20001

The authority to establish a federal capital was provided in Article One, Section 8, of the United States Constitution, which permits a "District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States". James Madison explained the need for a federal district on January 23, 1788 in the Federalist No. 43, arguing that the national capital needed to be distinct from the states, in order to provide for its own maintenance and safety. An attack on the Congress at Philadelphia in June 1783 by a mob of angry soldiers had emphasized the need for the government to see to its own security. The Constitution, however, does not specify a location for the new capital. In what later became known as the Compromise of 1790, Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson came to an agreement that the federal government would assume war debt carried by the states, on the condition that the new national capital would be located in the South.

On July 16, 1790, the Residence Act provided for a new permanent capital to be located on the Potomac River, the exact area to be selected by President Washington. As permitted by the U.S. Constitution, the initial shape of the federal district was a square, measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side, totaling 100 square miles (260 km2). Both Maryland and Virginia ceded portions of their territory to form the new capital. A new "federal city" was constructed on the north bank of the Potomac; however, two independent municipalities were already located within the District: the City of Alexandria, founded in 1749; and the City of Georgetown, founded in 1751. On September 9, 1791, the federal city was named in honor of George Washington and the district was named the Territory of Columbia, Columbia being a poetic name for the United States in use at that time.[b] Congress held its first session in Washington on November 17, 1800.

The Organic Act of 1801 officially organized the District of Columbia and placed the entire federal territory, including the cities of Alexandria, Georgetown, and Washington under the exclusive control of Congress. Further, the unincorporated territory within the District was organized into two counties: the County of Washington on the north bank of the Potomac, and the County of Alexandria on the south bank. Following this Act, citizens located in the District were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, thus ending their representation in Congress.

On August 24–25, 1814, British forces burned the capital during the most notable raid of the War of 1812, in retaliation for the sacking and burning of York (modern-day Toronto). The Capitol, Treasury, and White House were burned and gutted during the attack. Most government buildings were quickly repaired, but the Capitol, which was at the time largely under construction, would not be completed until 1868.

During the 1830s, the District's southern county of Alexandria went into economic decline, due in part to heavy competition with the port of Georgetown, which was further inland and on the C&O Canal. At the time, Alexandria was a major market in the American slave trade, but rumors circulated that abolitionists were attempting to end slavery in the nation's capital. Partly to avoid an end to the lucrative slave trade, a referendum to ask for the retrocession of Alexandria passed in 1846. On July 9 of that year, Congress agreed to return all the District's territory south of the Potomac River back to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Four years later, the Compromise of 1850 outlawed the slave trade in the District, though not slavery itself.

Washington remained a small city until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. The significant expansion of the federal government as a result of the war led to notable growth in the city's population, as did a large influx of freed slaves. By 1870, the District's population had grown to nearly 132,000. Despite the city's growth, Washington still had dirt roads and lacked basic sanitation; the situation was so bad that some members of Congress proposed moving the capital elsewhere.

With the Organic Act of 1871, Congress created a new government for the entire District, effectively combining the City of Washington, Georgetown, and Washington County into a single municipality. It is for this reason that the city is known as both Washington and the District of Columbia. In the same Act, Congress also appointed a Board of Public Works charged with modernizing the city. In 1873, President Grant appointed the board's most influential member, Alexander Shepherd, to the new post of governor. That year, Shepherd spent $20 million on public works ($357 million in 2007), which modernized Washington but also bankrupted the city. In 1874, Congress abolished Shepherd's office in favor of direct rule; additional projects to renovate the city would not be executed until the McMillan Plan in 1901.

The District's population remained relatively stable until the Great Depression in the 1930s when President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal legislation expanded the bureaucracy in Washington. World War II further increased government activity, adding to the number of federal employees in the capital; by 1950, the District's population reached a peak of 802,178 residents.

After the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in the District, primarily in the U Street, 14th Street, 7th Street, and H Street corridors. The riots raged for three days until over 13,000 federal and national guard troops managed to quell the violence. Many stores and other buildings were burned; most remained in ruins and were not rebuilt until the late 1990s.

In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, providing for an elected mayor and city council for the District. In 1975, Walter Washington became the first elected and first black mayor of the District. Marion Barry was elected mayor in 1979, serving three successive four-year terms; however, due to legal problems, Barry decided not to run for reelection. In 1991 Sharon Pratt Kelly became the first black woman to lead a major U.S. city. Barry was elected again in 1994, and by the next year the city had become nearly insolvent. In response, Congress created the District of Columbia Financial Control Board to oversee all city spending. The District regained control over its finances in September 2001 and the oversight board's operations were suspended.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 and deliberately crashed the plane into The Pentagon, located outside the city in Arlington, Virginia. Either the White House or the United States Capitol was another intended target for United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The Pentagon Memorial is scheduled to open on September 11, 2008 at the site of the attack.