Federal Hall

https://www.nps.gov/feha/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Hall Federal Hall is the name given to the first of two historic buildings located at 26 Wall Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. The original, a Federal style structure completed in 1703, served as New York's first City Hall. It was the site where the colonial Stamp Act Congress met to draft its message to King George III claiming entitlement to the same rights as the residents of Britain and protesting "taxation without representation". After the American Revolution, in 1785, the building served as meeting place for the Congress of the Confederation, the nation's first central government under the Articles of Confederation. With the establishment of the United States federal government in 1789, it was renamed Federal Hall, as it hosted the 1st Congress and was the place where George Washington was sworn in as the nation’s first president. Here on Federal Hall, George Washington took the oath of office as our first President, and this site was home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices. The current structure, a Customs House, later served as part of the US Sub-Treasury. Now, the building serves as a museum and memorial to our first President and the beginnings of the United States of America. The main entrance of Federal Hall is located at 15 Pine Street, near the corner of Nassau and Pine Street in Manhattan's Financial District. The rear entrance, which is wheelchair accessible, is located at 15 Pine Street, near the intersection of Pine Street and Nassau Street. It is highly recommended that all visitors use mass transit when traveling to Federal Hall. Visitor Center Federal Hall is currently open Monday-Friday 10am-5pm EST. Monday to Friday 10am-5pm Visitors can enter on 15 Pine Street. For further information call: (212) 825-6990 Tucked in among the pre-grid, named streets of old New York, Federal Hall National Memorial may be a little hard to find. Located in New York City's Financial District, at the intersection of Wall and Broad Streets, Federal Hall is at 26 Wall Street, diagonal to The New York Stock Exchange. Look for the statue of George Washington, welcoming you from our front steps! Federal Hall Interior “Large crowd inside the rotunda of Federal Hall National Memorial” Thousands of visitors each year visit Federal Hall National Memorial 2015 Evacuation Day Commemoration at Federal Hal Three people in reenactment clothing hold instruments in front of a stone building and giant statue. Commemoration of the 232th Anniversary of Evacuation Day, the end of the Revolution and the withdrawal of British troops. Federal Hall National Memorial at Night A stone, Grecian-style building, with columns and a statue in the front. Federal Hall National Memorial at night Reenactment at Federal Hall Five men dressed in Revolutionary War outfits play fife and drums Old Barracks Fifes and Drums in lower Manhattan, Federal Hall Find Your Park 2019 ad campaign starts with parks in NYC and San Francisco In the fall of 2019, the National Park Foundation rolled out new ads in San Francisco and New York for the Find Your Park campaign. From September 23 through October 28, a series of digital and static outdoor ads appeared in bus shelters, billboards, and other spaces in the city of New York and San Francisco. display ads featuring John Muir National Historic Site Document that inspired Bill of Rights on display at Federal Hall National Memorial Original Flushing Remonstrance, 1657, document showing damage caused to the document in a fire that swept through Albany in 1911. In 1657, Dutch settlers in what is now Flushing, Queens, wrote a demand for religious freedom that is today known as the Flushing Remonstrance. Today, the document is regarded as the precursor to the U.S. Constitution’s provision on freedom of religion on the Bill of Rights. Two pages of a document, written in old Dutch, with burn marks around the edges Eureka: 40-Foot High Sculpture on Display at Federal Hall National Memorial The sculpture Eureka does not recreate the facade of a canal house itself; rather it is the facade's rippled reflection in the flowing waterway. Its display in Federal Hall is meant to evoke a reflecting hall of mirrors, that suggests this site's architectural and political history. A 40-foot tall but ripped replica of a Dutch colonial structure stands inside Federal Hall. Alexander Hamilton, New Yorker An exploration of Hamilton's time in and contributions to New York City. This painting depicts Hamilton dressed in New York Artillery uniform. Manhattan Sites Volunteer Program An overview of the volunteer program in Manhattan, New York City and instructions on how to apply for the program. A domed and columned white marble building with American Flag buntings out front. Top Tips for Visiting the Manhattan Sites Plan Like a Park Ranger: Top Tips for Visiting the Manhattan Sites

Federal Hall National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior COLLECTION OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY. IMAGE 54615 Street on this site on April 30, 1789. The small Bible held by Secretary of the Senate Samuel Otis is on exhibit in today's Federal Hall. George Washington was sworn in as first President of the United States on a secondfloor, open-air balcony overlooking Wall Federal Hall National Memorial New York George Washington Inaugurated Here as First U.S. President In our progress toward political happiness my station is new; and if I may use the expression, I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent. —George Washington, January 9,1790 On April 30,1789, the corner of Wall and Broad streets was awash in people. As a hush settled on the crowd all eyes fixed on the tall man standing above them on the balcony. He was surrounded by officials of the new government of the United States and of the city and state of New York. The man was George Washington, and he was by now a living legend. His journey from Mount Vernon to this balcony had been one long parade, with town after town turning out to greet him with salutes, bands, and elaborate pageantry. Already older than most people present, the building where Washington stood had been built in 1703 for the British royal governor's council and the assembly of New York. This was also New York City Hall, so prisoners were held and trials conducted here. In an influential verdict in 1735 a jury found printer Peter Zenger not guilty of libel. Articles in Zenger's newspaper had criticized the Royal Governor. Zenger's defense was that he only printed the truth! After Britain's imposition of the Stamp Act in 1765, delegates of nine colonies met here to air grievances, declaring "no taxation without representation." In 1775 the revolutionary Provincial Assembly of New York took over use of the building. After the American Revolution this became the nation's capitol when, in 1785, the Congress under the Articles of Confederation sat here. Washington's arrival inaugurated a new era in the life of the struggling young nation. Four years earlier, representatives of Virginia and Maryland had met at Mount Vernon to discuss weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, the United States' first plan of government. Their discussion led to meetings at Annapolis, Md., and, in 1787, Philadelphia. This last meeting would produce the system of government under which the United States of America operates to this day. Ratifying the new Constitution had been a hard-fought battle, and many Americans harbored serious doubts about the document. The Constitution was indeed a compromise, a framework that would be filled in by experience and the actions of the new government. Most important was the passage here in 1790 of the first amendments to the Constitution, which became known as the Bill of Rights. Here at New York's old colonial city hall, now newly refurbished by architect Pierre L'Enfant and renamed Federal Hall, a new experiment would begin. A flotilla climaxed Washington's eight-day trip overland from Mount Vernon in Virginia to New York City for his inauguration as first President in the new United States Government. From City Hall to Federal Hall and Beyond A Bill of Rights and the First Congress Launch the Nation As the new government met, the stakes were high, and all eyes were again on new President George Washington and the Congress. Despite Washington's universal popularity, many worried about what presidential precedents he might set. The nation's direction was still in doubt. The Constitution (right) replaced the Articles of Confederation to guide the nation. When Washington was sworn in, two states had not ratified it. A4anv states including blew York had withheld approval of the Constitution until assured that it would guarantee rights like freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. North Carolina and Rhode Island still had not ratified the document as the new government met. However, passage of 10 of the proposed 12 new amendments guaranteed basic rights and fostered broad acceptance of the new system of government, even among skeptics. This single, seven-month session of the first Congress left a lasting mark on the United States by filling in the framework of the Constitution with laws and precedents. In addition to the Bill of Rights, Congress passed the Judiciary Act that established the coexistence of state and federal courts and laws. Some important precedents set were the Senate's role in diplomacy, Presidential control of cabinet appointments, and how the President should be addressed. The republic was iaunched. When Pierre L'Enfant remodeled Federal Hall he added a Greek Revival temple front (right). Custom House and U.S. Sub-Treasury The first Congress sidestepped a root question: how could the government secure funds? Federal reliance on states for money had do