Residence Act
Long title | An Act for Establishing the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States |
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Enacted by | the 1st United States Congress |
Citations | |
Statutes at Large | ch. 28, 1 Stat. 130 |
Legislative history | |
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Major amendments | |
Act to allow the capital to encompass areas to the south of the Eastern Branch, including Alexandria, Virginia (1791), ch. 17, 1 Stat. 214–215 Act to retrocede Alexandria County, D.C. to the State of Virginia (1846), ch. 35, 9 Stat. 35 |
The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States (1 Stat. 130), is a United States federal statute adopted during the second session of the 1st United States Congress and signed into law by President George Washington on July 16, 1790. The Act provides for a national capital and permanent seat of government to be established at a site along the Potomac River and empowered President Washington to appoint commissioners to oversee the project. It also set a deadline of December 1800 for the capital to be ready, and designated Philadelphia as the nation's temporary capital while the new seat of government was being built. At the time, the federal government operated out of New York City.
Congress passed the Residence Act as part of the Compromise of 1790 brokered among James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. Madison and Jefferson favored a southerly site for the capital on the Potomac River, but they lacked a majority to pass the measure through Congress. Meanwhile, Hamilton was pushing for Congress to pass the Assumption Bill, to allow the Federal government to assume debts accumulated by the states during the American Revolutionary War. With the compromise, Hamilton mustered support from the New York State congressional delegation for the Potomac site, while four delegates (all from districts bordering the Potomac) switched from opposition to support for the Assumption Bill.[1]
Background
At the outset of the Revolutionary War, the
During the mid-1780s, numerous locations were offered by the states to serve as the nation's capital, but the Continental Congress could never agree on a site because of regional loyalties and tensions.[6] Proposed sites included 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. The Southern states refused to accept a capital in the North and vice versa. Another suggestion was to have two capitals: one in the North and one in the South.[7][8]
The
During the debate, two sites became serious contenders: one site on the Potomac River near Georgetown; and another site on the Susquehanna River near Wrights Ferry (now Columbia, Pennsylvania). The House approved the Susquehanna River site in September 1789, and the Senate bill specified a site on the Delaware River near Germantown, Pennsylvania. The House and Senate were not able to reconcile their two bills.[2]
Compromise and adoption
The selection of a location for the capital resurfaced in the summer of 1790. At the same time, Secretary of the 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 massive debt during the war, amounting 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 the debt if the federal government assumed it, balked at 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. Further, they argued that the plan exceeded 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 preventing the plan from gaining approval.[11]
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.[11]
Congress agreed to the compromise, which narrowly passed as the Residence Act. Jefferson got the Virginia delegates to support the bill with the debt provisions, and 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.[12] Washington signed the Act into law one week later on July 16.[12] The Assumption Bill narrowly passed the Senate on July 16, 1790, followed by passage in the House on July 26.[13]
The Residence Act specified that the capital be located along the Potomac River between the Eastern Branch (the Anacostia River) and the Connogochegue (near Williamsport and Hagerstown, Maryland), and encompass an area of no more than "ten miles square" (10 miles (16 km) on a side, for a maximum area of 100 square miles (259 km2)). [12]
The Act gave
The Act specified that the laws of the state from which the area was ceded would apply in the federal district. Thus,
To garner enough votes to pass the Assumption Bill, Hamilton also needed votes from the Pennsylvania delegates. That led to the decision to designate Philadelphia as the temporary
Implementation
Soon after signing the act, George Washington began work on the project. He and Thomas Jefferson personally oversaw the process as plans were developed and implemented.[16] Even as the project began to move forward, some held out hope that it would fail and that the capital would remain permanently in Philadelphia.[17] Pennsylvania's congressional delegation attempted to undermine the plan by introducing legislation allocating funds for federal buildings and a house for the president in Philadelphia.[18]
Although the legislation did not specify an exact location, Georgetown was assumed to be the capital. Washington began scouting the area to the southeast of Georgetown, near the
In January 1791, the President proceeded to appoint, in accordance with the Residence Act, a three-member commission consisting of
On March 30, 1791, Washington issued a presidential proclamation that established "
During the early spring of 1791, Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant began working on a plan for the capital city that identified the future sites of the "Congress House" (the United States Capitol) and the "President's House" (the White House).[21] Design competitions were then held to solicit designs for each of those structures. Architect James Hoban was selected to design the President's House, and no satisfactory drawings were submitted for the Capitol.[22] A late submission by William Thornton was selected for the Capitol.[23][24] Stephen Hallet was hired to oversee construction, which got underway in September 1793. Hallet proceeded to make alterations to the design against the wishes of Washington and Jefferson and was then dismissed. George Hadfield was hired in October 1795 as superintendent of construction but resigned three years later in May 1798 due to dissatisfaction with Thornton's plan and the quality of work done thus far.[25]
The original intention of the Residence Act was to use proceeds from selling lots in the District to cover the costs of constructing federal buildings in the capital. However, few were interested in purchasing lots. A shortage of funds further contributed to the delays and problems in building the Capitol and other federal buildings in Washington.[26]
In early June 1800, President
In February 1801, Congress approved the District of Columbia Organic Act, which officially organized the District of Columbia. Congress then became the district's exclusive governing authority.[citation needed]
Retrocession
In 1846, based on a petition to Congress by the residents of the Virginia portion of the District (
See also
- District of Columbia home rule
- Index of Washington, D.C.–related articles
- Outline of Washington, D.C.
References
- ^ Ellis, Joseph J., (2000) Founding Brothers, Vintage Books, New York, NY, p. 73
- ^ .
- ^ Crew, Webb & Wooldridge 1892, p. 66
- ^ "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 – 1875". Memory.loc.gov. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 – 1875". Memory.loc.gov. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ a b Allen 2001, pp. 3–6
- ISBN 978-1613730065.
- ISBN 978-0520247253.
- LCCN 65-12468.
- ^ Casey, Lee A. "Essays On Article I: Enclave Clause". The Heritage Guide to The Constitution. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
- ^ a b Ellis 2002, pp. 48–52
- ^ a b c d e Residence Act. Wikisource. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ Elkins & McKitrick 1995, p. 160
- ^ Miller 2003, p. 251
- ^ "The Senate Moves to Philadelphia". United States Senate. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ^ Elkins & McKitrick 1995, p. 169
- ^ Bowling 2000, pp. 3–4
- ^ Elkins & McKitrick 1995, p. 174
- OCLC 1848763. Retrieved January 15, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
(2) Act to allow the capital to encompass areas to the south of the Eastern Branch, including Alexandria, Virginia (1791), ch. 17, 1 Stat. 214–215 - ^ Washington, George (1792). John C. Fitzpatrick (ed.). Proclamation: Georgetown, March 30, 1791. Vol. 31: January 22, 1790—March 9, 1792. Washington: United States Government Printing Office (August 1939). Retrieved October 7, 2016.
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ignored (help) - ^ Allen 2001, p. 8
- ^ Allen 2001, pp. 13–15
- ^ Allen 2001, p. 19
- ^ Frary 1969, pp. 34–35
- ^ Frary 1969 pp. 44–45
- ^ Bowling 2005, p. 58
- ^ Smith 1962, p. 1036
- ^ Smith 1962, pp. 1049–50
- ^ "Washington, D.C. History F.A.Q." Historical Society of Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About Washington, D.C". Historical Society of Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
Bibliography
- Allen, William C. (2001). History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics. ISBN 0-16-050830-4. Archived from the originalon December 16, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
- Berg, Scott W. (2007). Grand Avenues: The Story of the French Visionary who Designed Washington, D.C.. Pantheon Books. ISBN 978-0-375-42280-5.
- Bowling, Kenneth R. (1988). Creating the Federal City, 1774-1800: Potomac Fever. American Institute of Architects Press. ISBN 1-55835-011-X.
- Bowling, Kenneth R. (2000). "The Federal Government and the Republican Court Move to Philadelphia, November 1790 - March 1791". Neither Separate Nor Equal: Congress in the 1790s. ISBN 0-8214-1327-9.
- Bowling, Kenneth R. (2005). Establishing Congress: The Removal to Washington, D.C., and the Election of 1800. Ohio University Press. ISBN 0-8214-1619-7.
- Crew, Harvey W.; Webb, William Bensing; Wooldridge, John (1892). Centennial History of the City of Washington, D. C. Dayton, Ohio: United Brethren Publishing House. Retrieved April 23, 2017 – via Internet Archive.
- Elkins, Stanley M.; McKitrick, Eric L. (1995). The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195093810.
- Ellis, Joseph J. (2002). Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Vintage. ISBN 0-375-70524-4.
- Frary, Ihna Thayer (1969). They Built the Capitol. Ayer Publishing. ISBN 0-8369-5089-5.
- Miller, John (2003). Alexander Hamilton and the Growth of the New Nation. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-7658-0551-0.
- Reps, John William (1965). "Planning the National Capital". The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States. ISBN 0-691-00618-0.
- LCCN 63-7188.
External links
- "Residence Act: Primary Documents in American History". Library of Congress Research Guides. Library of Congress.