Federal style furniture (also known as American Neoclassical outside of the United States) was at its peak between 1780 and 1820 in American society.  The great American seaports of the time – New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston and Boston –  where tremendous wealth had accumulated, maintained  close ties to European culture and English furniture design particularly, especially Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles.  The main inspiration for Federal design was taken from ancient Greek and Roman influences.  A defining feature of Federal furniture is that it was almost exclusively mahogany.