Picture the United States government meeting for the first time under the Constitution, right here. Congress Hall was built in 1787 as the Philadelphia County Courthouse, and when Philadelphia became the temporary capital of the United States in 1790, it was adapted to house both the Senate on the upper floor and the House of Representatives on the ground floor. For ten years, from 1790 to 1800, the most consequential legislative debates in American history took place in this modest brick building.
The Bill of Rights was debated and passed here. Alexander Hamilton's financial system — the assumption of state debts, the Bank of the United States, the Mint — was argued and enacted here. The Jay Treaty, which nearly split the country over relations with Britain, was ratified here.
George Washington was inaugurated for his second term in the House chamber downstairs in 1793, and John Adams was inaugurated as the second President here in 1797. When the capital moved to Washington in 1800, the building reverted to county use and was nearly forgotten. Walk inside; the restored Senate chamber upstairs and the House chamber downstairs are open to visitors.