Why is D.C. (District of Columbia) named what it is?
606159
The initial plot of land authorized by the Constitution for the seat of the US government was a 100-square mile area. The first commissioners appointed to acquire the property for the new capital and construct the first government buildings made the obvious choice and named the city Washington. At the same time, they decided to call the entire 100 square-mile area the District of Columbia. Congress later went along with this decision through legislative references to the area. \n\nThe city of Washington as designed by L'Enfant did not, of course, fill the 100 square-mile area authorized by the Constitution for the seat of government. The area also included the cities of Georgetown (1751) and Alexandria (1749), which were already in existence. Congress designated the rest of the 10-mile by 10-mile portion outside the corporate limits of these three cities as the County of Alexandria, in the section given by Virginia, and the County of Washington, in the Maryland-ceded portion. \nIn 1846 Congress voted to give back to Virginia all the land that state had given to the government in 1790 for creation of the District of Columbia. This move returned about 32 square miles of territory to Virginia. Residents of Alexandria and what is now Arlington County, Virginia, thus lost District of Columbia residency and again became Virginia citizens. \n\nIf all this sounds confusing, think of Congress trying to enact legislation dealing with the local affairs of this area. Congress tried to clarify the jurisdictional muddle when it established a territorial form of government for the capital in 1871. It revoked the charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown and also abolished a levy court for the County of Washington. All legal municipal functions were given to the District of Columbia. \n\nThen Congress changed its mind again and decided that Georgetown and the County of Washington should be separate entities. In 1895, Congress legally ended Georgetown's status as a separate city by merging it with the City of Washington, yet this act said nothing about the County of Washington. Technically, this Maryland-ceded portion of the District of Columbia is still a part of that namesake even though it operates as a separate identity. The slip-up, moreover, has never been corrected. \n\nSo, today, a resident of the District of Columbia may be living either in the old County of Washington or in the merged section made up of L'Enfant's City of Washington and of Georgetown. Washington, D.C., however, is a city in name only - a mapmaker's designation and the established pseudonym for the District of Columbia.
683042
Georgetown U, Washington,DC\nAmerican U, Washington, DC
1159576
It's actually a form of dictatorship, but the name was chosen strictly for PR value. The name makes it sound like the government actually is for the people.
65949
Washington, D.C. I believe.
343627
Apparently as a reference to Christopher Columbus.\n\nFrom the site below:\nOrigin of the Name Washington, District of Columbia - The name Washington was to honor the first president of the USA, George Washington. The name Columbia is in reference to Christopher Columbus.
1002177
Some Jurisdictions exchange information, others do not.  Also when you say "Washington", no one knows whether you mean the State or D.C.
356039
Regional naming of the United States is from the viewpoint of the eastern part of the United States.  Thus, the states you named are the Mid-West part of the country from and East Coast perspective.\n\nThe reasons for the East Coast perspective on regional naming is two-fold:\n1) The United States Capitol is on the East Coast\n2) The majority of the population movement in the United States was from east-to-west.
891920
What? The capitol was still Washington DC if thats what you are asking us.
53994
Washington is a state in the Northwest US (just north of Oregon). District of Columbia (D.C.) is a section of land that is not within any state, but is a federal district. The entirety of that district is also a city called Washington. So it is often called Washington, D.C.
836830
its not in a state, Washington DC is its very own little world, kind of similar to Vatican City in Italy.\n\nWashington DC is located on the border of Virgina and Pa.
437534
No.  The District of Columbia was established so that the working seat of American governement would not reside in a specific state.  \n\nThat way when Iowa and Maryland get into a urination contest one of them can't say "Well I am home to the whole freakin' government!"
640223
Capital of the United States: Washington, D.C.\n \nCapital of each of the states:\nAlabamaMontgomery\nAlaskaJuneau\nArizonaPhoenix\nArkansasLittle Rock\nCaliforniaSacramento\nColoradoDenver\nConnecticutHartford\nDelawareDover\nFloridaTallahassee\nGeorgiaAtlanta\nHawaiiHonolulu\nIdahoBoise\nIllinoisSpringfield\nIndianaIndianapolis\nIowaDes Moines\nKansasTopeka\nKentuckyFrankfort\nLouisianaBaton Rouge\nMaineAugusta\nMarylandAnnapolis\nMassachusettsBoston\nMichiganLansing\nMinnesotaSt. Paul\nMississippiJackson\nMissouriJefferson City\nMontanaHelena\nNebraskaLincoln\nNevadaCarson City\nNew HampshireConcord\nNew JerseyTrenton\nNew MexicoSanta Fe\nNew YorkAlbany\nNorth CarolinaRaleigh\nNorth DakotaBismarck\nOhioColumbus\nOklahomaOklahoma City\nOregonSalem\nPennsylvaniaHarrisburg\nRhode IslandProvidence\nSouth CarolinaColumbia\nSouth DakotaPierre\nTennesseeNashville\nTexasAustin\nUtahSalt Lake City\nVermontMontpelier\nVirginiaRichmond\nWashingtonOlympia\nWest VirginiaCharleston\nWisconsinMadison\nWyomingCheyenne
490638
the district of columbia was carved out of sections of maryland and virginia and is now considered part of neither.
231418
I would contact your local city manager, state representative, or Congressman/Senator in DC. These are the types of questions and anwsers they are there to help you with.\n\nYou may get a bit of run around at first. But don't give up, keep at it. That info is out there.
1053413
Washington D.C of course....
371283
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.\n\nDC history began in 1790 when Congress directed selection of a new capital site, 100 sq mi, along the Potomac. When the site was determined, it included 30.75 sq mi on the Virginia side of the river. In 1846, however, Congress returned that area to Virginia, leaving the 68.25 sq mi 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.\n\nThe city was planned and partly laid out by Maj. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer. This work was perfected and completed by Maj. 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.\n\nUntil 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 nonvoting member in the House of Representatives and an elected Board of Education.\n\nOn Aug. 22, 1978, Congress passed a proposed constitutional amendment to give Washington, DC, voting representation in the Congress. The amendment had to be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures within seven years to become effective. It died in 1985. A petition asking for the district's admission to the Union as the 51st state was filed in Congress on Sept. 9, 1983, and new statehood bills were introduced in 1993. The district is continuing this drive for statehood.\n\nThe federal government and tourism are the mainstays of the city's economy, and many unions, business, professional, and nonprofit organizations are headquartered there. Among the city's many educational institutions are the Catholic University of America, Georgetown University, Howard University, and Gallaudet University. Cultural attractions include the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Folger Shakespeare Library\n\n\nAlternatively you could go to the websites below for more information
322639
They are all located in D.C.