 D.C.
Info
Capital
City of The United States of America
2000 Census population: 572,059
Male: 269,366 (47.1%)
Female: 302,693 (52.9%)
Black: 343,312 (60.0%)
White: 176,101 (30.8%)
Asian: 15,189 (2.7%)
American Indian and Alaska Native: 1,713
(0.3%)
Other race: 21,950 (3.8%)
Two or more races: 13,446 (2.4%)
Hispanic/Latino: 44,953 (7.9%)
Percentage of population 18 and over: 79.9%
65 and over: 12.3%
Median age: 34.6
Median household income in 2000: $41,000
Motto: Justitia omnibus
(Justice to all)
Tree: Scarlet Oak
Bird: Wood Thrush
Flower: American Beauty
Rose
D.C.'s Flag:
Adopted in 1938. Design was based on the shield from George Washington's
family coat of arms.
History of D.C.:
The District of Columbia - identical with the City of Washington - is the
capital of the United States. It is located between Virginia and Maryland
on the Potomac River. The district is named after Columbus. D.C. history
began in 1790 when Congress directed selection of a new capital site, 100
square miles, along the Potomac. When the site was determined, it included
30.75 square miles on the Virginia side of the river. In 1846, however,
Congress returned that area to Virginia, leaving the 68.25 square miles
ceded by Maryland in 1788. The seat of government was transferred from Philadelphia
to Washington on Dec. 1, 1800, and President John Adams became the first
resident in the White House. The city was planned and partly laid out by
Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer. This work was perfected
and completed by Major Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker, a freeborn
black man, who was an astronomer and mathematician. In 1814, during the
War of 1812, a British force burned the capital including the White House.
Until Nov. 3, 1967, the District of Columbia was administered by three commissioners
appointed by the president. On that day, a government consisting of a mayor-commissioner
and a 9-member council, all appointed by the president with the approval
of the Senate, took office. On May 7, 1974, the citizens of the District
of Columbia approved a Home Rule Charter, giving them an elected mayor and
13-member council—their first elected municipal government in more
than a century. The district also has one non-voting member in the House
of Representatives and an elected Board of Education. On Aug. 22, 1978,
Congress passed a proposed constitutional amendment to give Washington,
D.C., voting representation in the Congress. The amendment had to be ratified
by at least 28 state legislatures within seven years to become effective.
As of 1985 it died. A petition asking for the district's admission to the
Union as the 51st state was filed in Congress on September 9, 1983. The
district is continuing this drive for statehood. The federal government
and tourism are the mainstays of the city's economy, and many unions, business,
professional, and nonprofit organizations are headquartered there. Copyright
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Reserved Worldwide.
Other D.C. Links:
Visit
the White House
Greater Washington Board of Trade
Institute - United States Chamber
of Commerce
Library of Congress
Washington,
D.C Variety Page
Metropolitan Washington Council
of Governments
American Samoa
Office of Tourism
Governor and Lt.
Governor
Government of Puerto Rico - Office
of the Governor
Puerto Rico - Department of
Education
Industrial
Development Commission
Government of the District of Columbia
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