New Federal Capital City in the District of Columbia
The Constitution calls for a federal district, separate from the states, to serve as the permanent national capital. The federal government located its new capital on land carved from Maryland and Virginia as a result of the Compromise of 1790, whereby some Southern representatives agreed to support federal assumption of state debts in return for a bill locating the permanent capital on the Potomac River. George Washington selected the site and in 1791 chose Pierre L’Enfant (1754–1825), a French engineer and veteran of the American Revolution, to design the new city.
The Constitution calls for a federal district, separate from the states, to serve as the permanent national capital. The federal government located its new capital on land carved from Maryland and Virginia as a result of the Compromise of 1790, whereby some Southern representatives agreed to support federal assumption of state debts in return for a bill locating the permanent capital on the Potomac River. George Washington selected the site and in 1791 chose Pierre L’Enfant (1754–1825), a French engineer and veteran of the American Revolution, to design the new city.