ending up in New York City. The U.S. Congress was established upon ratification of the U.S. Constitution and formally began on March 4, 1789. New York City remained home to Congress until July 1790, when the Residence Act was passed to pave the way for a permanent capital. The decision of where to locate the capital was contentious, but Alexander Hamilton helped broker a compromise in which the federal government would take on war debt incurred during the American Revolutionary War, in exchange for support from northern states for locating the capital along the Potomac River. As part of the legislation, Philadelphia was chosen as a temporary capital for ten years (until December 1800), until the nation's capital in Washington, D.C., would be ready. Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant was given the task of creating the city plan for the new capital city. L'Enfant chose Jenkin's Hill as the site for the Congress House, with a grand avenue, which is now Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. and connects it with the White House, and a public space containing a broader grand avenue (now the National Mall) stretching westward to the Potomac River. Name In reviewing L'Enfant's plan, U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson insisted the legislative building be called the "Capitol" rather than "Congress House". The word "Capitol" comes from Latin and is associated with the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome. The connection between the two is not clear. In addition to coming up with a city plan, L'Enfant had been tasked with designing the Capitol and President's House; however, he was dismissed in February 1792 over disagreements with President George Washington and the commissioners, and there were no plans at that point for the Capitol. The word "capitol" has since been adopted, following the example of the U.S. Capitol, in many jurisdictions also for other government buildings, for instance the "capitols" in the individual capitals of the U.S. states. This, in turn, has led to frequent misspellings of "capitol" and "capital". The former refers to a building which houses government institutions; the latter refers to the entire city. Design competition In early 1792, Thomas Jefferson proposed a design competition to solicit designs for the Capitol and the "President's House", and set a four-month deadline. The prize for the competition was $500 and a lot in the Federal City. At least ten individuals