Washington, D.C.
From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project
Template:OtherusesTemplate:Infobox CityWashington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America. "D.C." is an abbreviation for the District of Columbia, the federal district coextensive with the city of Washington. The city is named after George Washington, military leader of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States.
The District of Columbia and the city of Washington are coextensive and are governed by a single municipal government. For most practical purposes, they are considered to be the same entity, though this was not always the case. As late as 1871, when Georgetown ceased to be a separate city, there were multiple jurisdictions within the District. Although there is a municipal government and a mayor, Congress has the supreme authority over the city and district, which results in citizens having a different status and less representation in government than residents of the states.
The centers of all three branches of the U.S. federal government are in the District. It also serves as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States, and other national and international institutions. Washington is the frequent location of large political demonstrations and protests, particularly on the National Mall. Washington is the site of numerous national landmarks, monuments, and museums, and is a popular destination for tourists.
It is commonly known as D.C., The District, or simply Washington. Historically, it was called the Federal City or Washington City. To avoid confusion with the state of Washington, located in the Pacific Northwest, the city is often called simply D.C., and the state referred to as "Washington State." The population of the District of Columbia, as of 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, is 582,049 persons. The Washington Metropolitan Area surpasses 5 million persons, and the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area surpasses 8 million. If Washington, D.C. were a state, it would rank last in area behind Rhode Island, 50th in population ahead of Wyoming, first in population density ahead of New Jersey, and 35th in Gross State Product.
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History
Template:MainThe District of Columbia, founded on July 16, 1790, is a federal district as specified by the United States Constitution. The U.S. Congress has ultimate authority over the District of Columbia, though it has delegated considerable authority to the municipal government. The land forming the original District came from the states of Maryland and Virginia. However, the area south of the Potomac River (39 square miles or about 100 km²) was returned, or "retroceded," to Virginia in 1847 and now is incorporated into Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. After 1847, the remaining land that formed the area now known as the District of Columbia was formed exclusively from land that once belonged to Maryland.
Planning
A Southern site for the new country's capital was agreed upon at a dinner between James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, hosted by Thomas Jefferson.[2] The city was designed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a Major in the United States Army in the Baroque style, with monumental radial avenues, major streets, and traffic circles providing vistas towards important landmarks and buildings.
The initial plan for the "Federal District" was a diamond, measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side, totaling 100 square miles (256 km²). The actual site on the Potomac River was chosen by President Washington. Washington may have chosen the site for its natural scenery, believing the Potomac would become a great navigable waterway. The city was officially named "Washington" on September 9, 1791. Out of modesty, George Washington never referred to it as such, preferring to call it "the Federal City." Despite choosing the site and living nearby at Mount Vernon, he rarely visited the city. The federal district was named the District of Columbia because Columbia was a poetic name for the United States used at the time.
Initially, the District of Columbia included four distinct sections, of which the city of Washington was only one. The others were Alexandria County, Georgetown, and the County of Washington. Georgetown occupied its current boundaries. Alexandria County included parts of the present-day City of Alexandria, as well as the current Arlington County, Virginia. Washington City occupied much of its current area but ended at present-day Rock Creek Park on the west and Florida Avenue and Benning Road on the north. Florida Avenue was then called "Boundary Street." The remainder of the district was Washington County.
In 1791–92, Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker surveyed the border of the District with both Maryland and Virginia, placing boundary stones at every mile point; many of these still stand.
The cornerstone of the White House, the first newly constructed building of the new capital, was laid on October 13, 1792. That was the day after the first solemn celebrations of Columbus Day, marking its 300th anniversary.
19th century
On August 24, 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) during the winter months, which had left many Canadians homeless. President James Madison and U.S. forces fled before the British forces arrived and burned public buildings, including the Capitol and the Treasury building. The White House was burned and gutted. The Navy Yard was also burned—by American sailors to keep ships and stores from falling into the hands of the British. The home of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, located at the Marine Barracks, was one of the few government buildings not burned by the raiding British soldiers out of a sign of respect and is now the oldest public building in continuous use in the nation's capital. The Patent Office was also spared, as a result of the Superintendent of Patents pleading with British soldiers and contending that destroying the store of knowledge therein would be a disservice to mankind. Civilians were not directly targeted and, initially, the British had approached the city hoping to secure a truce. However, they were fired upon, triggering frustration and anger among the British, which ultimately led to the sacking of government buildings.[3]
During the 1830s, the District was home to one of the largest slave trading operations in the country (see Alexandria, Virginia).
In 1846, the populace of Alexandria County, who resented the loss of business with the competing port of Georgetown and feared greater impact if slavery were outlawed in the capital, voted in a referendum to ask Congress to retrocede Alexandria back to the state of Virginia. Congress agreed to do so on July 9 of that year.
Washington remained a small city—the 1860 Census put the population at just over 75,000 persons—until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. The significant expansion of the federal government to administer the war and its legacies such as veterans' pensions led to notable growth in the city's population. By 1870, the District population had grown to nearly 132,000.
In July 1864, Confederate forces under General Jubal Anderson Early made a brief raid into Washington, culminating in the Battle of Fort Stevens. The Confederates were repulsed, and Early eventually returned to the Shenandoah Valley. The fort is located near present day Walter Reed Army Medical Center in northwest Washington. The battle was the only battle where a U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, was present and under enemy fire while in office. [4]
In the early 1870s, Washington was given a territorial government, but Governor Alexander Robey Shepherd's reputation for extravagance resulted in Congress abolishing his office in favor of direct rule. Congressional governance of the District would continue for a century.
In 1878, Congress passed an Organic Act that made the boundaries of the city of Washington coterminous with those of the District of Columbia. This effectively eliminated Washington County; Georgetown, technically made a part of the city, was allowed to remain nominally separate until 1895 when it was formally combined with Washington.
The Washington Monument opened in 1888. Plans were laid to further develop the monumental aspects of the city, with work contributed by such noted figures as Frederick Law Olmsted and Daniel Burnham. However, development of the Lincoln Memorial and other structures on the National Mall did not begin until the early 20th century.
20th century
The District's population peaked in 1950, when the census for that year recorded a record population of 802,178 people.[5] At the time, the city was the ninth-largest in the country, ahead of Boston and behind St. Louis. The population declined in the following decades, mirroring the suburban emigration of many of the nation's older urban centers following World War II.
The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on March 29, 1961, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president and have their votes count in the Electoral College as long as Washington, D.C. does not have more electoral votes than the least populous state.
After the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in some sections of the city. The violence raged for four days, and buildings were burned. At one point, the rioters came within two blocks of the White House. President Lyndon Johnson ordered over 13,000 federal troops to occupy the city--the largest occupation of an American city since the Civil War. It took years for the city to recover.
One of the most important developments in bringing people back downtown was the building of the subway system. The first 4.6 miles (7.4 km) of the Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976.
In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Self-Rule and Governmental Reorganization Act, providing for an elected mayor and city council for the District. As a result, Walter Washington became the first elected mayor of the District in 1975. Marion Barry became mayor in 1979, but was arrested for drug use in an FBI sting operation on January 18, 1990, and served a six-month jail term. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance in the U.S. Barry, however, defeated her in the 1994 primary and was once again elected mayor for his fourth term, during which time the city nearly became insolvent and was forced to give up some home rule to a congressionally-appointed financial control board. In 1998, Anthony A. Williams was elected the city's mayor and led the city into a fiscal recovery.
21st century
On September 29, 2004, Major League Baseball officially relocated the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season, despite opposition from Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. The new team was christened the Washington Nationals. Controversy between the city council and MLB threatened to scuttle the agreement until December 21, 2004 when a plan for a new stadium in Southeast D.C. was finalized. The Nationals will play at R.F.K. Stadium until the new stadium is ready on the Anacostia River waterfront in 2008.
Additionally, the city has experienced tremendous growth in the areas of Massachusetts Avenue, NOMA (north of mass.), the Southwest Waterfront, U Street and H Street, with tens of thousands of condo's, apartments and retail shops opening. This growth has been dubbed gentrification by many, as the areas experiencing growth had been blighted for many years prior. Additionally, with the sale of DC United, similar growth is set to occur at Poplar Point Stadium, a planned mixed use development in the long neglected southern section of Anacostia.
Geography
Template:MainWashington, D.C. is located at Template:Coor dms (the coordinates of the Zero Milestone, on The Ellipse). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 68.3 square miles (177.0 km²). 61.4 square miles (159.0 km²) of it is land and 6.9 square miles (18.0 km²) of it (10.16%) is water.
Washington is surrounded by the states of Maryland (on its southeast, northeast, and northwest sides) and Virginia (on its western side); it interrupts those states' common border, which is the Potomac River's southern shore both upstream and downstream from the District. The Potomac River as it passes Washington is virtually entirely within the District of Columbia border because of colonial riparian rights between Maryland and Virginia.
The District has three major natural flowing streams: the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, and Rock Creek. The Anacostia River and Rock Creek are tributaries of the Potomac River. There are also three man-made reservoirs: Dalecarlia Reservoir, which crosses over the northwest border of the District from Maryland; McMillan Reservoir near Howard University; and Georgetown Reservoir upstream of Georgetown.
The highest point in the District of Columbia is 410 feet (125 m) above sea level at Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level, which occurs along all of the Anacostia shore and all of the Potomac shore except the uppermost portion (the Little Falls - Chain Bridge area). The sea level Tidal Basin rose eleven feet during Hurricane Isabel on September 18, 2003.
The geographic center of the District of Columbia is located near 4th Street NW, L Street NW, and New York Avenue NW (not under the Capitol Dome, as is sometimes said.)
Geographical features of Washington, D.C. include Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, the Three Sisters, and Hains Point.
Climate
Washington is in the northern periphery of the humid subtropical climate zone. Its climate is typical of the Mid-Atlantic U.S., with four distinct seasons. Summer tends to be hot and humid with daily high temperatures in July and August averaging in the high 80s° to low 90s°F (about 30° to 33°C). The combination of heat and humidity makes thunderstorms very frequent in the summer, some of which occasionally produce tornadoes in the area. Spring and fall are mild with high temperatures in April and October averaging in the high 60s° Fahrenheit (about 20 °C). Winter brings cool temperatures and occasional snowfall. Average highs tend to be in the 40s (4 to 8 °C) and lows in the 20s (-6 to -2 °C) from mid December to mid February. While hurricanes (or the remnants of them) occasionally track through the area in the late summer and early fall, they have often weakened by the time they reach Washington. Spring is generally the most favorable time of year, with low humidity, mild temperatures and blooming foliage. This period generally lasts from late March until mid May.
The average annual snowfall is 15 inches (381 mm) and the average high temperature in January is 43 °F (6 °C); the average low for January is 27 °F (-3 °C). The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on July 20, 1930 and August 6, 1918 and the lowest recorded temperature was -15 °F (-26 °C) on February 11, 1899.[6]
Demographics
The 2005 Census estimate of the city's population was 582,049. After the city government questioned the original results—an estimate of 550,521—the Census admitted it had made a mistake. [7] The corrected figure marked the biggest increase in the city's population since 1950.
As of the 2000 census, there were 572,059 people, 248,338 households, and 114,235 families residing in the city. The population density was 9,316.4 per square mile (3,597.3/km²). There were 274,845 housing units at an average density of 1,728.3/km² (4,476.1/mi²).
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Template:US DemographicsThe largest Hispanic group is Salvadoran, and a plurality of whites are of British ancestry.
There were 248,338 households, out of which 19.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.8% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.0% were non-families. 43.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city, the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,127, and the median income for a family was $46,283. Males had a median income of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,659. About 16.7% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those over age 65.
As of 2000, 83.42% of Washington, D.C. residents age 5 and older speak only English at home and 9.18% speak Spanish. French is the third most spoken language at 1.67% [1].
According to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey, nearly three out of four District residents identified themselves as Christian.[8] This breaks down to 72% Christian (27% Catholic, 19% Baptist, and 26% other Protestant churches), 13% stating no religion, 4% Buddhist, 2% Muslim, and 1% Jewish.
According to the Census Bureau, the District's daytime population is estimated at 982,853.[9] The influx of over 410,000 workers into Washington on a normal business day comprises a 72% increase of the capital's normal population. That is the largest increase percentage-wise of any city studied and the second-largest net increase, behind only New York City.
The Greater Washington metropolitan area, including contiguous areas of Maryland and Virginia, had an estimated population of 5.8 million in 2003, according to the estimates of the Greater Washington Initiative.</