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]
Site selection
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a capital on the Potomac, near Georgetown, in Virginia, and another capital on the Delaware River, however the plan was rescinded the following year.[1]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.[1]
Compromise
The Residence Act was passed 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.[4] The legislation was passed as a compromise in a dispute between Northern and Southern states. Northern states had accumulated a huge amount of debt during the Revolutionary War, 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. A compromise was reached whereby the Capital of the young country would be located in the South, but the Federal Government would then assume the North's debt.
It was decided that the capital be located along the Potomac River between the Eastern Branch (the Anacostia River) and the Connogochegue, 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 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.
Temporary capital
Philadelphia was designated under the Residence Act as the temporary capital city of the United States federal government for a period of ten years. Congress reconvened in Philadelphia on December 6, 1790 at Congress Hall.[5]
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.
References
External links
- ↑ a b c d Reps, John William: The Making of Urban America. Princeton University Press, 1965, Planning the National Capital, S. 240–241.
- ↑ Harvey W. Crew, William Bensing Webb, John Wooldridge: Centennial History of the City of Washington, D. C. United Brethren Publishing House, Dayton, Ohio 1892, S. 66 (google.com).
- ↑ Allen, William C.: History of the United States Capitol - A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics. Government Printing Office, 2001, S. 4 (gpo.gov).
- ↑ Residence Act. Library of Congress, abgerufen am 12. Dezember 2008.
- ↑ The Senate Moves to Philadelphia. United States Senate, abgerufen am 12. Dezember 2008.