Philadelphia was the meeting site of the Continental Congress, the committees that drafted the Declaration of Independence, decided to go to war against Britain, and created the Constitution of the United States. Philadelphia was also the place where the government sought to return after the Revolutionary War. Their plans were complicated by a mob of angry former soldiers demanding back pay for their service in the war. Congress called on protection from John Dickinson, the governor of Pennsylvania, who actually took the side of the mob, and the government had to flee to New York.

On Dec. 6, 1790, after half a decade in exile, the seat of the United States government returned with the newly-elected Congress from New York City to Philadelphia.

The nation’s capital would be located in the city, specially-built by French engineer Pierre-Charles L’Enfant on the outskirts of Maryland, in the District of Columbia. But until the city was complete, the Congress bulding would still be located in Philadelphia.