Residence Act
The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for Establishing the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States, is a United States federal law that settled the question of locating the capital of the United States, selecting a site along the Potomac River.
Background
During the American Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania State House. Though the Continental Congress was forced to relocate to Baltimore, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and York, Pennsylvania for a period of time before returning to Philadelphia.[1] Upon gaining independence, the Congress of the Confederation was formed, and convened in Philadelphia until June 1783, when a mob of angry soldiers converged upon Independence Hall, demanding payment for their service during the American Revolutionary War. Congress requested that John Dickinson, the governor of Pennsylvania, call up the militia to defend Congress from attacks by the protesters. In what became known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, Dickinson sympathized with the protesters and refused to remove them from Philadelphia. As a result, Congress was forced to flee to Princeton, New Jersey on June 21, 1783,[2] and met in Annapolis and Trenton, before ending up in New York City. The United States Congress was established upon ratification of the United States Constitution in 1789, and New York City initially remained home to Congress.[3]
Locating the capital
The question of where to locate the capital was raised in 1783. Numerous locations were offered by the states to serve as the nation's capital, including Kingston, New York, Nottingham Township in New Jersey, Annapolis, Williamsburg, Virginia, Wilmington, Delaware, Reading, Pennsylvania, Germantown, Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, New York City, Philadelphia, and Princeton, among others. But, the southern states refused to accept that the capital be located in the north, and vice versa. Another suggestion was for there to be two capitals. Congress approved a plan in 1783 for a capital on the Potomac, near Georgetown, in Virginia, and another capital on the Delaware River, however the plan was rescinded the following year.[1]
The issue of locating the capital was put on hold for several years, until the Constitutional Convention was held in 1787, to draft the United States Constitution.[1] The Constitution granted power to Congress over a federal district, with Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution stating:
The debate heated up in 1789 when Congress convened. Two sites were favored by members of Congress, including a site on the Potomac River near Georgetown, and another site on the Susquehanna River near Wrights Ferry (now Columbia, Pennsylvania). The Susquehanna River site was approved by the House in September 1789, while the Senate bill specified a site on the Delaware River near Germantown, Pennsylvania. Congress did not reach an agreement at the time.[1]
Compromise
The issue of locating the capital resurfaced in the summer of 1790. At the same time, Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton was pushing for Congress to pass a financial plan. A key provision of Hamilton's plan involved the Federal government assuming states' debts incurred during the American Revolutionary War. Northern states had accumulated a huge amount of debt during the Revolutionary War, amounting to to 21.5 million dollars, and wanted the Federal Government to assume their burden. The Southern states, whose citizens would effectively be forced to pay a portion of this debt if the Federal Government assumed it, were disinclined to accept this proposal. Some states including Virginia, had paid almost half of their debts, and felt that their taxpayers should not be assessed again to bail out the less provident, and further argued that the plan passed beyond the scope of the new Constitutional government. James Madison, then a Representative from Virginia, led a group of legislators from the south in blocking the provision and prevent the plan from gaining approval.[4]
When Jefferson ran into Hamilton at President Washington's residence in New York City in late June 1790, Jefferson offered to host a dinner to bring Madison and Hamilton together. Subsequently, a compromise was reached, in which the northern delegates would agree to the southerly Potomac River site, and in return, the Federal government would assume debts accumulated by the states during the American Revolutionary War. Jefferson wrote a letter to James Monroe explaining the compromise.[4]
Congress agreed to the compromise, which narrowly passed as The Residence Act. Jefferson was able to get the Virginia delegates to support the bill, with the debt provisions, while Hamilton convinced the New York delegates to agree to the Potomac site for the capital. The bill was approved by the Senate by a vote of 14 to 12 on July 1, 1790, and by the House of Representatives by a vote of 31 to 29 on July 9, 1790.[5] The Assumption Bill narrowly passed the Senate on July 16, 1790, followed by passage in the House on July 26.[6]
The Residence Act specified that the capital be located along the Potomac River between the Eastern Branch (the Anacostia River) and the Connogochegue, near Hagerstown, Maryland, and encompass an area of no more than "ten miles square" (100 square miles). The act gave President, George Washington the authority to decide the exact location and hire a surveyor. The President was required to have suitable buildings ready for Congress and other government offices by the first Monday in December 1800, and that the Federal government would provide financing for all public buildings.[7]
The act specified that the laws of the state from which the area was ceded would apply in the Federal district, meaning that Maryland laws applied on the eastern side of the Potomac while Virginia laws applied on the western side in the District of Columbia until the government officially took residence. Upon assuming control of the federal district in 1800, Congress would have full authority over local matters within the District of Columbia.[7]
In order to garner enough votes to pass the Assumption Bill, Hamilton also needed votes from the Pennsylvania delegates. Thus, the decision to designate Philadelphia as the temporary capital city of the United States federal government for a period of ten years, until the permanent capital was ready.[8] Congress reconvened in Philadelphia on December 6, 1790 at Congress Hall.[9]
Implementation
Some hoped that the plan to establish the capital on the Potomac would not materialize, and that the capital would remain permanently in Philadelphia.[10] However, George Washington quickly got the ball rolling, and along with Jefferson, personally oversaw the process as plans were developed and implemented.[11] While plans for the permanent capital were being developed, Pennsylvania delegates continued to put forth effort to undermine the plan, including allocating funds for federal buildings and a house for the President in Philadelphia.[12]
Though the legislation did not specify an exact location, it was assumed that Georgetown would be the capital. Washington began scouting out the territory to the southeast of Georgetown, near the Anacostia River (Eastern Branch). Some of the property owners expressed to the President that they were willing to sell land for the capital. Though, Washington also looked at other sites along the Potomac. Washington decided that a few sites should be surveyed to provide specific details about the land and its ownership. Washington returned to Philadelphia in late November 1790 to meet with Thomas Jefferson to discuss the implementation of the Residence Act. At this time, the decision had been reached to locate the capital at or adjacent to Georgetown.[1]
In January 1791, the President proceeded to appoint a three-member commission, consisting of Daniel Carroll, Thomas Johnson, and David Stuart, to oversee the surveying of the federal district, and appointed Andrew Ellicott as surveyor. Washington informed Congress of the site selection on January 24. He also suggested that Congress amend the act to allow the capital to encompass areas to the south of the Eastern Branch, including Alexandria, Virginia. Congress agreed to the President's suggested change,[1] though the act required government buildings to be constructed on the Maryland side of the Potomac.[13] Pierre Charles L'Enfant began working on a city plan for the capital in early spring 1791.
The original intention of the Residence Act was to use proceeds from selling lots in Washington, D.C. to cover costs of constructing federal buildings in the capital. However, few were interested in purchasing lots, and progress on the federal buildings was fraught with delays and setbacks due to a shortage of funds.[14]
Retrocession
Residents of the Virginia portion of the District (Alexandria County) successfully petitioned Congress to retrocede their portion of the federal capital to Virginia. This happened on July 9, 1846. Alexandria County is now Arlington County and a portion of the City of Alexandria.