Residence Act

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Sketch of Washington, DC by Thomas Jefferson (March 1791)

The Residence Act of 1790 , officially An Act for Establishing the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States , is a US federal law that governed the issue of the capital of the United States by providing an area on the banks of the Potomac River intended for it. The federal government was in New York City at the time the law was enforced, and previously in Philadelphia and several other cities.

The Residence Act went through Congress as part of a compromise negotiated by James Madison , Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton . Madison and Jefferson favored a more southerly area on the Potomac River for the capital , but did not have a majority in Congress. At the time, Hamilton wanted to get the Assumption Bill through in the Senate . It was a law that the federal government allowed the debts of states to accept that in this war of independence had made. With the compromise, Hamilton was able to ensure the approval of the New York State delegates to select the site on the Potomac, while the Virginia delegates voted for the Assumption Bill.

The Residence Act authorized President George Washington to determine the exact location of the capital and set December 1800 as the date for the capital's completion. Philadelphia has been chosen as the temporary capital for the meantime. Washington had the power to designate agents and build the government buildings in Washington, DC , which he did with great care. Thomas Jefferson was a key advisor to Washington and helped organize an architectural competition to design the Capitol and the house of the President . The construction of the Capitol was fraught with problems, such as insufficient funding. The Capitol was only partially complete when Congress first met there on November 17, 1800.

background

During the Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania State House . Thereafter, the Continental Congress was forced to move to Baltimore , Lancaster and York for some time before returning to Philadelphia. After independence, the Confederation Congress was established and sat in Philadelphia until June 1783, when a mob of angry soldiers gathered outside Independence Hall demanding payment for their service during the Revolutionary War. Congress requested that John Dickinson , the governor of Pennsylvania , call the vigilantes should, to protect the Congress from attacks by protesters. During that Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 , Dickinson stood by the demonstrators and refused to remove them from Philadelphia. As a result, Congress had to flee to Princeton on June 21, 1783 . Then they met in Annapolis and Trenton before finally New York City was selected. The U.S. Congress was established after the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1789. New York initially remained the home of Congress.

Establishing the capital

In 1783 the question of a new capital arose. Numerous locations have been offered by the states as possible capital cities, including Kingston , Nottingham in New Jersey, Annapolis, Williamsburg , Wilmington , Reading , Germantown , Lancaster, New York City, Philadelphia, and Princeton. But the southern states refused to accept a capital in the north, and vice versa. Another proposal was for two capitals to exist. In 1783, Congress approved plans for a capital on the Potomac, near Georgetown , Virginia, and another capital on the Delaware River ; however, the plan was abandoned the next year.

The capital issue was put on hold for several years until the Constitutional Convention convened in 1787 to draft the United States Constitution. The Constitution gave Congress power over a "Federal District". In Article 1 of the United States Constitution, Section 8: Powers of Congress, Article 1, Section 8:

"To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such 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, 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, dock-Yards, and other needful buildings. "

The debate heated up in 1789 when Congress met. Two locations were favored by members of Congress: one on the Potomac River near Georgetown and one on the Susquehanna River near Wrights Ferry (now Columbia ). The Susquehanna River site was approved by the House of Representatives in 1789 , while the Senate selected a site on the Delaware River near Germantown. Congress failed to come to an agreement.

Compromise

Wikisource: Residence Act of 1790  - Sources and full texts (English)
The Residence Act was passed in 1790 while Congress was in Federal Hall in New York City.

The capital question came up again in the summer of 1790. At the same time, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton wanted to get a financial plan through Congress. A key part of Hamilton's plan was to take over the state debt that it had accumulated during the War of Independence. The northern states had a huge debt of $ 21.5 million during the war and wanted the federal government to take that burden off their hands. The southern states did not want to accept this proposal, since in the event of the debt assumption the citizens of the south would have had to pay part of this debt. Some states, including Virginia, had already paid off more than half of their debts and felt their taxpayers shouldn't pay for states that did not do so. Others felt that the plan was beyond the remit of the constitutional government. James Madison , a representative from Virginia, led a group of delegates from the South who blocked the plan and prevented its adoption.

When Jefferson happened to meet Hamilton at President Washington's residence in New York City in June 1790, Jefferson offered to host a dinner to bring Madison and Hamilton together. A compromise was then found, after which the MPs of the north accepted the site on the Potomac River and in return the federal government took over the debts from the states during the independence war. Jefferson wrote a letter to James Monroe explaining the compromise.

The District of Columbia over the years

Congress approved the compromise, which was then passed as the Residence Act. Jefferson was able to convince the Virginia MPs to agree to the debt assumption, while Hamilton was able to get the New York MPs to vote for the Potomac site as capital. The bill was passed on July 1, 1790 with 14:12 votes. In the House of Representatives it was passed on July 9, 1790 with 31:29 votes. The Assumption Bill passed the Senate with difficulty on July 16, 1790 and was approved by the House of Representatives on July 26, 1790.

The Residence Act stipulated that the capital lies between the Eastern Branch (the Anacostia River) and Connogocheque on the banks of the Potomac River (near Williamsport and Hagerstown in Maryland ) and is less than ten miles square square miles (260 km²)). On the Maryland banks of the Potomac, the law limited the property to the land that the agents could buy for use by the government.

The law authorizes President George Washington to determine the exact location and hire a surveyor. The President was required to show adequate buildings for Congress and other government facilities on the first Monday in December 1800, and the federal government would provide funding for all public buildings. The law also stipulated that until the government officially moved in, the laws of the states that surrendered the respective lands would remain in effect. This meant that the laws of Maryland applied in the eastern area of ​​the Potomac, while the laws of Virginia applied in the western part of the District of Columbia. After taking over the federal district in 1800, Congress had full control over the District of Columbia.

To have enough votes to pass the Assumption Bill, Hamilton also needed votes from the Pennsylvania delegates . Therefore, Philadelphia was selected as the provisional capital for the ten years until the new capital was completed. The congress met again in Philadelphia on December 6, 1790 in the Congress Hall.

execution

Proclamation of President George Washington dated March 30, 1791 setting the boundaries of Washington, DC

Some hoped that the plan to build the capital on the Potomac would not materialize and that Philadelphia would remain the capital. George Washington quickly got the ball rolling and personally, with Jefferson's assistance, oversaw the development and execution of the plans. While the plans for the final capital were being developed, the Pennsylvania delegates stepped up their efforts to undermine the plan, including allocating funds for the construction of government buildings and a house for the president in Philadelphia. Although the legislation did not specify the exact location, it was believed that Georgetown would become the capital. Washington began exploring the area southeast of Georgetown, near the Anacostia River ( Eastern Branch ). Some of the landowners had informed the president of their willingness to sell the land needed for the capital. Washington also toured other locations on the Potomac. He decided that some properties should be surveyed to get specific details about the land and its owners. Washington returned to Philadelphia in late November 1790 to discuss the implementation of the Residence Act with Thomas Jefferson. At that time, the decision was made to create the capital in or near Georgetown, near the Fall Line and the furthest navigation point.

In January 1791, the President appointed a three-person commission, consisting of Daniel Carroll , Thomas Johnson, and David Stuart , to oversee the survey and appointed Andrew Ellicott as land surveyor. Washington informed Congress on January 24, 1791 of the choice of land, proposing to change the Residence Act so that the capital could extend to the south of the East Branch, including Alexandria . Congress approved the president's amendment - although the original law only allowed government buildings to be built on the Maryland banks of the Potomac. Pierre L'Enfant began planning the capital in early spring 1791.

An architectural competition was held to design the Capitol and the White House . Architect James Hoban's design was selected for the White House, while no satisfactory designs were submitted for the Capitol. A late-filed submission by William Thornton was selected for the Capitol, despite being amateurish in many ways. Stephen Hallet was hired to oversee construction, which began in September 1793. Hallet made changes to the construction plans against the wishes of Washington and Jefferson and was later fired. George Hadfield was hired as site manager in October 1795 but resigned in May 1798 due to dissatisfaction with Thornton's plans and the quality of the work done.

The original intent of the Residence Act was to sell land in Washington, DC to cover the cost of building government buildings in the capital. But there were only a few interested parties for the land. The lack of funds led to delays and problems in the construction of the Capitol and government buildings in Washington. The Senate wing was completed in 1800 while the House wing was not completed until 1811. The House of Representatives nevertheless moved into its wing in 1807. Although the building was not yet complete, the first session of Congress was held in the Capitol on November 17, 1800. The legislature moved prematurely to Washington at the urging of President John Adams , hoping to get enough votes in the south for re-election for a second term.

return

Residents of the Virginia-area portion of the district (Alexandria County) successfully requested Congress return their portion of the capital to Virginia. It did so on July 9, 1846. Alexandria County is now Arlington County and a part of Alexandria.

Individual evidence

  1. See List of US Capitals for a complete breakdown.
  2. United States Constitution
  3. ^ Residence Act
  4. An ACT for establishing the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States
  5. ^ The Senate Moves to Philadelphia
  6. Statutes At Large, 1st Congress, Session III, Chapter 18, pp. 214-215, March 3, 1791.

literature

Web links