NJ, USA
Continental Congress Meets at Nassau Hall
June 30, 1783
The Continental Congress relocated to Princeton in June 1783 after mutinous soldiers in Philadelphia surrounded Independence Hall demanding back pay. Congress met in Nassau Hall from June to November, making Princeton briefly the capital of the United States.
During this period, Congress received the official news that the Treaty of Paris had been signed, formally ending the war. Washington was summoned to Princeton, where Congress thanked him for his service. The episode — Congress fleeing its own soldiers, governing from a college building — illustrated both the fragility of the new nation's institutions and their resilience.
People Involved
Princeton-area lawyer and statesman (1740-1821) who served as President of the Continental Congress in 1782-1783, presiding over the peace treaty with Britain while Congress met at Nassau Hall in Princeton.
Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army (1732-1799) who personally led the attack at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777, rallying his troops at a critical moment to turn the tide of the engagement.