Thomas Jefferson Moves the Nation's Capital from New York City Southward © 2001 Philip Ernest Schoenberg, Ph.D. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the third President of the United States, arrived in New York City on 21 March 1790 to become the first Secretary of State of the United States. Because housing was scarce he lodged at the City Tavern, on the west side of Broadway between Cedar and Thames streets before moving early in June to a small house at 57 Maiden Lane. As secretary of state he administered a staff of five and an annual budget of $7961 (which included his own salary of $3500), and was a trusted advisor to President Washington; he coordinated diplomatic efforts abroad, organized the first parent office ( but did not patent his own inventions), submitted a report to the Congress on uniform weights and measures, and effected a compromise with Alexander Hamilton aid James Madison whereby the federal government assumed state debts in return for having a permanent capital established don the shores of the Potomac. With Madison he left the city on 1 September 1790 for Virginia. A street on the Lower East Side is named for Jefferson, and a statute of him stands at Columbia University campus in Morningside Heights. In a letter to William Short ( September 1823), Jefferson described New York City as Aa cloacina of all the depravities of human nature. Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of the Treasury, lived at 57 Maiden Lane. At the time, his home was a fine mansion; today a skyscraper occupies the site. He spent part of his leisure time researching American Indian vocabularies in the New York metropolitan area. Over a fine dinner in Thomas Jefferson's candle-lit dining room, Alexander Hamilton and his former ally, now opponent, James Madison, the first Speaker of the House of Representatives, struck a bargain. If James Madison and Thomas Jefferson would convince enough southern representatives to pass his financial program, Hamilton would collect enough northern votes to move the capital from New York, first to Philadelphia temporarily to please the people of that state, and finally to the banks of the Potomac River. George Washington, the president, supported the deal behind the scenes. Congress appointed the president to select the final location on the Potomac River since he had been a surveyor in his youth. By an amazing coincidence, Washington selected his hometown of Alexandria, Virginia to become part of the District of Columbia. He had been the foremost advocate in private. Washington wanted the capital located on the Western frontier to develop the region. Hamilton's support of the move left one lasting legacy in New York City. On May 17, 1792 the New York Stock Exchange was created to sell the bonds that were marketed as part of the new financial system set up to serve the needs of the new national government. Jefferson was able to purchase Louisiana Territory thanks to the economic institutions created by Alexander Hamilton. Thus, New York City became the nation's financial capital while the political capital was located elsewhere. Philip Schoenberg, PhD, is professor of American Government and History at the College of Aeronautics, a consultant to the PBS program on The American President, and an expert on the presidents. He has his own website on the presidents, www.presidentialexpert.com. (888) 377-4455 drphil1@aol.com He also gives walking tours on the presidents. ©1998-2005 Presidentialexpert