 They later moved to Trenton, then Annapolis, and eventually New York City. By 1787, Congress returned to Philadelphia to drop the Constitution as part of a compromise between the northern states and the southern states. They decided the Capitol should be in the middle of the Atlantic coast and not in any particular state itself. So on July 16, 1790, Congress declared the new city of Washington in the new District of Columbia to be our Capitol. Happened on this day 234 years ago. Good stuff. May your pursuit of happiness bring you joy.