why is the US capitol where it is?

Question

correct me if im getting this wrong, but why did the founding fathers decided to build a new city for the capitol instead of just putting/keeping it in an already existing city like Philidelphia or New York?

Answer 1

You are on to one piece of it. The decision WAS made that the capital should NOT be in a currently existing city. Philadelphia, for instance, was thought to be "too big". The idea of a "dedicated place", distinct from established cities, was widely shared, WHICHEVER general locale different groups favored.

And that latter point WAS a bone of contention!

It might be nice to THINK it was a simple North-South compromise as some are suggesting --to place the capital "between" the sections. But this is simply not the case. For starters, since Maryland was SOUTHERN, the capital was not situated between the sections at all, but firmly in the South, and in particular, near the biggest and most powerful Southern state -- Virginia.

There actually was a long debate (fight!) through the 1780s about where the permanent capital should be placed --and there was a STRONG competition between North and South over who would get it. Details about precisely HOW the Potomac won out can still be debated.


Here's what I have of the story (check the links below for more details):

In 1783 the Continental Congress thought the solution was to establish TWO capitals, a Northern one, on the Delaware River near Trenton (not far from Philadelphia but NOT in it), and a Southern one on the Potomac (exact location undetermined).

This solution was obviously too cumbersome, and the following year Congress decided on just the one Trenton-area capital, and to meet in New York City until building was completed. BUT Southern opponents never agreed to authorize the FUNDING for it to happen, so New York remained de facto capital for several years.

When the Constitution was drafted, it assigned the choice of a permanent location to Congress (Article 1, sec. 8), which first took the matter up at its first session (1789).

(It may be that New Yorkers were encouraged to think New York might end up as the final capital -- in order to help gain the needed support of this state in ratifying the Constitution -- but it was much too far north to ever be accepted by the Southern representatives.)

The First Congress (under the Constitution) actually made two DIFFERENT decisions about this question

-- in 1789 a location on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania was decided on. But the matter was not finally settled before Congress adjourned

-- in May 1790, the matter was taken up again, from scratch (not where they left up). This time the Southern plan won the day. The decision to build on the Potomac, was established by the Residence Act passed July 16.

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The story is often told of how the change took place, supposedly as a result of a compromise made at a dinner party involving Madison (proponent of the Southern view and an important leader of the Jeffersonians [later the 'Republican Party'] in the House) and Alexander Hamilton, a Northerner (of New York), Federalist and Washington's Secretary of the Treasury. Supposedly, Hamilton offered Northern support for the Potomac capital in exchange for help (or at least not BLOCKING) his financing plans in Congress (esp. the federal assumption of the war debts of all the states, along with the First National Bank). The reason this at least SOUNDS possible is that Virginia was not too keen on the assumption of war debts -- in part because THEY had already worked hard to pay theirs off and found it unfair to now help others who had been less responsible, and in part because this move (as also the Bank) would STRENGHTEN the power of the federal government which the Jeffersonians (dominant in the South) feared.

In fact, it is not certain the decision took place quite that way (Jefferson claimed it didn't happen like that) though it makes a nice story!

A key factor that should not be overlooked was George Washington's OWN preferences. HIS personal popularity in both sections added great weight to his desire that the capital be located on the Potomac, near his home at Mount Vernon. In fact, the Residence Act left it to the President to chose the SPECIFIC location.

Note also that the Residence Act provided for Philadelphia as the temporary capital for the next 10 years, while arrangements were made for building the District of Columbia (named "Washington" in 1791, though its namesake avoided using that name). It is claimed that this piece helped secure passage, in part because some Northerners (esp. from Pennsylvania) believed the Potomac plan would ultimately fail and Pennsylvania would end up hosting the capital permanently. That factor, respect for Washington and PERHAPS a "compromise/deal" involving banking issues.

Answer 2

The bottom line answer is that all of the states were more than a little mistrusting of the others. It was a battle in the Constitutional Convention between the large states and the small states. That never ended. Rhode Island walked out and was not happy with the whole process. Then the mistrust was between North and South. That also continued.

When the time came to name the nation's capital, the issue was whether one of the states would be favored over the others. The compromise reached was that the capital would not be in any state at all. Instead, the capital would be built in the center of the original states by having land donated by both Virginia and Maryland. So the capital didn't belong to any state, it was neither northern nor southern, and it was independent of all states.

Answer 3

They wanted a neutral location that was neither too far north, nor too far south -- otherwise the slave states or the non-slave states would complain.


Why this particular location on the Potomac River? I believe it was because George Washington lived nearby, and he picked the site. Simple as that -- George didn't want to travel.

I read somewhere that Washington deliberately built the city on a swamp because he thought that it would be an engineering marvel to convert swampland into a city (now a days we would consider that to be an environmental disaster).

Answer 4

They wanted the capitol close to the economic action located on the east coast, but created D.C., District of Columbia, to prevent jealousy of other states or favoritism if the Capitol of the USA were located in any one single state. So D.C. was a good idea.

Answer 5

Our founding fathers wanted to make it a unique city, not part of another one, and most of all, accessible from both the North and the South. (Remember General Lee was a great Southern General, and he lived very near to DC). I am not sure, but I think the veterans cemetery is on his former property.
Nothing west of the Appalachian Mt's. was considered "civilized" at that time!