Washington D.C.

Summary

The script delves into the political origins and evolution of Washington, D.C., a city purposefully designed as the U.S. capital. It discusses the city's strategic location to avoid vulnerability, the influence of the federal government's growth on its development, and its cultural heritage. The city's grandeur, as envisioned by Pierre Charles L'Enfant, and its transformation over time, including periods of decline and resurgence, are highlighted. The script also touches on the unique challenges faced by the city due to its political nature and lack of senatorial representation.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ Washington, DC was intentionally designed to be the capital of the United States, with its origins rooted in political necessity rather than organic growth.
• 👥 The vulnerability of having the government in a populous city like Philadelphia led to the Continental Congress's decision to relocate, highlighting the need for a secure capital.
• 🗺️ The US Constitution's Article 1, Section 8 granted Congress the power to establish a federal district as the seat of government, ensuring its autonomy.
• 📍 The capital's location south of the Mason-Dixon line was a result of the Compromise of 1790, which balanced state debts and regional interests.
• 🏙️ The Residence Act of 1790 authorized President Washington to oversee the creation of the capital, choosing a site near his home at Mount Vernon.
• 🌊 Washington's location on the Potomac River's fall line was strategic, providing access to the interior and a water route to the ocean.
• 🛕 Pierre Charles L'Enfant was hired to design the city with grand boulevards and monuments, envisioning a city that would impress on a global scale.
• 📈 Washington's growth has historically been tied to the expansion of federal power, particularly during times of war and economic depression.
• 🏢 The city's economy is counter-cyclical, thriving during economic downturns due to increased federal spending.
• 🌐 Washington's population growth has been influenced by its role as a center for federal employment and as a hub for lobbyists and interest groups.
• 🎭 Despite its political and administrative significance, Washington also boasts a rich cultural heritage and vibrant nightlife, attracting a diverse and youthful demographic.

Q & A

Why was there a need for a new capital city in the United States?

The need for a new capital arose due to the vulnerability of having the government in a populous metropolis like Philadelphia, which was susceptible to urban mobs. The Continental Congress sought a location that would not leave future governments at the mercy of a host state, leading to the establishment of a new capital.

What was the significance of the Compromise of 1790 in determining the location of the capital?

The Compromise of 1790 was significant as it resolved the issue of state debts and the location of the capital. Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison agreed that the nation would assume the debts of the states, particularly those in the north, in exchange for locating the capital south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Who was Pierre Charles L'Enfant and what was his role in the creation of Washington, D.C.?

Pierre Charles L'Enfant was a French engineer who served under the Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington during the American Revolution. He was hired by George Washington to plan the new capital city, Washington, D.C., with a design that featured geometric grandeur and a focus on impressing rather than functionality.

What was the Residence Act of 1790 and how did it influence the establishment of the capital?

The Residence Act of 1790 granted President George Washington the authority to oversee the creation of a national capital along the Potomac River. This act facilitated the establishment of Washington, D.C., near Washington's own plantation at Mount Vernon.

Why was the location of the capital on the Potomac River's fall line strategically important?

The location on the Potomac River's fall line was strategically important because it was the furthest navigable point on the waterway. This allowed the capital to have maximum access to America's interior while still providing a water route to the ocean, fulfilling George Washington's vision of a watery route from the ocean to the American West.

How did the Civil War impact the growth of Washington, D.C.?

The Civil War had a significant impact on the growth of Washington, D.C., as it established the primacy of the nation over the states. Despite being a target for Southern soldiers, the city boomed as the center of the war effort and the command post for the reconstruction of the South.

What factors contributed to the slow growth of Washington, D.C., in the early 19th century?

The slow growth of Washington, D.C., in the early 19th century was due to the modest nature of the federal government at the time. The city's growth was also hindered by its small population and the fact that it was losing ground in America's urban hierarchy.

How did the federal government's expansion in the 20th century affect Washington, D.C.?

The expansion of the federal government in the 20th century, particularly during the 1930s with FDR's New Deal and the 1940s as a nation at war, led to significant growth in Washington, D.C. The city's population increased substantially, reaching over 800,000 inhabitants by 1950.

What role did lobbying play in the development of Washington, D.C.?

Lobbying played a significant role in the development of Washington, D.C., as various business lobby groups, public sector unions, and think tanks established their offices in the city to influence the government. The term 'lobbying' itself is believed to have originated from the Willard Hotel in Washington, where individuals would wait to influence President Grant.

How has Washington, D.C.'s resurgence in the past decade been characterized?

Washington, D.C.'s resurgence in the past decade has been characterized by its counter-cyclical economy, thriving nightlife, and rich cultural heritage stemming from its African-American history. The city has become a hub for the young and has developed a vibrant social scene despite its historical focus on government and politics.

Outlines

00:00

🏛 The Founding and Early Struggles of Washington, DC

The first paragraph discusses the political origins and early history of Washington, DC, as the capital of the United States. It highlights the vulnerability of having the government in a large city, exemplified by the 1783 mutiny of continental soldiers in Philadelphia. The Continental Congress's subsequent relocation to various cities and the decision to establish a permanent capital led to the creation of Washington, DC. The paragraph also touches on the political compromises that influenced the capital's location, such as the Compromise of 1790 and the Residence Act of 1790, which placed the capital south of the Mason-Dixon line. Pierre Charles L'Enfant's grand design for the city is mentioned, as well as the strategic choice of location on the Potomac River's fall line for both accessibility and potential as a waterway. The paragraph concludes with the challenges faced by the city in its early years, including a slow population growth and the physical destruction during the War of 1812.

05:02

📊 The Growth and Transformation of Washington, DC

The second paragraph examines the growth of Washington, DC, in relation to the expansion of federal power and the city's economic and cultural evolution. It notes that the city's population growth was closely tied to the strength of the federal government, with significant increases during the Civil War and the 20th-century periods of the New Deal and World War II. The paragraph also discusses the influence of various interest groups, such as business lobbies and public sector unions, on the city's development. The cultural heritage of Washington, DC, is highlighted, including its history as a hub for the African-American community and its transformation under Woodrow Wilson's administration. The paragraph concludes by reflecting on the city's current status as a thriving, imperial city with democratic characteristics, benefiting from the wealth and power of the United States while also grappling with the challenges of its own significance.

Keywords

💡Washington, DC

Washington, DC, also known as the District of Columbia, is the capital city of the United States. It is not part of any state and is therefore administered by the U.S. Congress. The script mentions that it was designed as a capital with political origins, highlighting its significance in the governance of the country. The city's development and growth are tied to the evolution of the U.S. federal government, as seen in the script's discussion of its history and expansion.

💡Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the thirteen American colonies that became the governing body during the American Revolution. In the script, it is mentioned as convening in Philadelphia, which was America's largest city in the 18th century, before the establishment of a dedicated capital to ensure the government's safety from urban mobs.

💡Mason-Dixon line

The Mason-Dixon line refers to the boundary between the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland, which was surveyed in the 18th century. It later became a symbolic dividing line between the Northern and Southern states in the U.S. The script discusses the Compromise of 1790, where it was agreed to locate the capital south of this line, reflecting the political negotiations of the time.

💡Residence Act of 1790

The Residence Act of 1790 was a U.S. federal law that authorized the creation of a capital district for the seat of government of the United States. The script explains that this act gave President Washington the power to supervise the establishment of the national capital on the Potomac River, which would later become Washington, DC.

💡Pierre Charles L'Enfant

Pierre Charles L'Enfant was a French engineer and architect who was commissioned by George Washington to design the new capital city of Washington, DC. The script describes L'Enfant's plan as one of geometric grandeur, with spacious boulevards and massive monuments, aiming to create an impressive capital that would serve as a symbol of national pride and power.

💡Fall line

The fall line refers to the point along a river where the elevation drops, making it the furthest navigable point upstream. In the script, it is mentioned that Georgetown is on the Potomac River's fall line, which was strategically chosen for the capital to maximize access to the interior of America while still providing a water route to the ocean.

💡Federal government

The federal government of the United States is the national government composed of elected officials responsible for governing the country as a whole. The script discusses the growth of Washington, DC, in relation to the expansion and strengthening of the federal government, particularly during the 19th and 20th centuries.

💡Lobbying

Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by government officials. In the script, it is suggested that Washington, DC, is filled with business lobby groups, public sector unions, and think tanks that aim to influence government policies and decisions, highlighting the city's role as a center for advocacy and interest representation.

💡Jim Crow

Jim Crow refers to the laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The script mentions that Washington became more Southern and a bit more Jim Crow, reflecting the racial policies and social attitudes of the time, which included segregation in government offices and a ban on racial intermarriage within the district.

💡New Deal

The New Deal was a series of programs and projects undertaken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s to help the United States recover from the Great Depression. The script notes that Washington grew significantly during the 1930s due to the expansion of federal power through the New Deal, illustrating the impact of federal policies on the development of the capital city.

💡Imperial city

An imperial city is a capital city of an empire, often characterized by grand architecture and significant political power. The script concludes by describing Washington, DC, as an imperial city with democratic characteristics, suggesting that despite its democratic ideals, it shares some attributes with historical imperial capitals due to the concentration of power and wealth.

Highlights

Washington, DC was designed to be a capital with political origins, unlike other cities that grew organically.

The Continental Congress faced vulnerability in populous cities, as seen in the 1783 mutiny incident in Philadelphia.

Alexander Hamilton played a key role in resolving the 1783 mutiny and the subsequent relocation of Congress.

The Residence Act of 1790 authorized the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River, influenced by political compromises.

The capital's location was chosen to balance regional interests and to not be at the mercy of a host state.

Georgetown and Alexandria were included in the capital's land due to their strategic locations on the Potomac River.

Pierre Charles L'Enfant was hired to plan Washington, DC with a vision of geometric grandeur and monumental spaces.

L'Enfant's plan aimed to create an impressive capital city rather than focusing on functionality.

Washington, DC's early years were marked by slow growth and underwhelming reality compared to L'Enfant's grand vision.

The city's growth was closely tied to the expansion of federal power, particularly during the Civil War and the New Deal era.

Washington's population reached its peak in 1950, influenced by direct federal employment and the influence industry.

The term 'lobbying' possibly originated in Washington, reflecting the city's role as a hub for influence and power.

Washington's southern location contributed to its cultural heritage and large African-American population.

The city's growth and prosperity are partly due to its counter-cyclical economy, thriving during economic downturns.

Washington, DC has experienced a resurgence in recent years, with a rich cultural scene and a vibrant nightlife.

The city's wealth and benefits, such as free museums and zoos, are funded by taxes from across the United States.

Washington, DC's status as an imperial city reflects both the benefits and challenges of its political importance.

The city's resurgence also highlights the human creativity and joy that can emerge even in a city designed for grandeur.

Despite its imperial characteristics, Washington, DC maintains democratic elements in its governance.

Transcripts

ED GLAESER: Washington, DC, like St. Petersburg, Brasilia, and Canberra,

was designed to be a capital.

The city's origins are purely political.

The Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia, America's largest city

throughout much of the 18th century.

But locating a government in a populous metropolis

creates vulnerability to urban mobs.

On June 20th, 1783, 400 angry continental soldiers

massed on the Pennsylvania State House, demanding back wages from Congress.

A young representative from New York, Alexander Hamilton,

persuaded these so-called mutineers to let Congress leave for the night.

When they were free, the congressman petitioned Pennsylvania's government

to control the soldiers.

Pennsylvania's leaders demurred and Congress

fled for Princeton, New Jersey.

The City of Brotherly Love wasn't looking like such a safe place

to seat America's national government.

And the Continental Congress started wandering to Annapolis,

to Trenton, to New York City.

The Continental Convention of 1787 returned to Philadelphia,

but that convention was pretty sure that it

didn't want to leave future governments at the mercy of a host state.

Article 1, Section 8, of the US Constitution

establishes the power of Congress.

And I quote, "To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever,

over such 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."

Meaning, Congress was going to be master in its own house.

But where was the capital going to be?

Nations, whether kingdoms or republics, all spend disproportionately

near their capitals.

Proximity to the capital was going to be aplomb.

Because of that local spending, because of local prestige,

because it would be easier for nearby residents to come to the capital,

either to serve in government or to lobby

the government for their own ends.

Consequently, America's rural representatives

didn't want the capital to go to some preexisting metropolis.

America's Southern leaders didn't want a capital in the north.

In the famed Compromise of 1790, which appears in song in the Broadway musical

Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison

agree that the nation will assume the debts of the states,

and those debts were larger in the north,

in exchange for locating the capital south of the Mason-Dixon line.

The Residence Act of 1790 gave President Washington

the power to supervise the creation of a national capital on the Potomac,

conveniently located near Washington's own plantation at Mount Vernon.

As a sop to Pennsylvania, Philadelphia would serve, for the next decade,

as America's temporary capital.

10 miles square, it actually means a 100 square mile

diamond, 10 miles on each side.

Washington and his surveyors chose land that

included older towns, Georgetown in Maryland, Alexandria in Virginia.

And that wasn't by chance.

Georgetown is on the Potomac River's fall line

the furthest navigable point on the waterway.

And locating Washington on the fall line gave the city

as much access as possible to America's interior,

while still providing a path by water to the ocean.

As the former president of the Potomac Canal Company,

George Washington had long dreamt of creating a watery route

from the ocean to the American West.

A prime Potomac location meant that his city, his capital

might become the hinge of a great waterway.

The capital of the New Republic wasn't going to be some haphazard affair.

Washington hired Pierre Charles L'Enfant to plan the city.

L'enfant's father had served Louis XV, and his son

had studied in the Royal Academy at the Louvre.

Like Lafayette, L'Enfant came from France

to fight in the American Revolution.

He served under the Marquis and Washington

himself as a Major of Engineers.

After the war's end, he helped rebuild New York City,

and was ready when Washington needed a city planner.

L'Enfant's plan was a marvel of geometric grandeur.

There would be spacious boulevards, massive monuments,

a new system of longitude specifying the US Congress as 0.0 degrees.

Take that Greenwich.

L'Enfant imagined a great global capital, truly an imperial city.

Not a homely spot on the edges of the European world.

Notably, L'Enfant was designing a city to look impressive,

not to be functional.

And Washington is still dealing with the downsides of his vision,

225 years later.

For decades, Washington's reality was far less impressive

than L'Enfant's plan.

Congressman lived in rough boarding houses.

The city streets were dusty and plain.

The British burned Washington in 1814.

Its location on the Potomac gave the Royal Navy easy access

to the seat of government.

By 1840, the population of the district, which

included Washington City, Alexandria, and Georgetown, was less than 34,000.

And the city of Washington had less than 24,000 inhabitants,

making it only the 13th largest city in the US.

Washington was actually losing ground in America's urban hierarchy,

for it had been the country's ninth largest city in 1820.

The district's doldrums led Alexandria to ask to be returned to Virginia.

Washington's slow start reflected the extremely modest nature

of the federal government during the first half of the 19th century.

America's national capital was small, because America's national government

was small.

Imperial cities always depend on the power that lies behind them.

And the locus of power during the 19th century was usually state governments.

Washington sizes typically increased most during periods

when the federal government has become stronger.

After 1810, the city's population increased most in percentage terms

during the 1860s, when the Civil War established the primacy of the nation

over the states.

Despite the threat from Southern soldiers,

Washington boomed as the center of the war effort.

And then as the command post for the reconstruction of the South.

During the 20th century, Washington grew most during the 1930s,

when FDR expanded federal power through the New Deal,

and as the capital of a nation at war during the 1940s.

By 1950, the district had over 800,000 inhabitants.

A level it has never reached again.

Washington's growth partially reflects direct federal employment.

But as any tour of the city makes plain, plenty of the city's workers

are trying to influence the government from outside.

Business lobby groups, public sector unions,

think tanks of all flavors and stripes, they all have their Washington offices.

One common story, probably apocryphal, is that the very term lobbying

came from Washington's Willard Hotel, where the ambitious would lurk,

hoping for a chance to bend the ear of President

Grant over a brandy and a cigar.

The city's southern location also helped to shape its character.

It had the largest African-American population

of any American city in 1900.

Which reflected partially its proximity to the old slave states.

For decades, it was the closest city where

a freed slave could come and hope to get something other than Jim Crow justice.

Washington became even more Southern and a bit more

Jim Crow when Woodrow Wilson's government segregated Washington

offices, and his Congress banned racial intermarriage within the district.

50 years later, John F. Kennedy would quip

that Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm,

elegantly mocking both sides of the Mason-Dixon line.

The wealth of the United States would eventually

produce L'Enfant's City of Monuments.

Washington, Jefferson, and especially Lincoln,

all enjoy impressive memorials.

The White House is an international icon of power.

Washington's residents benefit from a free zoo, with pandas courtesy

of Sino-US diplomacy, and free museums.

Few residents even realize that these benefits reflect

taxes paid in Kansas and California.

The wealth of Washington, DC, is not the unchecked largesse

of an Augustin Imperator.

America's government is designed to empower states endowed

with plenty of senators per capita.

And to disempower the capital, which has no senatorial representation.

The founders, after all, knew that spending would disproportionately

go to the capital.

Empowering its residents in elections could mean even more spending

that favors Washington, DC.

Although those who emphasized that it seems deeply unfair

to disenfranchise Washington residents who pay taxes

and fight for their country, also make a fair point.

In the past decade, Washington has had a remarkable resurgence.

Partially, this success reflects the counter-cyclical nature

of the DC economy.

Since Washington spends more during a downturn,

the city does well when the rest of the economy falters.

But Washington's recent success also reflects the fun

that percolates beneath the grandeur.

The city's African-American history gives it a rich cultural heritage.

Washington attracts the young and they have built a thriving nightlife.

Even in a ponderous city built of overly broad boulevards meant

to impress rather than to connect, human invention emerges and produces joy.

America is a republic, but it is a republic more powerful

than any empire in history.

Unsurprisingly, America's capital is also an imperial city,

albeit one with Democratic characteristics.

And like other imperial cities, Washington

is a city that both benefits from the fruits of empire,

and that suffers from its own sense of importance.