Washington D.C: Our Nation’s Capital :: History

Washington D.C Our Nations CapitalAlthough the entire world is familiar with the City of Washington as the unite States capital, the city was nonexistent when we became a dry land in 1789. Thanks to the brilliant design of the French born engineer, Pierre Charles LEnfant and his assistants gum benzoin Banneker and Andrew Ellicot, our capital city that was once a swamp now is beautiful with many different parks, gardens trees, tall buildings and wide avenues. Washington, District of Columbia named later on Christopher Columbus, has play a unique role in the wars of our nation and has been dramatically affected by their awesome events. The battles, conflicts and politics of war soak up forever changed America. During the War of 1812, the British burned the newly-built capital The Civil War transformed Washington District of Columbia (DC) from a sleepy Southern village into the powerful capital of a reunited nation. Through the course of World War II Washington became the nerve cen ter of an unprecedented war effort and headquarters of the postwar free world. During and after the Civil War, thousands of slaves fled to Washington D.C., thinking that if they reached the capital, they would be safe and free. However, the government was totally unprepared for an influx of this magnitude. There was no place for them to live, very little food, and no employment. Sojourner Truth was a very inspirational woman who was a former slave that worked with these people trying to improve their living conditions and was later employed by the governments Freedmens Bureau. Wonderful black people like Sojourner Truth and James Wormley who was a successful hotel owner, were a very essential dower to blacks rise in DC. They gave hope to hopeless black people. Their lives demonstrated that black people could rise above the turmoil and uproar.Before our nations capital rested as Washington D.C it was located in New York City temporarily. A year later it was moved to Philadelphia, Pe nnsylvania. A fiery rivalry developed between the northern and southern states over the location their economic interests were completely different. The states believed that the newly appointed city to be the nations capital would have more power over the remaining states, even congressmen were aware that the area receiving the capital would gain wealth and political influence. Some of the competing cities offered land and money as incentives. This discrepancy that was finally resolved by a political compromise.