Is dc in virginia or maryland

Prior to the establishment of the city as the nation's capital in , the nation's capital was Philadelphia , which served as the capital on five separate occasions during the American Revolution and its aftermath from May to July , December to February , March to September , July , July to March , and March to June On October 6, , after the capital was forced by the Pennsylvania Mutiny of to relocate to Princeton, New Jersey , Congress resolved to consider a new location for it.

Washington city

The city hosts foreign embassies and serves as the headquarters for the World Bank , the International Monetary Fund , the Organization of American States , and other international organizations. In Federalist No. Article One, Section Eight of the U. Constitution permits the establishment of 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".

The city is divided into quadrants , which are centered around the Capitol and include neighborhoods.

On July 9, , Congress passed the Residence Act , which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. However, a storm forced the British to evacuate the city after just 24 hours. In the Compromise of , Madison, Alexander Hamilton , and Thomas Jefferson agreed that the federal government would pay each state's remaining Revolutionary War debts in exchange for establishing the new national capital in the Southern United States.

In retaliation for acts of destruction by American troops in the Canadas , the British set fire to multiple government buildings in the city, including the United States Capitol , the Treasury Building and the White House. On September 9, , three commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in honor of President Washington.

In , the territory, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia and including the settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria , was officially recognized as the federal district. In , Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia , including the city of Alexandria; in , it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the district that only lasted for three years for a variety of reasons, including budgetary constraints.

Two pre existing settlements were included in the territory: the port of Georgetown , founded in , [29] and the port city of Alexandria, Virginia , founded in A new federal city was then constructed on the north bank of the Potomac River, to the east of Georgetown. A locally elected mayor and member council have governed the district since , though Congress is empowered to overturn local laws. In the s, the district's southern territory of Alexandria declined economically due in part to neglect of it by Congress.

The city's voters choose three presidential electors in accordance with the Twenty-third Amendment. All the buildings set on fire were gutted in what became known as the burning of Washington. The outbreak of the American Civil War in led to the expansion of the federal government and notable growth in the city's population, including a large influx of freed slaves. Congress passed the District of Columbia Organic Act of , which officially organized the district and placed the entire territory under the exclusive control of the federal government.

Living In Maryland vs Virginia vs DC Area: MD Or VA Suburbs, Cost Of Living & More

On July 9, , Congress went further, agreeing to return all territory that Virginia had ceded to the district during its formation. As of the census , the city had a population of ,, [3] making it the 23rd-most populous city in the U. The city hosts all three branches of the U. The city is home to many national monuments and museums , located primarily on or around the National Mall , including the Jefferson Memorial , the Lincoln Memorial , and the Washington Monument.

Various tribes of the Algonquian -speaking Piscataway people , also known as the Conoy, inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans arrived and colonized the region in the early 17th century. Alexandria's citizens petitioned Virginia to take back the land it had donated to form the district through a process known as retrocession. House of Representatives who has no voting authority.

This left the district's area consisting only of the portion originally donated by Maryland. On August 24, , during the War of , British forces invaded and occupied the city after defeating an American force at Bladensburg. Under the Residence Act, the exact location was to be selected by President George Washington , who signed the bill into law on July 16, Formed from land donated by Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles 16 km on each side and totaling square miles km 2.

As the seat of the U. The U. The Residence Act , adopted on July 16, , approved the creation of the capital district along the Potomac River. The area within the district was organized into two counties, the County of Washington to the east and north of the Potomac and the County of Alexandria to the west and south. Washington, D. The city was named for George Washington , a Founding Father , victorious commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War , and the first president of the United States who is sometimes referred to as " Father of his country "; [11] [12] the district is named for Columbia , the female personification of the nation.

The Nacotchtank , also called the Nacostines by Catholic missionaries , maintained settlements around the Anacostia River in present-day Washington, D. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes ultimately forced the Piscataway people to relocate, some of whom established a new settlement in near Point of Rocks, Maryland. The city was founded in , and Congress held its first session there in The city originally had smaller boundaries than it does now and was intended to be separate from the District of Columbia, while still being within it.

The same day, the federal district was named Columbia, a feminine form of Columbus , which was a poetic name for the United States commonly used at that time.