Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

History

A Southern site for the capital was agreed at a dinner between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. The initial plan for the Federal City was a diamond, ten miles wide on each side, giving it 100 square miles (260 square kilometers). The actual site on the Potomac River was chosen by President Washington. Washington may have chosen the site for its natural scenery, in the belief that the Potomac would become a great navigable waterway. The city was officially named "Washington" on September 9, 1791. Out of a sense of modesty, George Washington never referred to it as such, preferring to call it "the Federal City". Despite choosing the site and living nearby at Mount Vernon, he rarely visited.

Related Topics:
Thomas Jefferson - Alexander Hamilton - President Washington - September 9 - 1791 - Mount Vernon

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On August 24, 1814, British forces burnt the capital during the most notable destructive raid of the War of 1812. President James Madison and U.S. forces fled and British forces burned public buildings including the Capitol, the Navy Yard, and the Treasury building. The Presidential Mansion was also gutted.

Related Topics:
August 24 - 1814 - Burnt the capital - War of 1812 - James Madison

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Washington remained a small city of a few thousand permanent residents until the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861. The significant expansion of the federal government to administer the war—and its legacies, such as veterans' pensions—led to notable growth in the city's population. But on April 14, 1865, just days after the end of the war, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theater.

Related Topics:
U.S. Civil War - 1861 - April 14 - 1865 - Abraham Lincoln - John Wilkes Booth - Ford's Theater

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In the early 1870s, Washington was given a territorial government, but governor Alexander Shepherd's reputation for extravagance resulted in Congress abolishing his office in favor of direct rule. Congressional governance of the District would continue for a century.

Related Topics:
1870s - Alexander Shepherd

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The Washington Monument opened in 1888. Plans were laid to further develop the monumental aspects of the city, with work contributed by such noted figures as Frederick Law Olmsted and Daniel Burnham. However, development of the Lincoln Memorial and other structures on the National Mall did not get underway until the early 20th century.

Related Topics:
Washington Monument - 1888 - Frederick Law Olmsted - Daniel Burnham - Lincoln Memorial - National Mall

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The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on March 29, 1961 allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president and have their votes count in the Electoral College.

Related Topics:
Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution - March 29 - 1961 - Electoral College

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The District's population peaked in 1950, when the Census for that year recorded a record population of 802,178 people. At the time, that ranked the city as the ninth-largest in the country, ahead of Boston and behind Saint Louis. The population declined in the following decades, mirroring the suburban out-migration of many of the nation's older urban centers following World War II.

Related Topics:
1950 - Census - Boston - Saint Louis - World War II

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The first 4.6 miles (7.4 kilometers) of the Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976.

Related Topics:
Washington Metro - Subway - March 27 - 1976

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Walter Washington became the first elected mayor of the District in 1974. Marion Barry became mayor in 1978, but was arrested for drug use in an FBI sting on January 18, 1990, and would serve a six-month jail term. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance in the U.S. But Barry defeated her in the 1994 primary and was once again elected mayor for his fourth term, during which the city nearly became insolvent and was forced to give up some home rule to a Congressionally appointed financial control board.

Related Topics:
Walter Washington - 1974 - Marion Barry - 1978 - Drug - FBI - January 18 - 1990 - Sharon Pratt Kelly - 1994

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The Washington area was the target of at least one of the four hijacked planes in the September 11, 2001 attacks. One plane struck the Pentagon in nearby Arlington County, Virginia, killing 125 people in addition to the 64 aboard the plane, while another that was downed in a field in Pennsylvania is believed by many to have been intended to hit the U.S. Capitol.

Related Topics:
September 11, 2001 attacks - The Pentagon - Pennsylvania - U.S. Capitol

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Shortly thereafter, Washington endured an anthrax attack, when what may have been a domestic terrorist sent anthrax-contaminated mail to numerous members of Congress. Thirty-one staff members were infected, and two U.S. Postal Service employees at a contaminated mail sorting facility at Brentwood later died.

Related Topics:
Anthrax attack - Terrorist - Anthrax - U.S. Postal Service - Brentwood

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During three weeks of October 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo killed ten people and wounded three others in the region in what became known as the Beltway Sniper attacks. One person was killed in the extreme northern part of the District. In March 2004, Muhammad was sentenced to death and Malvo to life imprisonment by a Virginia court.

Related Topics:
2002 - John Allen Muhammad - Lee Boyd Malvo - Beltway Sniper - March 2004

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In November 2003, the toxin ricin was found in the mailroom of the White House, and in February 2004, in the mailroom of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. As with the earlier anthrax attacks, no arrests have been made.

Related Topics:
2003 - Ricin - 2004 - Bill Frist

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Partly in response to these events from the past few years, the Washington area has taken many steps to increase security.

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When US forces in Pakistan raided a house suspected of being a terrorist hideout, they found information several years old, about attacks on Washington, D.C., New York City, and Newark, New Jersey. It was directed to intelligence officials, and on August 1, 2004, the Secretary of Homeland Security put the city on Orange (High) Alert.

Related Topics:
Pakistan - August 1 - 2004 - Secretary of Homeland Security

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A few days later security checkpoints were popping up in and around the Capitol Hill and Foggy Bottom neighborhoods, and fences were erected on monuments once freely accessible, such as the Capitol. Tours to the White House can only be arranged by a member of Congress. Screening devices for biological agents, metal detectors, and vehicle barriers became much more commonplace at office buildings as well as government buildings and in transportation facilities.

Related Topics:
Checkpoint - Capitol - Metal detector

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This ultra-tight security was referred to as "Fortress Washington"—people protested that "Walling off Washington" due to information several years old was not acceptable.

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Thanks in part to the renewed expansion of the federal government after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the thriving real estate market, Washington has experienced a huge housing boom that has seen thousands of units constructed, along with thousands of people moving to the District. This has led the city government to dispute a 2005 estimate made by the Census Bureau that the District's population will drop to 433,000 by 2030, claiming that Census officials routinely undercount the city's population and that the data they employed did not anticipate current economic and social trends. City officials have also released their own growth reports that estimate that the District's population will rise to 712,000 by 2030.

Related Topics:
Department of Homeland Security - 2005 - Census Bureau

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On September 29, 2004, Major League Baseball announced plans to relocate the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season. On November 22, a new name was announced for the team: the Washington Nationals. A very public back-and-forth between the city council and MLB threatened to scuttle the agreement until December 21, when a plan for a new stadium in Southeast D.C. was finalized. The Nationals will play at R.F.K. Stadium for the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons, with the new stadium slated to be ready for 2008. The market is also home to many fans of the Baltimore Orioles whose owner, Peter Angelos, opposed the move of the Expos to D.C.

Related Topics:
September 29 - 2004 - Montreal Expos - November 22 - Washington Nationals - December 21 - Southeast D.C. - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - Baltimore - Orioles - Peter Angelos

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On March 8, 2003, the first of more than 40 arson fires (one of which was fatal) was set in a 26-month-long series of fires set by a serial arsonist. D.C. resident and KFC manager Thomas Sweatt, 50, was arrested on April 27, 2005 for setting the fires. He was sentenced to life in prison on September 12, 2005.

Related Topics:
March 8 - 2003 - Arson - Arsonist - KFC - Thomas Sweatt - April 27 - 2005 - September 12

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Representation in federal government

The U.S. Constitution gives Congress direct jurisdiction for Washington, D.C. While Congress has delegated various amounts of this authority to local government, from time to time, Congress still intervenes in local affairs relating to schools, gun control policy, and other issues. Citizens of the District also lack voting representation in Congress, though they do have three electoral votes in the Presidental elections. Citizens of Washington are represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting delegate (currently Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large)) who sits on committees and participates in debate but cannot vote. D.C. does not have representation in the Senate. Citizens of Washington, D.C. are thus unique in the world, as citizens of the capital city of every other country have the same representation rights as other citizens. Attempts to change this situation, including the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful.

Related Topics:
U.S. Constitution - Congress - Gun control - Electoral votes - Presidental - House of Representatives - Non-voting delegate - Eleanor Holmes Norton - Senate - District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment

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The history of D.C.'s relationship with the federal government, as well as the arguments for and against increased representation, are covered in the article District of Columbia voting rights.

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