Why is washington dc where it is

The president could consult with Congress when appointing these leaders, but because D. The president, congressmen and many federal staff members remained immune to these changes because they were registered to vote in their home states. And, like the voting restrictions that southern states used to prevent Black men from voting after Reconstruction, these restrictions were specifically designed to suppress Black political power. John Tyler Morgan, a former Confederate soldier who joined the U.

Senate in , was explicit about this intent. The s system that denied D. During that time, D. By then, many residents had moved to the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia where they had full voting rights. Black D. The first was the right to vote for the president and vice president through the 23rd Amendment, ratified in The city held its first presidential election in , voting overwhelmingly for the sitting president Lyndon B.

Still, there were drawbacks to this victory. Even though D. In , the portion of the city that had originally belonged to Virginia was retroceded, after the voters of Alexandria elected to leave DC, feeling that they had been left out of development on the other side of the river.

You can still see some surviving, original markers for the District today. The city only increased in size as a result of the Civil War. Slaves owned in Washington were emancipated on April 16, , nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation, and it therefore became a hub for freed slaves. After, it remained a home to a significant and vibrant African American population, which included abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

A substantial army was set up just to protect the capital during the war, and the federal government grew around this administration. The expansion of streetcar lines in the midth century spurred creation of new suburbs. Come see us sometime! All rights reserved. Personality Quizzes. Funny Fill-In. Amazing Animals. Weird But True! Party Animals. Try This! Explore More.

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