Congress Returns to Philadelphia

Congress departed York and returned to Philadelphia after the British evacuation of the city. The nine-month sojourn in York was over. Delegates were relieved to leave the small town for the larger city, though Philadelphia itself required cleaning and repair after the British occupation.

The York period had been productive despite its difficulties. Congress had adopted the Articles of Confederation, ratified the French alliance, reorganized the Board of War, and maintained the functions of government — all while meeting in a courthouse in a town most delegates had never heard of before the crisis. York's brief period as the American capital was over, but its contribution to the nation's founding was permanent.