On this day in history, May 15, 1800, President Adams moves the federal government from Philadelphia to DC
On that historic day, May 15, 1800, President John Adams moved the federal government from Philadelphia to Washington, DC
The move was completed relatively quickly, according to History.com, and important documents were shipped to Washington.
Adams has ordered his cabinet to ensure all Washington, DC offices are up and running as usual within a month, the same source noted.
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This happened as planned—and Philadelphia “officially ceased to serve as the country’s capital on June 11, 1800.”
The move came quickly, in part due to the small size of the federal government at the time.
On this historic day, May 15, 1800, President John Adams ordered his cabinet to be moved to Washington, DC. (GraphicaArtis/Getty Images)
At the time, only about 125 people were employed as federal employees, the History Channel said.
According to the Office of Human Resources Management website, the federal government now employs over two million people.
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On July 16, 1790, then-President George Washington signed the Residence Act, which provided for the building of a capital city along the Potomac River, according to the Library of Congress website.
On that historic day, May 15, 1800, the federal government began moving to Washington, D.C. The Capitol was only about half-complete at the time. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, file)
Since the city was not yet built, Philadelphia was declared the temporary capital for a period of ten years.
Washington proclaimed the location of the capital, now known as the District of Columbia, in a proclamation on January 24, 1791.
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“They have been authorized and bound thereby to cede to the United States Congress, on behalf of said State, any district in said State, not exceeding ten square miles in area, that Congress may determine and accept for the Government of the United States,” said Washington in the Proclamation.
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In the proclamation, Washington explained where the District of Columbia would be located.
He gave permission to survey the land and create these boundaries.
Pierre-Charles L’Enfant, a French engineer, was hired to design and plan the new city, the History Channel said.
An engraving showing then-President John Adams meeting King George III in 1785. welcomed by England as US Ambassador to St. James’s Court. (stick montage/Getty Images)
Although the District of Columbia was officially the capital of the United States of America, many of its famous landmarks were still under construction when the government moved in.
President Adams and his wife, Abigail Adams, did not move into what is now the White House until later in 1800, according to the White House website. (When Adams and his wife Abigail first moved on June 3, they lived temporarily at the Union Tavern in Georgetown.)
Only the Senate side of the building was completed in 1800.
After he and his wife moved in, Adams wrote of the White House residence: “I pray to heaven that He bestows his best blessings on this house and all who will inhabit it in the future. May only wise men ever rule under this roof!”
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The Capitol was also unfinished at first.
Only the Senate side of the Capitol building was completed in 1800, according to the Capitol’s website.
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The portion of the building that housed the House of Representatives would not be completed until 1811, more than a decade later, the website said.
Still, according to History.com, the House of Representatives first met in the Capitol on November 17, 1800. By this time, enough space had been made to house the Senate, House of Representatives, Supreme Court, and Library of Congress at the federal government’s new permanent site.