Residence Act

The Residence Act of 1790 (officially titled An Act for Establishing the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States) designated Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the temporary capital of the United States federal government for a period of ten years, and selected a site on the Potomac River as the permanent capital (Washington, D.C.).

The Act was passed by the Senate by a vote of 14 to 12 on July 1, 1790, and by the House of Representatives by a vote of 31 to 29 on July 9, 1790.

The legislation was passed as a compromise in a dispute between Northern and Southern states. Northern states had accumulated a huge amount of debt during the Revolutionary War, and wanted the Federal Government to assume their burden. The Southern states, whose citizens would effectively be forced to pay a portion of this debt if it was assumed by the Federal Government, were disinclined to acquiesce to this proposal. A compromise was reached, the Capital of the young country would be located in the South. The Federal Government would then assume the North's debt.