Transcriber’s Notes
Text printed in italics and small capitals in the source document
have been transcribed _between underscores_ and as ALL CAPITALS
respectively. Superscript text is indicated by ^{text}. Texts
|between vertical bars| was illegible in the source document, and is
a best-guess interpretation.
More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of this text.
[Illustration: _Courtesy of Fairchild Aerial Surveys (Inc.)._
THE HEART OF THE NATION’S CAPITAL]
75TH CONGRESS, 3D SESSION · SENATE DOCUMENT NO. 178
A MANUAL ON THE
ORIGIN AND
DEVELOPMENT OF
WASHINGTON
_By_ H. PAUL CAEMMERER, Ph. D.
“The City of Washington--the central star of the constellation
which enlightens the whole world.”
_General Lafayette, as Guest of the Nation, October 12, 1824._
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON: 1939
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 280
Submitted by Mr. HAYDEN
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES,
_April 20 (calendar day, May 18), 1938._
_Resolved_, That the manuscript entitled “A Manual of the Plan of
Washington,” prepared by H. P. Caemmerer, be printed in such style and
manner as may be directed by the Joint Committee on Printing, as a
Senate Document.
Attest:
EDWIN A. HALSEY,
_Secretary_.
PREFACE
This Manual on the Origin and Development of Washington is published
for the use of students, particularly in high schools, desiring to make
a study of the National Capital a part of their course in civics.
The 25 chapters composing the book are of such interest and importance
that an hour a week may profitably be devoted to each, but the chapters
on public buildings and monuments require each two or three periods
for effective presentation. In this manner the Manual may serve as
a textbook for a year’s work; it will also be found helpful by the
general reader interested in Washington.
The Manual deals historically with the founding and development of
the National Capital. Beginning with the twentieth century we find a
new impetus given to the development of the city by the McMillan Park
Commission of 1901. Its work has been carried forward by the Commission
of Fine Arts and the National Capital Park and Planning Commission,
in cooperation with the Government of the District of Columbia,
including the Zoning Commission; also, of course, in cooperation with
the President of the United States, officials of the Government, and
the Congress of the United States, which by virtue of the Federal
Constitution exercises “exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever”
over the District of Columbia.
It should be kept in mind that in the study of the National Capital
we are studying the seat of government of the greatest nation in the
world, a city that was laid on a broad, firm foundation, and although
neglected for decades during the last century, the twentieth century
has seen Washington transformed into a city in keeping with the
dignity, power, and wealth of this great Nation.
The Plan of Washington is at the basis of city planning in the United
States. The organization of the National Conference on City Planning in
1907 was inspired by the work of the McMillan Park Commission of 1901.
Many of the leading artists of the country--architects, sculptors,
painters, and landscape architects--have served in the work of
beautifying the city. Washington is a city that is ever growing and it
is destined to be the most beautiful city in the world.
The writer wishes to express his grateful appreciation to Senator Carl
Hayden for having introduced the legislation to print this volume.
H. PAUL CAEMMERER.
THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PURCHASED FROM THE
SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D. C. AT $2.00 A COPY (BUCKRAM)
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I The Federal City: Story of the Movement Which Established
the Seat of Government Near the Potomac 1
II Establishment of the Temporary and Permanent Seats of
Government 7
III Development of the National Capital--The Plan of the City 13
Site of the Federal City 13
Terms of Original Agreement 15
Boundary Stones of the District of Columbia 19
Preliminary Studies 20
IV Maj. Pierre Charles L’Enfant 23
V The L’Enfant Plan 25
The Ellicott Plan--The L’Enfant Plan Enlarged 29
VI Early Washington 35
VII Washington 1810-1815 41
VIII Washington 1816-1839 45
IX Washington 1840-1859 49
X Washington 1860-1870 53
XI Improvements Made During President Grant’s Administration 61
XII The Influence of the Centennial Celebration and of the
World’s Columbian Exposition on Art in the United States 65
XIII Highway Plan of the District of Columbia 69
XIV The McMillan Park Commission--The Plan of 1901 73
XV National Commission of Fine Arts 95
XVI Zoning of the Capital 101
XVII The National Capital Park and Planning Commission 105
XVIII The Lincoln Memorial and the Arlington Memorial Bridge 131
XIX The Parks of the District of Columbia 143
XX Architecture of Early Days 165
XXI Public and Semipublic Buildings 219
XXII The Public-Buildings Program 293
XXIII The Government of the District of Columbia 305
XXIV Arlington National Cemetery 309
XXV Statues and Monuments 319
Appendix 347
List of Statues and Monuments in Washington 347
Bibliographical List of Books on Washington the National
Capital 353
List of Presidents of the United States 355
Quotations from Great Americans on Washington the
National Capital 357
Index 359
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
The heart of the Nation’s Capital Frontispiece
Adams Memorial, the 324
Anacostia Park, plan of 160
Aqueduct Bridge, old 180
Arboretum, National, map of 162
Arlington Cemetery, Arlington Mansion, and Fort Myer 308
Arlington Mansion, reception hall 310
Arlington Memorial Bridge 138
Arlington Memorial Bridge, architect’s design 136
Arlington Memorial Bridge development 141
Arlington Memorial Bridge, eagle and fasces 139
Arlington Memorial Bridge, eagle and bison head 137
Arlington National Cemetery--Memorial Amphitheater 312
Arlington National Cemetery--Maine Monument and the Memorial
Amphitheater 316
Arlington, plan for development of greater 142
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, old 73
Boundary stone near Sixteenth Street NW. 19
Boundary stones of the District of Columbia 17
Boundary stones, three of the 18
British Embassy 290
Building regulations issued by President Washington 21
Burke, statue of Edmund 344
Burnham, Daniel H., on city planning 81
Cabin John Bridge 214
Capitol, the 220
Capitol, the, 1840 49
Capitol, the, 1870 60
Capitol at night 222
Capitol, basement plan of, 1800 171
Capitol, bronze doors to the 225
Capitol, bronze doors to the House of Representatives wing 229
Capitol, bronze doors to the Senate wing 227
Capitol, design by Thornton, 1800 165
Capitol, from Pennsylvania Avenue, 1830 166
Capitol, from the west, showing the Tripoli column 167
Capitol Grounds and Union Station Plaza, 1917 96
Capitol Grounds, treatment of the 297
Capitol Prison, old 53
Capitol, showing uncompleted dome, 1860 54
Capitol, treatment for area west of the, plan of 1901 85
Capitol upon its restoration, 1827 164
Capitol, view from dome of, looking east 106
Capitol, view of dome of the, looking south 107
Central composition of the National Capital 100
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, Georgetown, lock of the old 178
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, gatehouse 48
Christ Church, Washington 189
Christ Church, Alexandria, Va 120
Christ Church burial ground, later known as Congressional Cemetery 44
Columbia Island Plaza and Memorial Avenue 140
Constitution Hall 278
Dante, statue of 337
Decatur House 176
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution 251
Dermott map, the 32
District of Columbia Supreme Court Building 194
Dolly Madison House 175
Dupont Memorial Fountain 335
East Capitol Street 111
Ellicott plan, the 30
Ellicott map, the 39
Executive Building, 1820-66 267
Fish market along the water front 115
Folger Shakespeare Library 253
Folger Shakespeare Library, exhibition hall 254
Ford’s Theater 216
Fort Drive 110
Francis Scott Key Bridge 181
Francis Scott Key House 183
Freedom, statue of 223
Gatehouse by Bulfinch, formerly near the Capitol 72
Gatepost designed by Bulfinch, near the Capitol 63
George Washington Memorial Parkway 114
Georgetown, house of the early days in 184
Government Printing Office, the United States 258
Grand Army of the Republic Memorial 330
Grand review of Union Army, May 1865 58
Grant, Gen. U. S., memorial 338, 342
Grant, Gen. U. S., memorial, Artillery group 341
Grant, Gen. U. S., memorial, Cavalry group 340
Great Falls of the Potomac 116
Hamilton, statue of Alexander 345
Haymarket Square, old 59
Horse cars, view showing 61
House of Representatives Chamber 231
House of Representatives about 1820, painting by Samuel F. B.
Morse 46
House of Representatives Chamber, 1830 169
House of Representatives Office Building, New 233
House of Representatives Office Building, Old 233
Italian Embassy 291
Jackson, statue of Gen. Andrew 323
Jeanne d’Arc, statue of 334
Joaquin Miller Cabin in Rock Creek Park 159
King map, the 33
Lafayette Park, showing statue of Gen. Andrew Jackson 152
Lafayette, statue of General 327
L’Enfant, Maj. Pierre Charles 23
L’Enfant plan, the 26
L’Enfant plan, sketch of the 22
L’Enfant, tomb of 317
Library of Congress 244
Library of Congress addition 248
Library of Congress, grand staircase 246
Library of Congress, reading room 249
Lincoln died, house in which President 217
Lincoln, second inaugural of President, 1865 56
Lincoln Memorial, the 130, 154
Lincoln Memorial and approaches, the 130
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Basin 134
Lincoln Memorial, site of the, 1901 92
Lincoln Memorial, statue of Abraham Lincoln 132
Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge, and Riverside Drive, plan of
1901 93
Longfellow, statue of Henry Wadsworth 328
Mall about 1890, view of the 64
Mall, the, 1930 97
Mall, view from the Washington Monument, looking east 295
Mall, view from the Capitol dome, looking west 294
Mall, the, inundated 79
Mall and Monument Gardens, plan of 1901 88
Mall, plan of the 90
Mall, the, showing railroad tracks crossing it 78
Meridian Hill Park, lower garden 156
Meridian Hill Park, upper garden 156
Mount Vernon 125
Mount Vernon from the air 124
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway 118
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, bridge over Hunting Creek 121
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, north of Little Hunting Creek 117
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, bridge over Boundary Channel 119
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, underpass at highway bridge 121
National Archives Building 282
National Archives Building, mural paintings in 283
National Gallery of Art 281
National Geographic Society 278
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 287
New Hampshire Avenue 144
Octagon House 174
Old Tobacco Barn (old Christ Church) 188
Park areas acquired to July 1, 1938 149
Patent Office Building, Old 198
Pennsylvania Avenue, plan of 1910, plan for developing south side 293
Pennsylvania Avenue, between the Treasury and the Capitol 298
Pennsylvania Railroad Station, old 77
Pulaski, statue of Gen. Casimir 332
Rock Creek Church 186
Rock Creek Park, map of 158
Senate Chamber 230
Senate Chamber, 1830 168
Senate Office Building 232
Six Buildings, the 36
Smithsonian Institution 255
Soldiers’ Home, United States 212
St. John’s Church 191
St. John’s Church, early view of 192
State Building, Department of, 1801 265
State Building, Department of, when remodeled 264
Thornton, Dr. William 197
Treasury Building, Department of the 270
Treasury Building, Department of the, 1855 52
Treasury Building, site and material for, 1839 47
Triangle group of public buildings along Constitution Avenue 280
Tripoli Column, at Annapolis, Md 320
Tudor Place, showing gardens on the east side 187
Tudor Place, Thirty-first and Q Streets 185
Unknown Soldier of the World War, the Tomb of the 314
Union Square, plan of 1901 86
Union Station 234
Union Station, concourse 236
Union Station, waiting room 238
Union Station and Plaza, looking north from the dome of the
Capitol 300
United States Supreme Court Building 302
United States Supreme Court Chamber 303
Van Ness Mansion 177
Wakefield, at Popes Creek, Westmoreland County, Va 127
Wakefield, Washington family burying ground 129
Washington and Wakefield, map showing 128
Washington, 1852 50
Washington, 1890 62
Washington and environs, regional plan of 104
Washington Cathedral 285
Washington Cathedral, interior 286
Washington City Post Office 242
Washington, early, showing the Jefferson poplars 38
Washington, view of early 34
Washington from Arlington Heights, 1865 55
Washington from Arlington, plan of 1901 76
Washington from the President’s House, 1830 44
Washington, the future 94
Washington in 1792 12
Washington in embryo 14
Washington, looking north from the White House 70
Washington, looking south from Sixteenth Street and Columbia Road 71
Washington, model of the future, plan of 1901 75
Washington, model of, showing conditions in 1901 74
Washington, George, Houdon bust of 122
Washington, George, statue of 322
Washington, George, statue of Gen. 318
Washington, tomb of 126
Washington Monument, the 208
Washington Monument, as seen from the Mall grounds 206
Washington Monument, plan of the, by Robert Mills 200
Washington Monument, uncompleted, as it appeared from 1852-78 204
Washington Monument, under construction, 1872 202
Washington Monument, view northwest from the 274
Water front, plan for improvement of the 112
White House, early view of the 170
White House, north side 262
White House, view showing terrace on south side, 1827 172
Witherspoon, statue of John 329
World’s Columbian Exposition, Court of Honor, looking east 66
World’s Columbian Exposition, Court of Honor, looking west 67
Zero milestone 336
CHAPTER I
THE FEDERAL CITY
STORY OF THE MOVEMENT WHICH ESTABLISHED THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT NEAR THE
POTOMAC
The problem of establishing a permanent seat of government for the
United States was most perplexing. The Continental Congress was obliged
for its own protection to travel from place to place to conduct its
sessions. By the treaty of Paris, in 1783, the independence of the
Colonies had been recognized, but they were then united simply as a
confederation, and there was lacking Federal authority through which
the needs of the Government could be asserted and provided for. This
was felt keenly in the matter of obtaining the necessary revenue to
maintain the Government, for the Continental Congress did not have the
power of taxation and had to depend upon the good will of the Colonies.
The demands upon the Continental Congress were many. The War of
Independence had impoverished the Colonies. There were the debts of war
incurred by the Continental Congress and also the debts of the Colonies
themselves--in all, $20,000,000, a huge sum in those days, and a factor
which, as we shall see, figured in the location of the Federal City
south of the Mason and Dixon line. Then, too, there was an army of
soldiers being discharged, with no funds at hand to pay them for their
services.
Prior to the establishment of the Federal City on the banks of the
Potomac, the Continental Congress met in eight different cities and
towns, viz:
Philadelphia, September 5, 1774, to December 12, 1776.
Baltimore, December 20, 1776, to February 27, 1777.
Philadelphia, March 4 to September 18, 1777.
Lancaster, Pa., September 27, 1777.
York, Pa., September 30, 1777, to June 27, 1778.
Philadelphia, July 2, 1778, to June 21, 1783.
Princeton, N. J., June 26, 1783, to November 4, 1783.
Annapolis, Md., November 26, 1783, to June 3, 1784.
Trenton, N. J., November, 1784, to December 24, 1784.
New York City, January 11, 1785, to March 4, 1789.
From March 2, 1781, the Continental Congress was also called by some
the Congress of the Confederation. The first Congress under the
Constitution met on March 4, 1789, and adjourned September 29, 1789.
On December 6, 1790, the third session of the First Congress began
in Philadelphia, which was the temporary seat of government until
November, 1800.
The Continental Congress was seriously inconvenienced by this moving
from place to place. They could not take with them their records and
files, were required to seek protection, and there was lack of adequate
accommodations in some of the towns where they met. In Princeton the
sessions were held in the college building, Nassau Hall, where the
average attendance was only 22 Members.
The suggestion had been made in November, 1779, by some Members that
the Congress purchase a few square miles near Princeton village,
whereon to erect public offices and buildings for a permanent home for
Congress.
The two leading factors that entered into the question of establishment
of a seat of government of the United States were jurisdiction and
geographical location. It was deemed very important to give to the
National Capital a central location along the Atlantic coast. Debates
on this question continued until 1790.
On January 29, 1783, the trustees of the corporation of Kingston, N.
Y., took the first recorded action by sending a memorial to the New
York State Legislature that “their estate be erected into a separate
district for the Honorable Congress of the United States.” It was
proposed to grant to Congress 1 square mile within the limits of the
town of Kingston, and the New York Legislature consented to this by
the adoption of a resolution on March 14, 1783. Upon the suggestion
of Alexander Hamilton and William Floyd this area was, in September,
increased to 2 square miles.
On May 12, 1783, the corporation of Annapolis adopted a resolution
calling upon the Maryland Legislature to allow the establishment of
the seat of government at Annapolis, because of its central location
along the Atlantic coast. The Continental Congress took note of this
on June 4, 1783. New Jersey, on June 19, 1783, offered a site anywhere
in the State. On June 28, 1783, the Legislature of Virginia offered to
Congress the town of Williamsburg and agreed to present the capitol,
the palace, and all the public buildings, together with 300 acres of
land adjoining the city, and a sum of money not to exceed £100,000.
This money was to be expended in erecting 13 hotels for the Delegates
to Congress. Also the town would cede a district contiguous to it not
exceeding 5 miles square. The legislature also offered to cede a like
district on the banks of the Potomac and to assure a sum not exceeding
£100,000 for the erection of hotels, and would also purchase 100 acres
of land for the erection of public buildings. Virginia offered to
cede land along the banks of the Potomac if Maryland would unite and
offer a similar tract on the opposite bank of the river; but should
Congress build on the Maryland side only the sum of £40,000 would be
appropriated and the State would be expected to supply the deficiency.
The offers of New York and Maryland, as recorded in the proceedings
of Congress of June 4, 1783, having emphasized the importance of the
subject to establish a permanent seat of government, we are told
in the annals of Madison that a day in October was named when the
subject would be considered. However, during that very month a mutiny
of dissatisfied soldiers took place. A band of soldiers started from
Lancaster, Pa., on June 17, 1783, for Philadelphia, to demand from the
Continental Congress the money then due. Congress appointed a committee
to appeal to the executive council of the State of Pennsylvania, in
session in the same building, for protection against the threatened
attack by the soldiers, but the council refused, saying that the
militia would doubtless not be willing to take up arms “before their
resentment should be provoked by some actual outrages.” The soldiers,
about 300 in number, proceeded to the state-house--Independence
Hall--where Congress and the executive council were in session,
surrounded that building, but attempted no violence. Occasionally
some soldier would use offensive language and point his musket at the
windows of the Halls of Congress, but at night the soldiers departed.
Congress thereupon adjourned hastily to meet in Princeton eight days
later. General Washington ordered a court-martial, in which two of
the mutineers were sentenced to death and four to receive corporal
punishment; but the convicted men were all pardoned by Congress.
General Washington regarded the mutineers as “recruits and soldiers
of a day who have not borne the heat and burden of war, and who can
have in reality very few hardships to complain of.” The legislators
were invited to return to Philadelphia, but the offer was refused, for
the reason that the armed soldiers had grossly insulted Congress and
it seemed useless to apply to the executive council for protection.
This led to the appointment of a committee, of which James Madison
was chairman, on the subject of a permanent seat of government. They
submitted a report on September 18, 1783.
The committee reported on two questions: First, the extent of the
district necessary; second, the power to be exercised by Congress
in that district. As to the first question, it was reported that a
district should not be less than 3 miles or more than 6 miles square;
and second, that Congress ought to have exclusive jurisdiction. The
report was referred to a committee as a whole, but there is no record
that further action was taken.
When the question of a permanent seat of government was again taken
up by the Continental Congress, it was the question of location that
predominated; the question of exclusive jurisdiction had generally
been conceded. The discussion was finally limited to two sites: First,
a location on the banks of the Potomac at least as far south as
Georgetown, which was favored particularly by the southern Members of
Congress as being the geographical center of the United States; second,
a site on the Delaware River near the falls above Trenton, which
Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the other States near by favored.
On October 7, 1783, Congress decided that a permanent seat of
government should be established on the Delaware River site, and a
committee was appointed to visit the location. Ten days later, on
October 17, 1783, Congress decided that there should be a National
Capital at the lower falls of the Potomac, at Georgetown. This is
the first mention of the present location of the National Capital.
Pending the completion of necessary buildings, it was decided that
the Continental Congress would meet at Trenton and Annapolis. But
the idea of having two capitals was ridiculed by such men as Francis
Hopkinson, who suggested that there be one Federal town to be placed
on a platform supported by wheels and two places of residence. As to
a statue of George Washington that had been authorized by Congress at
the same session, he suggested it be placed on wheels and be taken to
wherever Congress met. The idea of having two capitals was abandoned by
legislation adopted at Trenton on December 23, 1784.
Two years elapsed before Congress took up the subject again. In the
meantime a movement began, under the leadership of George Washington,
to promote trade relations between Virginia and Maryland, and to
establish trade with the western frontier by the construction of a
canal along the banks of the Potomac. Washington became president of
the Potomac Company at the time of its organization in 1785, and was
its guiding spirit for a period of four years, until 1789, when he
resigned from that office to take up his duties as first President of
the United States.
A trade convention, held at Annapolis, led to the call for the
Constitutional Convention, February 21, 1787, to meet in Philadelphia
in May of that year.
On May 29,1787, the draft of the Constitution submitted by Charles
Pinckney, of South Carolina, first mentions the section relating to
the Federal district in the form in which it became a part of the
Constitution of the United States (Art. I, sec. 8, par. 17), under the
powers of Congress--
To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over
such district (not exceeding 10 miles square) as may, by cession
of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the
seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like
authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature
of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts,
magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings.
There was objection on the part of some lest such a provision in the
Federal Constitution would create a government that would become
despotic and tyrannical and result in unjust discrimination in matters
of trade and commerce between the merchants within and outside of the
district. But on the other hand the advocates for a Federal City over
which Congress would have exclusive jurisdiction called attention to
the great importance for the Government to have a permanent residence
for the Congress and the executive departments, with their files and
records properly housed, and cited the mutiny in Philadelphia as
an illustration as to what might happen to the Government again in
the absence of such Federal authority. On September 17, 1787, the
Constitution of the United States was adopted and soon after was
ratified by a majority of the States.
When the time came for the inauguration of President Washington,
on April 30, 1789, in New York City, the Continental Congress was
completing its sessions, having resided in that city from 1785, a
period of four years. Of a population of 25,000 in 1776, the city in
1789 had a population of only half that number, due to the continuous
occupation by the British Army for a period of seven years. During
the evacuation the city was partly ruined. But a new era began; trade
increased, and the city began to grow rapidly. The Continental Congress
was meeting in the old city hall, which had been used by the British as
a prison and was in a dilapidated condition. As Washington was to be
inaugurated in New York, the people thought that city would become the
seat of government, so the city hall was torn down and a new building
erected on the site where the subtreasury building on Wall Street now
stands.
It was recognized that the presence of that national body was a
valuable asset to the city. Pierre Charles L’Enfant, who late in
1791 made the plan for the Federal City, was selected to design and
construct the building. When the Members of Congress assembled for the
First Congress under the Federal Constitution, they met in a building
constructed with classical arches and columns, painted ceilings and
marble pavements, and furnished in a magnificent manner with crimson
damask canopies and hangings. The exterior was marked by a portico with
arcaded front and highly decorated pediments. But the building had been
erected too rapidly to endure permanently; poor work had been done, and
in a few years it was demolished.
The building was called Federal Hall. Here on April 30, 1789, a date
never to be forgotten in the annals of American history, George
Washington was inaugurated first President of the United States of
America. The spot where General Washington stood is now marked, as
nearly as possible, by the J. Q. A. Ward statue of the first President,
which stands in front of the subtreasury building on Wall Street. Just
inside the door, preserved under glass, is a brownstone slab on which
is inscribed:
STANDING ON THIS STONE, IN THE BALCONY OF FEDERAL HALL, APRIL 30,
1789, GEORGE WASHINGTON TOOK THE OATH AS THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
During the sessions of this Congress long and careful consideration was
given to the question of a permanent seat of government. It had its
place with great problems before Congress at the time--as the revenue
bill, which would provide money for the newly established Republic,
creating executive departments, plans for the funding of the public
debt and the assumption of State debts, disposal of public lands, and
establishing a judicial system. At the opening of the last month of the
session the question of a residence for the United States Government
was brought up. Protest was made against consideration of the subject
in view of the other important questions pending before Congress that
seemed to some to be more urgent, also because, they said, Congress
was properly housed, and that other towns like Trenton, Germantown,
Carlisle, Lancaster, York, and Reading would be glad to have Congress
locate with them.
However, the southern Members, led by Richard Bland Lee and
James Madison, Representatives from Virginia, argued for present
consideration of the subject. They favored the Potomac River site
at least as far south as Georgetown, which they asserted would be
geographically the center of the United States. They claimed for their
section of the country in this matter the consideration of justice and
equality. They argued that there was no question more important--one in
which the people of the country were so deeply interested and one on
the settlement of which the peace and the permanent existence of the
country so much depended. The question of location finally resolved
itself into the consideration of two localities: First, a site near
the falls of the Susquehanna, at Wrights Ferry, Pa., 35 miles from
tidewater; and second, a site at Georgetown, Md., near the lower falls
of the Potomac.
Great stress was laid on the importance of a site that would place the
seat of government on a navigable stream far enough from the sea to
be safe from hostile attacks. But it was also deemed very important
to select a place that would offer means of communication with the
western country, which was a subject, as we have seen, in which George
Washington was interested for years previously. This argument was
effective, as it offered advantages for carrying on trade with the vast
western country for which the Potomac Company had been established.
The subject received the consideration of both the House and Senate in
September, 1789, but its final consideration was deferred until the
following year, in June, 1790. The southern Members, especially the
Representatives of Maryland and Virginia, were particularly active,
believing a decision on the Potomac River site was in their favor. In
December, 1789, Virginia had made a grant of $120,000, and a sum equal
to two-thirds of that amount had been voted by the Legislature of the
State of Maryland for the construction of buildings, in addition to
their willingness to cede the portion of the 10-mile square in their
respective States along the Potomac River desired for the Federal
district.
The final disposition of this question was settled by compromise.
At the time Hamilton had the funding bill before Congress, and lacked
one vote in the Senate and five in the House to secure its passage, he
came to an agreement with Robert Morris, financier of the Revolution,
on the question of location of the seat of government. Also, Thomas
Jefferson tells us, in his “Anas,” of a dinner given by him at which
the residence question was discussed and an agreement reached whereby
the southern Members agreed to the funding bill in consideration of the
designation of Philadelphia as the seat of government for a 10-year
period and thereafter along the Potomac.
CHAPTER II
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT SEATS OF GOVERNMENT
The House of Representatives had proposed a bill naming Baltimore as
the site, but the Senate struck out this provision, and on July 1,
1790, voted 14 to 12 for the Potomac River site between the mouth of
the Eastern Branch and the Connogochegue, a tributary of the Potomac,
20 miles south of the Pennsylvania State line. The bill which became a
law July 16, 1790, reads as follows:
An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the
Government of the United States
SECTION 1. _Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled_, That a
district of territory, not exceeding ten miles square, to be located
as hereafter directed on the river Potomac, at some place between
the mouths of the Eastern Branch and Connogochegue, be, and the same
is hereby, accepted for the permanent seat of the government of the
United States. _Provided nevertheless_, That the operation of the
laws of the state within such district shall not be affected by this
acceptance, until the time fixed for the removal of the government
thereto, and until Congress shall otherwise by law provide.
SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the President of the United
States be authorized to appoint, and by supplying vacancies happening
from refusals to act or other causes, to keep in appointment as long
as may be necessary, three commissioners, who, or any two of whom,
shall, under the direction of the President, survey, and by proper
metes and bounds define and limit a district of territory, under the
limitations above mentioned; and the district so defined, limited and
located, shall be deemed the district accepted by this act, for the
permanent seat of the government of the United States.
SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the said commissioners,
or any two of them, shall have power to purchase or accept such
quantity of land on the eastern side of the said river, within the
said district, as the President shall deem proper for the use of the
United States, and according to such plans as the President shall
approve, the said commissioners, or any two of them, shall, prior to
the first Monday in December, in the year one thousand eight hundred,
provide suitable buildings for the accommodation of Congress, and of
the President, and for the public offices of the government of the
United States.
SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That for defraying the expense
of such purchases and buildings, the President of the United States
be authorized and requested to accept grants of money.
SEC. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That prior to the first Monday
in December next, all offices attached to the seat of the government
of the United States, shall be removed to, and until the said first
Monday in December, in the year one thousand eight hundred, shall
remain at the city of Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, at
which place the session of Congress next ensuing the present shall be
held.
SEC. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That on the said first Monday
in December, in the year one thousand eight hundred, the seat of
the government of the United States, shall, by virtue of this act,
be transferred to the district and place aforesaid. And all offices
attached to the said seat of government, shall accordingly be removed
thereto by their respective holders, and shall, after the said day,
cease to be exercised elsewhere; and that the necessary expense of
such removal shall be defrayed out of the duties on imposts and
tonnage, of which a sufficient sum is hereby appropriated.
It is said that the loftiest minds of Congress were swayed by the
judgment of George Washington in this matter. They agreed with him
that America should establish the precedent of a nation locating and
founding a city for its permanent capital by legislative enactment.
Furthermore, they wished to honor that first President and great
general and counselor, who had made their independence possible,
by conferring upon him the power to select for this Federal City
the locality he had in prophetic vision chosen as a suitable site
for the capital of the Republic. By this act Congress expressed its
faith in President Washington by permitting him to establish the
capital anywhere along the Potomac between the Eastern Branch and the
Connogochegue, a distance of 80 miles. The boundaries of no other
city were ever fixed with more certainty. It is recorded that George
Washington was harassed by the importunities of anxious residents and
aggressive speculators, but that he never wavered in his purpose to
select for the site of the Federal City that which in former years he
had chosen for the Federal home upon the establishment of the Republic.
By proclamation of January 24, 1791, President Washington directed that
a preliminary survey be made, or, in the President’s words, “lines of
experiment” were to be run. This survey was substantially in accord
with the lines subsequently adopted, moving the southern boundary point
of the “ten miles square” farther south so as to include a convenient
part of the Eastern Branch and also the town of Alexandria.
The act of July 16, 1790, was thereupon amended accordingly by act
approved March 3, 1791, as follows:
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_, That so much of the
act, entitled “An act for establishing the temporary and permanent
seat of the government of the United States,” as requires that the
whole of the district of territory, not exceeding ten miles square,
to be located on the river Potomac, for the permanent seat of the
government of the United States, shall be located above the mouth of
the Eastern Branch be and is hereby repealed, and that it shall be
lawful for the President to make any part of the territory below the
said limit, and above the mouth of Hunting Creek, a part of the said
district, so as to include a convenient part of the Eastern Branch,
and of the lands lying on the lower side thereof and also the town of
Alexandria, and the territory so to be included, shall form a part
of the district not exceeding ten miles square, for the permanent
seat of the government of the United States, in like manner and to
all intents and purposes, as if the same had been within the purview
of the above recited act: _Provided_, That nothing herein contained,
shall authorize the erection of public buildings otherwise than on
the Maryland side of the river Potomac, as required by the aforesaid
act.
Thus within a period of nine months the limits of the Federal territory
were established. The corner stone was set with appropriate ceremonies
at Jones Point, Alexandria, Va., April 15, 1791. Not a cent was
advanced by Congress for buildings or grounds. In fact, the Treasury
was empty, and without credit Congress was unable to give financial
assistance. Washington himself drew up the original agreement by
which the owners were to convey the land to the Government which the
Cincinnatus of the West bought from the landholders at £25 per acre.
Of George Washington, Daniel Webster said, at the ceremonies for
enlarging the Capitol to its present size, on July 4, 1851:
He heads a short procession over naked fields, he crosses yonder
stream on a fallen tree, he ascends to the top of this eminence,
where original oaks of the forest stood as thick around as if the
spot had been devoted to Druidical worship, and here he performed the
appointed duty of the day.
In earlier years Washington had noted the beauty of the broad eminence
on which the Capitol was destined to be reared, and had marked the
breadth of the picture and the strong colors of the landscape with its
environing wall of wooded heights, which rolled back against the sky
as if to inclose a beautiful area fit for the supreme deliberation of
the governmental affairs of a great Republic in the New World, founded
on the truths “that all men are created equal; that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” These truths, as set
forth in the unanimous declaration of the thirteen original colonies of
the United States of America adopted July 4, 1776, formed the basis of
the Magna Charta of American liberty, known to us as the Declaration of
Independence.
HISTORY OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS ALONG THE POTOMAC
Somewhat more than a century and a half before (in 1608) Capt. John
Smith and his men sailed up the Patawomeck and visited the site of the
future Federal City. The famous adventurer only partially explored
the country, the principal item in the log book of his voyage being
that they found the river full of luscious fish and its shores lined
with ferocious savages. They met with opposition from Chief Powhatan
and were subject to continual attacks. Nevertheless the exploration
was continued up the Potomac as far as Little Falls, about 5 miles
above the city of Washington. At the time of this exploration there
were about 30 tribes, principal and subordinate, living along the
shores of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia. The chief of these
principal tribes were the Powhatans, the Manahoacs, and the Monacans.
The Powhatans lived along the shores of the Chesapeake as far north
as the Patuxent in Maryland, and the other two lived in the territory
contiguous to the York and Potomac Rivers. The Manahoacs and the
Monacans, who were continuously at war with the Powhatans in Virginia,
inhabited the present District of Columbia. The Manahoacs were almost
exterminated by war, pestilence, and spirituous liquors, and about
1712 migrated to the west, joining the Iroquois and the Tuscaroras.
Among the smaller tribes were the Nacotchants and the Toags, who were
friendly to Capt. John Smith. The Toags lived near Mount Vernon, as is
shown by the name Tauxement on Capt. John Smith’s map. The Moyaones
lived directly opposite Mount Vernon, in Maryland, at the mouth of the
Piscataway. The Nacotchants lived just below the Eastern Branch, within
the District of Columbia.
There is a tradition of the early settlers of Maryland that the
valley at the foot of Capitol Hill, drained by Tiber Creek, was a
popular fishing ground of the Indians, and that they gathered not far
from there, at Greenleaf’s Point, for their councils. The Indians of
Maryland and Virginia closely resembled each other. Those of Maryland
were descendants of the same race as the Powhatans and spoke dialects
of the great Algonquin language. Powhatan claimed jurisdiction over the
Patuxent, but it is doubtful whether he ever enforced the claim.
The Indians lived along the banks of the rivers in this part of the
country, and thus many Indian names, suggested by the suffixes “annock”
and “any,” have come down to us, as the Susquehanna, Rappahannock,
Allegheny, and Chickahominy. The name Chesapeake is said to have
come from the Algonquin language, and Potomac comes from the Indian
name Patawomeck. The Powhatans were won over to the English by the
marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe, but the marriage, though notable
in history, offered no advantages to the settlers. The original
inhabitants were finally driven out by the relentless Iroquois. Among
the early fighters against the Indians was Col. John Washington, who
came to America in 1657 and settled at Bridges Creek, Va., later called
Wakefield. He led 1,000 men against the Susquehannas. The Maryland
tribes were gradually consolidated with the Piscataways, and about
1700 they moved to a new settlement on the lower Susquehanna, near
Bainbridge, Pa. Here, in 1765, they numbered about 150 persons and were
under the jurisdiction of the Iroquois. Thereafter they moved to the
Ohio Valley and joined the Delawares.
To-day the name Anacostia, derived from the name of the small Indian
tribe of Nacotchants, reminds us of the occupation of the District
of Columbia by Indians. As has been said, they lived just below the
Eastern Branch, in a suburb of Washington known as Anacostia. The
great Anacostia Park, in the immediate vicinity, is named after
them. They were a tribe of peaceful Indians, about 80 in number, and
were kind and well disposed to Capt. John Smith and his explorers.
The name of Anacostia was also given to an island near the shores
of Virginia, at Georgetown. Later it took the name Analostian and
also Anacostian Island. When George Mason, prominent delegate to the
Virginia Legislature, purchased it in 1777, it came to be known as
Masons Island. Later it was called Analostan Island. Stone implements
and fragments of pottery and traces of Indian villages have been found
in these locations, which give evidence of habitations of the Indians
in the District of Columbia in those days. It was a region favored by
the Indians for its game of all kinds, as well as fish. The soil was
rich and fertile and crops were plentiful. Then, too, the climate was
agreeable; that is, it did not have the extreme cold of the North, nor
did the inhabitants suffer from the continued heat of a tropical sun.
The latitude of Washington is 38° 52′ 37″ N. and the longitude 76° 55′
30.54″ W.
Weather reports of a hundred years ago give 97° for the average of
maximum in summer and 24° above zero for the winter. This mild climate
has had its consequent effect on the flora of the District of Columbia.
A report of the Botanical Society of Washington, made in 1825, gives
us the names of 860 distinct species and varieties of plants in the
District of Columbia. To-day grow here the oak, walnut, hickory, elm,
maple, and other hardy trees; pine trees in all their varieties, and
magnolia, also the rhododendron, laurel, box bushes, privet hedges,
holly; and roses bloom in Washington almost the entire year. In spring
the beautiful Japanese cherry trees add charm to the city.
[Illustration: WASHINGTON, 1792]