revolutionary War. The Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781, had provided for a weak central government. There was no permanent capital—Congress moved from city to city, meeting in Philadelphia, Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, and New York City in the mid-1780s. But many leaders soon realized the Articles were not enough to hold the new nation together. The government could not tax citizens directly, regulate trade, or easily raise money to pay debts from the war.
In 1787, delegates from twelve states met in Philadelphia at what became the Constitutional Convention. They created the US Constitution, which established a stronger federal government with an elected president, a bicameral Congress, and a federal court system. The Constitution was ratified by enough states by the summer of 1788 to go into effect. On September 13, 1788, the Confederation Congress officially declared that the new government would begin operations on March 4, 1789, and that New York City would serve as the first capital.
New York was chosen for several reasons. It was a major port city and a center of commerce, which made it a practical place for the government to meet. Its location was also relatively central for the time, as the nation’s population was concentrated along the East Coast, especially in the northern states. In addition, New York had facilities that could house the new Congress and host government functions. Federal Hall, located on Wall Street, was renovated to serve as the first capitol building under the Constitution. The city was eager to host the national government and offered accommodations to support the new administration.
New York City’s time as the capital was brief but historic. On April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States on the balcony of Federal Hall. This was a moment of great celebration, as Americans saw Washington as a unifying figure who would guide the country through its early years.
The First Congress met in New York and began passing important laws to put the new government into action. Among its accomplishments were the creation of executive departments—State, Treasury, and War—that would become the president’s cabinet, as well as the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal court system. Congress also adopted the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which guaranteed freedoms such as speech, religion, and the press.
In addition to political developments, New York became a hub of social activity during its time as the capital. Foreign diplomats, members of Congress, and prominent citizens gathered in the city, giving it a lively, international atmosphere. Washington hosted weekly receptions, called “levees,” which allowed citizens and officials to meet the president. These gatherings helped set the tone for the new federal government’s public image, and emphasized dignity and respectability.
Despite its success as the first capital, New York City was not destined to remain the permanent seat of government. Southern states argued that the capital should be in a more central location to balance the influence of the North. This debate led to the famous Compromise of 1790, brokered by Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. As part of the compromise, the federal government agreed to assume the states’ Revolutionary War debts—a measure favored by Hamilton and the northern states—in exchange for moving the capital to a site along the Potomac River, which would later become Washington, DC. Congress met for the last time in Federal Hall on August 12, 1790. Until the new federal district could be built, the capital was moved to Philadelphia in 1790, where it remained for ten years.
Although New York’s time as the capital was short-lived, its importance cannot be overstated. The city was the birthplace of the US government under the Constitution, the site of George Washington’s first inauguration, and the place where many of the country’s foundational laws were passed. Its brief time as the capital helped set the stage for the growth of the federal government and the traditions of American political life.
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Very interesting! Young people need to read these.
I wonder if Mystic has considered making these pages into an album.
We are planning to organize This Day in History by months and making them available in PDF format. PDF is a common format and very printer friendly. And there has been some discussion of making a This Day in History album, if there’s enough interest.
Sirs…
Many thanks for the history lesson. I look forward to what is coming next everyday. In fact, and I suspect, like a lot of other collectors of US stamps, I’m becoming hooked on this daily diet of US stamp/societal history.I hope that whoever thought of this idea, has been given an appropriate raise in salary? Anyhow, keep these little vignettes coming. Andrew.
The choice of a Capital was even in crazy dispute in some of the states. Take Texas for instance when it became a Republic. Read a book entitled “Seat of Empire” in which the Capital of the Texas Republic was proposed in many places. Mirabeau B. Lamar’s Austin eventually won out in spite of the protests of the great Sam Houston.
The selection of stamps is excellent. The article is good, but doesn’t effectively tie the stamps to the date or to each other.
Being new to NYC, this information about its history is very timely and welcome. Thanks Mystic.
Very informative.
Neat- I mean cool, I,m from New York and I always knew it was speacial. I think these Historical blogs are important. I am going to print this off and give it to my mom who is a teachers aid for a high School in Phoenix.
“Contental Congress” should say Continental Congress
still no change
It has been corrected.
Another GREAT history update !!
I’ll bet that Alexander Hamilton wanted the Capital of the USA to be in NYC permanently, but alas, the southern slavocracy would not have gone along with that for long. The southern slavocracy, which included Thomas Jefferson, wanted the capitol in the South.
My bad. Correction: capital in the South.
Curiously, in the transcript of the Constitution on the National Archives – NARA website – we can’t locate where it says where any capital was established, neither in the paper transcription nor the paper description, however it looks like there is evidence that the Northwest Ordinance may have been signed/adopted by the Confederation Congress July 13, 1787, in New York City.
The evidence seems to suggest that the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention, convened in the State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. Because the delegations from only two states were at first present, the members adjourned from day to day until a quorum of seven states was obtained on May 25.
Citations:
McCullough, D. (2019). Chapter 1: The Ohio Country. In The Pioneers – The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West. (p. 486 out of 777 in Kindle e-book.486 out of 777 in Kindle e-). essay, Simon & Schuster, LLC. . Implies that the The Northwest Ordinance was signed in New York in 1787, NARA only says that it was signed/adopted by the Confederation Congress July 13, 1787.
NARA. (n.d., 2025). Constitution of the United States (1787). National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/constitution The evidence seems to suggest that the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention, convened in the State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. Because the delegations from only two states were at first present, the members adjourned from day to day until a quorum of seven states was obtained on May 25, 1787.
NARA. (n.d.,2025). The constitution of the United States: A transcription. National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
Rosati, J. A., & Scott, J. M. (2010). Page 20. In The Politics of United States Foreign Policy (pp. 20–20). essay, Cengage Learning. Says that the location that the The Northwest Ordinance was signed is in New York in 1787. Referenced here – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Ordinance. National Archives doesn’t explicitly say it only says that it was signed by the Confederation Congress, which looks to have convened in nyc.