Creating the United States
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First Federal Congress Meets in New Yorks Federal Hall
Federal Hall was the site of the meeting of the first federal Congress in 1789. Built in 1700 Federal Hall, previously New Yorks principal municipal building, had also been the site of key events on Americas road to freedom, including Peter Zengers trial for libel and the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. After only two sessions of Congress, the federal government moved to Philadelphia for ten years while the District of Columbia was prepared as the countrys capital.