1790 Archives | HISTORY

On January 8, 1790, President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address to the assembled Congress in New York City.

In the Royal Exchange Building on New York City’s Broad Street, the Supreme Court of the United States meets for the first time, with Chief Justice John Jay of New York presiding.

On April 17, 1790, American statesman, printer, scientist and writer Benjamin Franklin dies in Philadelphia at age 84.

On July 16, 1790, in signing the Residence Act, the young American Congress declares that a swampy, humid, muddy and mosquito-infested site on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia will be the nation’s permanent capital. “Washington,” in the newly designated federal “District of Columbia,” was named after the leader of the American Revolution and the country’s first president: George Washington. It was Washington who saw the area’s potential economic and accessibility benefits due to the proximity of navigable rivers.

On August 4, 1790, the first U.S. Congress authorized the construction of 10 vessels to patrol U.S. ports from Massachusetts to Georgia. The United States Coast Guard takes form in this small fleet of “cutters”—fast-moving, speedy sailboats—tasked with intercepting marine smugglers and collecting tariffs on imported goods. It's the brainchild of Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. secretary of the treasury under President George Washington.