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The District of Columbia—identical with the city
of Washington—is the capital of the United States. It is located
between Virginia and Maryland on the Potomac River. The district
is named after Columbus.
DC history began in 1790 when Congress directed selection of a
new capital site, 100 sq mi, along the Potomac. When the site
was determined, it included 30.75 sq mi on the Virginia side of
the river. In 1846, however, Congress returned that area to
Virginia, leaving the 68.25 sq mi ceded by Maryland in 1788. The
seat of government was transferred from Philadelphia to
Washington on Dec. 1, 1800, and President John Adams became the
first resident in the White House.
The city was planned and partly laid out by Maj. Pierre Charles
L'Enfant, a French engineer. This work was perfected and
completed by Maj. Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker, a
freeborn black man who was an astronomer and mathematician. In
1814, during the War of 1812, a British force burned the capital
including the White House.
Until Nov. 3, 1967, the District of Columbia was administered by
three commissioners appointed by the president. On that day, a
government consisting of a mayor-commissioner and a 9-member
council, all appointed by the president with the approval of the
Senate, took office. On May 7, 1974, the citizens of the
District of Columbia approved a Home Rule Charter, giving them
an elected mayor and 13-member council—their first elected
municipal government in more than a century. The district also
has one nonvoting member in the House of Representatives and an
elected Board of Education.
On Aug. 22, 1978, Congress passed a proposed constitutional
amendment to give Washington, DC, voting representation in the
Congress. The amendment had to be ratified by at least 38 state
legislatures within seven years to become effective. It died in
1985. A petition asking for the district's admission to the
Union as the 51st state was filed in Congress on Sept. 9, 1983,
and new statehood bills were introduced in 1993. The district is
continuing this drive for statehood.
The federal government and tourism are the mainstays of the
city's economy, and many unions, business, professional, and
nonprofit organizations are headquartered there. Among the
city's many educational institutions are the Catholic University
of America, Georgetown University, Howard University, and
Gallaudet University. Cultural attractions include the National
Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts, and the Folger Shakespeare
Library. |
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