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On This Day: Congress Moves to Washington, D.C.

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On this day, 215 years ago, Congress met in the Capitol Building for the first time.  The Sixth Congress established the residence of the Congress and seat of the United States government in Washington, D.C. with the move on November 17, 1800.

On November 17, 1800, Congress moved to Washington from Philadelphia, convening in the newly completed north wing of the unfinished Capitol. Architect of the Capitol, http://www.capitol.gov/#TIME_2010061487014|EVT_2010061506884
On November 17, 1800, Congress moved to Washington from Philadelphia, convening in the newly completed north wing of the unfinished Capitol.
Picture from the Architect of the Capitol

 

The newly established United States had nine capitals between 1776 and 1800: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, New York, and finally Washington, D.C. The U.S. Senate history includes a chronological table of the capitals and summarizes a book by Robert Forenbaugh called “The Nine Capitals of the United States.”

 

 

The Capitol in 1800 taken from advanced proof of plate 38 History of the United States Capitol by Glenn Brown Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/item/2014649261
The Capitol in 1800 taken from advanced proof of plate 38 History of the United States Capitol by Glenn Brown Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/item/2014649261

 

By looking through our Statutes at Large collection, the first mention of the location and permanent seat of the United States Government was in the first Congress in 1790. Congress 1, Session 2, Chapter 28 is named, “An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States” (July 16, 1790). This act (later named the Residence Act or Permanent Seat of Government Act of 1790) established Philadelphia as the seat of government from 1790-1800 and then relocated Congress to Washington, D.C. in 1800. The Capitol was completed in 1826 and has since had extensions that have dramatically changed its physical appearance.

The Architect of the CapitolSenateHouse, and the Library of Congress have dedicated webpages to help researchers find more historical information.

And, of course, the Library of Congress was in the Capitol Building from 1800-1897!

The Library of Congress in the Capitol 1800-1897
The Library of Congress in the Capitol 1800-1897

Comments (4)

  1. Fascinating …..a beautiful building built, at the time,in the middle of nowhere…. but built in the belief of what the U S would eventually become..

    Thankyou,

    Dr.Douglas Rodenhurst

  2. I was expecting from the links I followed here a listing of the previous Seats of Government for the US. I knew of Philadelphia 1790-1800; New York 1789. Neat to have a listing of the ones before them under the Confederation.
    Elsewhere the Lib of Cong has a good writeup on HOW the Articles of Confederation Government slowly and carefully changed to the government under the 1787 Constitution. It was a tricky situation as the Convention had NO authority to come up with a new Constitution!–yet they did. When enough states had ratified it to make it go into effect the then government under the 1781 Articles of Confederation decided their Job & Responsibility was to facilitate the move rather than block it. Turns out THEY set up the 1788 Presidential Election (someone else is doing a good write-up on each election after that one to see what the BIG Problems were under that arrangement..

  3. How very interesting to all
    Americans !!! Thank you!

  4. This information is what so many of us, past students of Civics;United States History;World History, should remember,as well.

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