New York and Philadephia were the first two capital cities of the US.

Washington, D.C. has been the capital of the United States since 1800.

Before the United States existed, eight other cities have served as the meeting place for the Continental Congress and are therefore considered to have been the capital of what became the United States.

From 1774 to 1800, Congress met in numerous locations; therefore, the following cities can be said to have once been the United States capital:

Philadelphia, PA (numerous times)

Baltimore, MD

Lancaster, PA

York, PA

Princeton, NJ

Annapolis, MD

Trenton, NJ

New York City, NY

Specifically the following locations served...

First Continental Congress

• Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: September 5, 1774 to October 24, 1774

Second Continental Congress

• Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: May 10, 1775 to December 12, 1776
• Henry Fite House, Baltimore, Maryland: December 20, 1776 to February 27, 1777
• Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: March 4, 1777 to September 18, 1777
• Court House, Lancaster, Pennsylvania: September 27, 1777 (one day)
• Court House, York, Pennsylvania: September 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778
• Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: July 2, 1778 to March 1, 1781

• Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: March 1, 1781 to June 21, 1783[b]
• Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey: June 30, 1783 to November 4, 1783
• Maryland State House, Annapolis, Maryland: November 26, 1783 to August 19, 1784
• French Arms Tavern, Trenton, New Jersey: November 1, 1784 to December 24, 1784
• City Hall (Federal Hall), New York City, New York: January 11, 1785 to Autumn 1788

United States Constitution

• Federal Hall, New York City, New York: March 4, 1789 to December 5, 1790
• Congress Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: December 6, 1790 to May 14, 1800

Under U.S. Jurisdiction (14)

* American Samoa

* Baker Island

* Guam

* Howland Island

* Jarvis Island

* Johnston Atoll

* Kingman Reef

* Midway Islands

* Navassa Island

* Northern Mariana Islands

* Palmyra Atoll

* Puerto Rico

* Virgin Islands

* Wake Island

Viper1

The District of Columbia was founded, and made the capital of the US July 16, 1790.

In 1783 Congress decided to create a new capital apart from any state, and in 1787 the framers of the Constitution provided for a capital district.
The U.S. capital was originally Philadelphia. Washington D.C. became the new capital on July 16, 1790.
Several different cities served as the national capital until the late 1700s. Congress then wished the nation's capital to be permanent.

Disagreements rose as to which state it would be a part of. In 1790, Alexander Hamilton proposed a solution that established the new permanent capital on federal land rather than in a state. President George Washington was asked to pick the site. Both Maryland and Virginia gave up land along the Potomac River that became the District of Columbia, established in 1791.

DC history actually began in 1790 when the United States Constitution was adopted on September 15, 1787, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, included language authorizing the establishment of a federal district. This district was not to exceed 10 miles square, under the exclusive legislative authority of Congress. On July 16, 1790, Congress authorized President George Washington to choose a permanent site for the capital city and, on December 1, 1800, the capital was moved from Philadelphia to an area along the Potomac River. The census of 1800 showed that the new capital had a population of 14,103. Congress directed selection of a new capital site, 100 sq mi, along the Potomac. When the site was determined, it included 30.75 sq mi on the Virginia side of the river. In 1846, however, Congress returned that area to Virginia, leaving the 68.25 sq mi ceded by Maryland in 1788. The seat of government was transferred from Philadelphia to Washington on Dec. 1, 1800, and President John Adams became the first resident in the White House.

Phil, The answer to your question would vary depending on what time period you are referring to. If you mean after the first battle of Bull Run, the fact is that the Confederate forces came very close to a disastrous defeat themselves that day. They were much too disorganised to mount a pursuit and a single regiment of Federal regulars was able to conduct a successful rear guard action. In subsequent campaigns Lee was defeated at Antietam and Gettysburg and thus could not get near the city. Even if he had been ablle to though, by then it was much too heavily defended to be taken by storm and Lee did not have the resources to conduct a siege. Michael Montagne

I am oing to go ahead and disagree with the above statement. It was because the South just wanted to be left alone. The South didn't want to take over the Federal Government, they just wanted to be left alone. The South also hoped it would show Mr. non-american Lincoln that they could have done it, but chose not to. This was to show that the South just wanted to be left alone and wanted no more bloodshed.

During Lee's 2nd invasion of the North, Lee envisioned entering Washington DC to end the war in favor of the South. If the Southerners could have taken the city they would have. After all, DC was originally carved out of Maryland and Virginia, both were states the South wanted.

I assume the question is concerning the aftermath of the battle of (1st)Manassas/Bull Run in July, 1861. In Battle Cry of Freedom, James M. McPherson said that there was a line of unbloodied reserves put in Centerville on the night of July 21 (after the battle that day). Also, the next day hard rain turned the roads "to soup", and that "Confederate logistics were inadequate for an advance even in good weather" much less with soupy roads. Admittedly there were many who at the time, including Edwin Stanton, Longstreet, Stonewall Jackson, and George McClellan, who said that taking Washington, and thereby winning Southern independence, was a possibility. However, those responses may be motivated by Union paranoia after a loss, and Confederate postwar regret, the latter seeing an untried possibility that might have prevented ultimate defeat in the War Between the States.

THe reason the South didn't overtake Washington D.C. is because they were only defending their own country. The South didn't want to take Washington, so it didn't. Also, the disorderly chaos helped the South win the first Battle of Bull Run. They had not established a color yet. Therefore, the Union soldiers weren't always sure who they were fighting. So if they had decided to continue toward Washington, D.C. they might have been victorious. But since they were only trying to defend their country (the Confederacy) they didn't see the neccesity to overtake the Union capitol.

ANSWER

The South wanted to fight a war where they caused so many casualties to the North that they would just give up and recognize the South as a Country. Also they didn't have the manpower to take the capital.

Flight:

Chicago, IL (CHI) to Washington, DC (WAS)

Flight Duration 1 hour 47 minsDistance:

The distance between Chicago, Illinois and Washington, DC is 598 miles (962 km).