On September 13, 1788, the Philadelphia Convention designated New York City as the temporary capital of the United States under the new Constitution. The choice reflected New York’s importance as a commercial center and its existing governmental infrastructure. Congress met in the city while the federal government worked to implement the new constitutional system. George Washington took the first presidential oath of office there in April 1789. The capital later moved to Philadelphia and eventually to the newly built city of Washington, D.C.
