1790

1790 was a year within the era of Atlantic revolutions, marked by political realignments and administrative innovations in the United States and France. In the United States, the federal government formalized the location of its capital and began to organize the new nation’s administration. The Residence Act of July 1790 authorized the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River, to serve as the seat of government, with the exact site to be determined and land provided by Maryland and Virginia. Later arrangements would lead to the creation of Washington, D.C. The same year saw the passage of the Indian Intercourse Act, the first comprehensive federal regulation of trade with Native American tribes. It established federal oversight of commerce with tribes and aimed to protect indigenous lands from encroachment by settlers. The 1790 census counted 3,929,214 residents, establishing the first official population tally for the United States.

In France, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790) reorganized the Catholic Church in the country to align with the new civil state structure. It dissolved traditional dioceses in favor of departments and required clergy to swear an oath of loyalty to the state, provoking significant opposition among nonjuring clergy and contributing to ongoing political tensions during the Revolution.

Beyond these, Europe and the Atlantic world experienced ongoing upheaval and reorganization associated with the broader revolutionary era, exploration, and colonial administration. 1790 thus marked both the consolidation of a federal government within the United States and a radical redefinition of church-state relations in France.