As a DC native who grew up in McLean, Northern Virginia, it's nice to see this segment. Yea, Alexandria always had a different vibe. Oh, I'm also a GMU alumni
How does it feel to live amongst the corrupt federal government. How do you deal with it. I stay far away from the warmongers and pedophiles on capitol hill. Keep bill clinton away from me
Today, there are at least two significant national institutions located in Alexandria - Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon. Many companies that do a lot of business with the US govt are located on that side of the Potomac. Many people living there commute daily to work in DC. I think if the square had remained to the present, the population would never imagine retrocession as a feasible option. Simply, not enough time had been given for the capital to grow into its allocated space.
@@rackstraw Yes, that's true today, but "Arlington County" was formed from the NW section of the Virginia portion of what they used to call Alexandria (left side of the Virginia portion as you look at map in this video). Alexandria City (an 'Independent City' in Virginia) is just the SE part today, not delineated on the map in the video. The rest became "Arlington County". Today, Alexandria looks like a city, from the "Old Town" area close to the river, to the more modern developments in its western edge, adjoining Arlington Co. Continuing west, you run in to Arlington Co, which also looks like a city, despite actually being a small county. It's the location of Reagan National Airport (DCA) as well as the Cemetery & the Pentagon, and numerous office blocks, hotels, high rise apartment buildings, as well having as suburban streets with single family homes. :-)
From what I was told by a historian as I was touring the area years ago the act to prohibit government buildings in Alexandria was practical, the difficulty to get across the river easily and quickly made it much more practical to keep them on the Maryland side.
You’d think though they could have made some sort of bridge across the narrower part of the Potomac. It wouldn’t have to be a whole bunch of buildings but a few. That and a commission to actually make laws for the district not keep Maryland’s laws for the Maryland portion and Virginia’s for the Virginia portion.
@@zbagz01Maybe so, but does that justify an outright ban? If money was the concern, they could have just... not built there. Unless and until there were sufficient funds to make it practical. A ban seems excessive.
@@rudewalrus5636 This was 1792. There wasn't a lot of money around. They had enough money to build the President's House and the Congress House and that was about it. Labor was provided by indentured servants, some freemen and slaves. It took about 7 years to build both buildings. The government moved here in 1800. So those were the only two government buildings that were built. It wouldn't have made sense to put one across the river. Anyway, the agreement reached in Congress was that all government buildings would be on the eastern side of the Potomac. This may have been George Washington's choice because he had a number of large estates in Virginia and he may not have wanted to look like he would personally benefit from locating one of the two buildings planned for the new capital in Virginia.
I live in Maryland near the northern boundry marker outside of Silver Spring. I have an original 1845 map framed of the 10 square mile DC. It's amazing that most of Washington county and Alexandria County (now Arlington County and Alexandria city) was undeveloped. That changed. The city of Washington part of Washington county was planned by le entfant (he was never paid for his plan of the city) and yes slavery was the nail in the coffin to Retrocession. Very good job on your research. Interested in meeting you and showing you the original map or talking dc history. Thanks for posting this video!!! 😊 Jonathan
The Potomac river is weird cause Maryland owns the whole river... until you get to DC. And then VA all of a sudden owns a part of the river, for like half a second. and then it's Maryland's again.
None of the Patomac River is in Virginia. Prior to the creation of DC, the boundary between Maryland and Virginia was set as the south/west shore of the river. When DC was created, that section of the river was made part of DC. When Alexandria and nearby land (now known as Arlington) were returned to Virginia, the river did not leave DC.
Growing up in Maryland outside dc this is something I always wondered about. Makes sense because everyone I've met from Alexandria has some kind of rivalry with Maryland that we don't know about
On that final meditation, it’s interesting that today there are people in other parts of Virginia who would love to give Arlington and Alexandria (along with Fairfax, perhaps) back to DC. It’s safe to say that Virginia would be a reliably red state without them.
I think you should put your name back in the channel title like before. Exploring History is a super generic name for modern day RUclips, with 1000s of AI narrated channels with identical names. Your early book reviews was what made me discover your stuff, you have a hell of a knack for that kind of content so it's sad to see your channel's growth slow down because you decided to rebrand with such a generic name
The pentagon has a Washington DC Address. The fact that it sits on this side of the potomac is mute. National Airport has a Washington DC address. Lots of funny things around here.
Wow, I'm from India and i played this video because i always had this curiosity of why DC i shaped that way. It was a great video❤🎉 Message to Americans from a Social Science Indian nerd- 1. Some Indians like me love the US and the West in general, you have a great and very interesting history. 2. As a fellow democratic citizen I worry sometimes about American politics but I'm 100% sure Americans and democratic values will win always. 3. Don't you give into this local identity thing, bind together always. We Indians learnt this the hard way. 4. I observed in this video that Britishers are global international thieves, they don't differentiate with victims based on race or ethnicity😂. This last point is just a joke
Canada's capital, Ottawa, is just another Ontario city; it has never been in a separate capital district. Nevertheless, the Ottawa river forms the provincial boundary with Quebec. Some federal offices are located across the river in that province.
The tendency to shift away from the ’larger’ idea of identity towards the more regional or even local identities is not just an American issue. It can be seen all over the place. Whether it’s the shift away from the European causeway back towards the navel gazing of so-called national identity, or the shift towards regions inside single and multiple nations rediscovering their roots of interaction from before the clear cut national borders and their identities were put in place.
I’m a new Washingtonian, and this history is amazing to know! You’ve got me thinking about how I identify. Perhaps I’m romantic or old-fashioned, but I believe I-and everyone in the States-are Americans before anything else. I hope that we stay that way.
If you were old fashioned, then you would know we are part of our state first and foremost, unfortunately, a treasonous, tyrannical dictator, decided to occupy several sovereign countries.
As a fan of Australia’s equivalent to DC - the ACT - this is quite interesting to know. A very rare border change is happening right now, but it’s all surprisingly congenial: One of the ACT suburbs needs to expand, and the old state of NSW doesn’t have anything much going on there but farmland. I can’t believe how uncontroversial this is, and it’s only a couple of years since the shocking border closures during Covid’s first waves. They were begging to “adjust” the border between NSW and QLD because it reaches the coast in the middle of suburban streets, rather than something geological like a nearby river. But everyone got a bit testy and it’s super easy to reject cooperation when it comes to border changes. So the state that wanted to close the border had to do some insane acrobatics to do inspection checkpoints. PS, nice TARDIS, which one is that? Moffat era or Cushing movies?
I’d say RTD; the shade of blue, the lack of the St John’s Ambulance on the front, the length and straightness of the light, and the shape of the overall structure only fits 2005-2009ish
DC was new. How could it compare to the identity of Virginia? I don’t think it was about America as much as they were not treated as equal Washingtonians. I say make the diamond whole again. 🇺🇸
@@uvbe it’s all about relativity. It was much older. 13 colonies. Plus VA was the first place settled by the British. So no, it wasn’t new at all and compared to DC very old.
No, the District should be shrunken to only envelop Federal property like the White House, Capitol Hill, National Mall etc. The rest of the land should be incorporated into Maryland so that DC residents will have representation in Congress.
@@Dewibop Too bad that is more difficult than it sounds - or it would have been done already. There are government buildings all over the city and the DC provides basic services to these buildings. It would also mean that all the embassies would end up in Maryland.
This video seems to show why DC statehood for the district makes mote sense then retrocession. The people living in DC are not Marylanders, they identify more with the city of DC then the state that the land used to belong to over 200 years ago.
My first loyalty is to the United States. My home state of Hawaii comes second. I would support what is best for the country, even if it wasn’t necessarily good for my state.
Perhaps further retrocession may be a good idea. DC could be further shrunk to a nucleus of federal buildings. The remainder might be made a Maryland city which could be named Potomac City. This would end the taxation-without-representation complaint. Repeal of the twenty-third amendment to the US Constitution would be in order.
The city of Savannah, GA must have taken a hint from Alexandria when it surrendered to Gen'l Sherman during the Civil War, to prevent him from burning it. That was a really interesting video, thank you. As a Virginian, I need to spend more time in Alexandria - it's such a cool place.
As a non-native Virginian of over 30 years (my wife and kids are!) - loved this video! Even before moving here from the deep South, I often wondered how the capitol got to the way it was.
13:06 There's this one weird deck/loading dock thing on a building in Old Town that I've walked past a million times. All the buildings around it are residential. I very clearly remember the first time my mom pointed it out to me and said: "That's where they held the slave auctions". I found it on google maps i think: 110 S Lee St. (Wait a minute! LEE street???) I live in Arlington, and it's always felt a lot like an unofficial part of DC to me. We've got the Pentagon, DC's main airport, the Airforce memorial (which is huge and visible from a lot of DC), the cemetery, the Iwo Jima memorial, Fort Meyer. The metro system spreads 4 lines across the river, and the national mall has never been more than 20 minutes and 2 bucks away for me. The DC skyline is visible from main highways in Arlington, and with Rosslyn/Court House and Pentagon city/Crystal city it doesn't feel like the urbanization drops off steeply over the river or anything. When January 6th happened, that felt personal, like it happened at home. My mom saw them on the metro on the way to work that morning. Same thing with the 2020 George Floyd protests, and every other big demonstration that happens. Whenever somebody asks me where I'm from, I don't say Virginia. I say "Arlington, Virginia, right over the river from DC." In the past when I've told people that I'm just "from Virginia" (I go to school in Rhode Island now) I can immediately see in their eyes that they think im a racist hick. I really don't identify with the rest of my state. If you go more than an hour south from my house, you start seeing trump flags on every farmhouse and more Don't Tread on Me license plates. Arlington is this kind of blue bubble atop a sea of red. I've always felt like a Washingtonian who gets the extra random privilege to vote in Virginia elections.
Look at any election by the county or city. It has near always been about rural vs urban. Self-reliance vs unionized solidarity...or common cause. Agrarian vs Industrial. One can even see this division in neo-industrial Europe. Humanity doesn't change (particularly in principles)... but the understanding of where those principles are collected in a political party, religion, etc ebbs and tides.
🇻🇮 US Virgin Islands here, where according to the Supreme Court we are incapable of understanding Anglo-Saxon principles, cannot participate in the Affordable Care Act (Health Insurance as an individual), and cannot vote or have representation in Congress.
@@ISpitHotFiyaa Population? True, yet still a larger population than half of the original 13 colonies. Moreover, other US territories are in similar situations… Puerto Rico = 3.3 million. Yet there are 6 states under 1 million people with a combined population of 4.5 million. Wyoming has 567,000 people. Vermont = 623,000. Alaska = 736,000. North Dakota =770,000. South Dakota = 896,000. Delaware = 989,000 Then, Washington DC = 712,000. And if you are born in the mainland USA and move to the Virgin Islands, you suddenly lose health insurance, representation, and (according to the Supreme Court 1922 Case Balzac, Justice McReynolds) are no longer capable of understanding Anglo-Saxon principles.
@@KGTiberiuswell if you dont live here why would you want to vote here? Why not just stay and keep all those things youre mad about losing because you left. Did you give up your guns to move there?
@@TheAnnoyingBoss US Virgin Islands is part of the United States. We have full constitutional protections… however, even though I’m from the mainland USA and only moved here a few years ago, I cannot vote because only the electoral college votes from states + DC. My comment was that All American Citizens should be able to participate. And I’m a proud arms dealer. Stop being a jerk and getting people divided. We are one nation.
Ken Burns touched on the "United States are/United States is" thing when talking about his series on the Civil War, about how the war brought that about.
Alexandria might have been more Virginian than Washingtonian in 1846, but as the civilian, military and intelligence bureaucracy of DC has exploded during the 20th and early 21st centuries, from what I've seen of the place, Alexandria is just a more scenic extension of Washington. As things stand in 2024, retrocession might as well have never happened.
Nice piece, sir! But Carolinians??!! Maybe a future topic could be how and why North Carolina and South Carolina are so distinct. it always irks me when people say "the Carolinas" or "Carolinians." Growing up I was taught that North Carolina was "a vale of humility between two mountains of conceit," meaning South Carolina and Virginia.
And today, it should be shrunk again: to include from H street to the Potomac, and 4th St NE to the Potomac. The remaining area should be ceded back to Maryland, with a prohibition on permanent residency within the new confines. So finally, those good people will have representation.
The U.S. should have seized Alexandria and returned it to the District of Columbia when we seized Arlington and made it a National Cemetery. They voided the Retrocession when Virginia seceded.
I am honestly blown away that such honest intellectual investigation on hot topic issues exists on the internet without all of the new wave dogma of the current political divide. Bravo. Definitely subscribing for more.
Still missed how Alexandra became Arlington and how “Alexandria” exists but more as a blob at the southern end of Arlington. Also, I actually placed some geocaches (when that was a thing) at the corners of DC, albeit not at the southern tip as a park it was not permitted. I moved before getting a special exception.
I really hope that your take at the end won’t come to pass! America is strong because it’s such a large country, if we start retreating back into our states then the systems that run our economy and infrastructure that we take for granted will break down too. It’s important to have unified standards and laws across an economic area. Furthermore, I think Americans overestimate how different they actually are. Your average Texan and your average Californian will actually have very similar lives and live in similar places and engage in the same culture. There’s no practical reason to draw a line in the sand between the two. Furthermore aside from native Americans we don’t have any cultural minorities in the traditional sense. There’s no Catalan or Brittany of the US, everyone is either an American or an immigrant and the latter are spread out throughout the country. That’s usually the reason regions are granted autonomy, because their culture is different from the rest of the country. But we don’t have anything like that aside from maybe Hawaii and the territories. I just don’t think it’s a good idea. In fact, if I had my way I’d reorganize the US into a unitary state. Federalism is just outdated for our country at this point, we don’t need it anymore because regional differences aren’t really a thing anymore due to increased travel and globalization. Federalism should be reserved for multi-cultural blocks like the EU or Russia. Edit: although obviously I’d have reservations keep their autonomy
@@legoboy468 The difference of centralization between the two countries is largely ambiguous, due to fundamental differences in conception of the division of powers (Germany is more administratively federalized than the US, while the US is more legally federalized). While it is hard to say who is the more centralized, it is clear that they are far more centralized compared states within the same types (Canada for the US, Switzerland for Germany).
1) Democratic in control of the House. The 1844-45 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between July 1, 1844, and November 4, 1845. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives. 224 elected members representing 27 states took their seats when the first session of the 29th United States Congress convened on December 1, 1845. 142 Democratic seats. On top of that James K Polk from Tennessee and a Slave holder was President. 1845-1846 was the last gasp of Southern control of levers of power in Federal government. Once California came into the Union the south influence started downhill.
the people that live in dc should be able vote for senate or congress but still can not. there are more people in dc than states like WY. If DC cant have senators then WY shouldn’t either. no taxation without representation !
I’m from Nova I grew up in Fairfax county My family has been in this area since the 1650’s in PG county according to ancestry, I’m 40. I disagree with you about Alexandria, It is like DC in many ways, Arlington and parts of Falls Church as well. Old Town Alexandria and Georgetown look the same with the cobbled streets and the architecture and styling of the buildings are identical. I Like the video and I think it’d be cool if you did a video about the battle of Bladensburg to follow up about the occupation of Alexandria, that was something that I did not know they didn’t teach us about that.
Yes, they were. Alexandria has an interesting Civil War history, but it was occupied by the Union for almost the entire war. I think most troops crossed over Long Bridge, which was where the 14th St. Bridge is today, running from SW DC to what is now Pentagon City.
@@willshen6597 So regardless of the civil separation in 1846, the military still occupied the original space. I understand that the USA military occupied Ft. Monroe and the Naval facilities in Hampton Rhodes, but I would have assumed that Virginia Militia would have controlled the remaining territory.... apparently not. When Virginia seceded, they probably could have taken all of Washington DC but sent messages to General Scott to the effect that they had no aggressive designs on "Washington" But they did take Haper's Ferry and the Union abandoned the navy facilities and retreated into Ft. Monroe. IMHO, the exchange of cannon fire (in which no one was injured) at Ft. Sumter was NOT the beginning of the War. The War was initiated by the Union attempt to take Richmond that was thwarted at Bull Run. Historians overlook many important facts. Secession and War are two different things. Did the War start without Lee, Jackson, Johnston, et al. NC, VA, and TN? Jefferson Davis sent peace comissio0ns to Lincoln that were never accepted and after VA entered the Confederacy< VA did NOT attack the vulnerable Washington, DC. Maryland private citizens resisted the arrival of Union troops transferring to DC from New York and New England. Exactly who actually started the WAR?
I do wish we would return to strong states to better represent the residents of that state while still understanding what unified us as a nation and the constitution.
This was unexpectedly excellent. I appreciate your finding large themes from minutae. And I've been seeing that identification with state over federal, in my state, for years now. In my opinion it's a good thing. Identification with demographic however is becoming perhaps even larger. I'm concerned by that. Thank you again. Really terrific presentation.
One fact that was overlooked in the video is that when Congress authorized George Washington to select the final location of DC, they said it would be along the Potomac River and they gave him a northern and a southern limit. Washington, wanting to include Alexandria, stretched the definition of his limits by putting THE CENTER of the district at the southern limit. But even then, it only included about 80% of what was then the city of Alexandria. There were still some edges of the city that remained in Virginia.
There shouldn’t be anything in D.C. but the federal agencies, White House, Supreme Court. Perhaps Georgetown University and the Georgetown neighborhood. All the other sections of the District are residential and commercial and have nothing whatsoever to do with being the seat of government. But as a Marylander, if they dumped those crime-ridden ghettos that make up much of D.C. on us, I would immediately put my house on the market and leave.
Patriotism & pride in your home state don’t have to conflict with each other. It can also be above partisan politics. Its history doesn’t have to be perfect for you to be proud of it.
What this analysis is missing is a comparison to Washington County. You talk about the identity of Alexandrians, but some of the same factors affecting Alexandria County were present across the river as well. NO ONE in DC had voting rights*; that wasn't just on the Alexandria side of the river. Even with respect to slavery, Maryland was a slave state, so people on the Washington side of the river might have also been concerned by the possibility of abolition. So why was retrocession so much more popular idea in Alexandria than Washington? Or indeed, was it more popular (as opposed to just more successful)? [* Indeed, even today, although they can now vote for President, residents of the District of Columbia have no voting representation in Congress - at the same time that Congress exercises ultimate authority over the government of the District. Nearly 700,000 U.S. citizens pay federal taxes without (voting) representation.]
My family has been in the DC area since at least the creation of the District (at least a couple of ancestors in Georgetown when it was ceded to the District - their address changed from Georgetown, MD to Georgetown, DC overnight). I would like to correct a couple of errors in the video beginning with the title. You have to understand that the District of Columbia was set up just like any other state (actually territory) with cities and counties. On the MD side Georgetown (a port city at the time) was an existing city within the new territory of the District of Columbia and it was still a separate entity in 1846. The rest of the MD side consisted of the brand new city of Washington - where the seat of Government was to be located - and the remainder of the MD side - which was Washington County - which was the biggest portion of the District on the MD side. On the VA side was Alexandria City which was a separate port city and the rest was the county of Alexandria (today Arlington County - which I think is the smallest county in terms of area in the US). In 1846 Washington, DC was simply the new city portion of the District - and only that portion). So with that background - I think the title of the video is misleading in regards to the history of the city. Washington DC was not cut in 2 in 1846 - it remained as intact as ever. The District of Columbia was cut in 2 (actually is was more like they lost 1/3 of the land area of the District) and not the city. Also - in regards to the issue of federal buildings not on the VA side - the federal buildings were restricted to the Washington City part of the District - that's why the city was being built - to be the seat of the Government. The rest of the District was to serve other purposes just like any other state or territory. Also, since it was not foreseen that the VA side would be needed for any federal government purpose, there was not much resistance to giving it back to VA.
There has to be some carryover of federal legal jurisdiction in Alexandria, because I’ve noticed that when the federal government criminally prosecutes someone for something like a national defense crime, they frequently put the person on trial in VA. It was particularly noticeable when it involved a civilian Naval employee who both lived and worked in D.C., but he was put on trial for espionage in Alexandria, VA. I think the government prefers that venue, as the potential jurors are likely to be more conservative than those in D.C., but how is this legally possible? My only explanation came about when I read a book by a former DOJ prosecutor who was trying a case in D.C., and he found a provision in the law that said if there is no specific federal law that address a particular issue, that the DOJ could revert to the laws of Maryland. So perhaps there’s something similar going on with trying certain D.C. crimes in Alexandria, VA.
Restonian here. I moved to NoVA from Ohio when I was 11; I remember visiting DC and Alexandria with my family a few times as we settled in to the area, and even at that age, I could tell there was something different about the two places. Even today, I love going to Old Town Alexandria; DC, not so much (it doesn't help that traffic and parking in DC is so bad, and the Metro is kind of mehh). Regarding your musings on community and identification, I see a real community spirit in Alexandria, especially in the Fisherman's Wharf area, where in the summer you have so many nice live concerts and events, people walking the streets. And we're not just talking about "Good Ol' Boys" (although I am glad there are still a number of generations-long Alexandrians still in the area to perpetuate the good aspects of Southern culture) but also people from all over the world who have made Alexandria their home. I don't see that as much in DC, given the transient nature of many DC residents who come and go with the political waves, with the exception of the indigenous African-American communities and the Hispanic neighborhoods that have existed for several generations now; they definitely identify as part of a "DC community,."
Laws change. The Pentagon was built in the 1940s. Today many government agencies in addition to the DoD have their headquarters in Northern Virginia. The CIA, NRO and NGA immediately come to mind. The US Navy is probably the largest tenant in the part of Alexandria known as Crystal City.
I learned from you that Alexandria surrendered the city and was the focul point of the slave trade, so much so they left the capital to keep it. I bet they love you down there spreading this around
6:00 (Outside the District,) Maryland owns the Potomac. So when you create the District, you need to make some sort of new decision about how it is controlled, and it would have made more sense to avoid the issue by making the District one county and to just delegate local authority to a county government.
Had the capitol stayed in Philadelphia, there would just be Georgetown, Alexandria, and several smaller towns scattered throughout the area. I wonder how large those cities would have grown on their own.
Good idea. I always thought the way they did D.C. was stupid. It really makes no sense. I think they maybe thought it might reduce the corruption and concentration of power they saw in European capitals at that time. NOPE. They should re-do it and make it similar to National Parks; it's Federal land but within a state. So those on the Maryland side who are/were permanent residents of DC are also considered to be residents of Maryland and are subject to its state laws and vote in its elections. Non permanent residents such as elected officials, staff of elected officials, administrative appointees of elected officials are considered non-permanent residents and only Federal and DC specific local laws apply, and they vote in their home-state elections. In short, it would be a semi-autonomous enclave of Maryland that caters to the functioning of the Federal Government, but doesn't leave its permanent residents in legal and electoral limbo.
@@brianfox771The original reason was to prevent any state from taking Congress Hostage. The historical background was that the original Congress was located in Philadelphia, but when hundreds of Pennsylvanian Militiamen mutinied and surrounded Congress to demand payments for their service during the Revolutionary War, the PA governor refused to assist Congress. This was why Congress decided to create a Federal Territory for the Capital under the direct control of Congress.
3:56 This is a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln, who was President from 1860 to 1865. This is after the Virginia went back to Virginia in 1846. Although Mr. Lincoln was a U.S. Representative for one term (1847-1849). So this makes sense.
"The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American," Patrick Henry, 1774. Some were aware that to the outside world we were Americans and not Virginians. Among themselves, our forefathers saw their distinctions between their home state. In fact to them "state" was not a region or area, but a sovereign (or quasi-sovereign) nation. But those who saw the pending war with Great Britain also saw how Europe viewed those colonies. When Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783, they did not recognize the "Untied States of America", but each individual state. Like most history, and most wars, there is usually more complexity to the topic than can be discussed in short segments. This topic about Virginia reacquiring that land is one that is frequently overlooked in the history of our land. I, too, am a tenth generation Virginian. Descendant from Alexander Guill, who was receiving a military pension from the Virginia Militia during the American Revolution.
No. Americans today may be very divided, but the divisions only incidentally and occasionally fall along state lines. Dividing the country up into historical states is an anachronism, and not one that reflects the complexities of the United States today.
Robert E Lee would’ve been more comfortable in joining the Union cause if Virginia was controlled by DC. Lincoln could’ve easily done what he did to Maryland. But hey, hindsight is 20/20. ^_^
Why is the portion of the original District of Columbia on the Virginia side of the river, north of Four Mile Run, now the County of Arlington and no longer part of the City of Alexandria?
When DC was created, the City of Alexandria (pretty much what is now referred to as Old Town) and the remaining land on the west side of the Potomac were combined into Alexandria County. After the Civil War, the City of Alexandria became a separate entity from Alexandria County. (Not sure why). In 1920, to avoid confusion, Alexandria County was renamed Arlington County. The name was taken from Arlington House, Robert E Lee’s former home located in what is now Arlington Cemetery.
@@taoliu3949 Except that counties are comprised of individual cities and towns. That is, with the exception of Arlington, which is its own county. It has both a sheriff’s office (normally a county function) as well as a police force.
Constitutional republic is a word so many dont understand today, im in uk and have argued this to many who dont know or why its important its not a federeal democracy
People in Reston/Herndon think that Alexandria is dangerous. Historic, sleepy community of retired people and professionals -- dangerous. "What's this brick all about!? Candace, I'm scared!!" It's adorable to be stereotyped something that is nothing like what it's really like. Former Sen. Mark Warner might still live in his historic Alexandria house. Robert E. Lee's boyhood home is preserved on Washington St. "Dangerous." Is the Ben and Jerry's shop and then the Hagen Daas shop around the corner too much riff-raff for you? I think when they leave the house, the only sunlight they get is through their Tesla's windshield -- from driveway to the parking garage at Tyson's II!
And therein lies the answer to the DC statehood question...if the people that live in the geography ceded as DC east of the Potomac need representation in Congress then put them back in Maryland. This way Maryland gets another congressional district or two [while some other state(s) of course would lose] and the structure of the Senate remains intact. Easier than forming another state out of DC, which is likely unconstitutional anyway.
Your line is drawn incorrectly. The Potomac River is part of DC. Your information about voting is also incorrect. While DC residents couldn’t vote in federal elections, they retained the municipal government of Alexandria (for which they COULD vote). Even your information about slavery is off. Importation of slaves into the country was banned by the federal government in 1805. There was very little left of slave trading after that.
Thank you for sparing me the self-important lecture about getting along that so many others give when they talk about polarization. The idea that I ought to make nice with people who are actively trying to strip me of my rights and make my life miserable says so much about the kind of person who would say it.
As a DC native who grew up in McLean, Northern Virginia, it's nice to see this segment. Yea, Alexandria always had a different vibe. Oh, I'm also a GMU alumni
How does it feel to live amongst the corrupt federal government. How do you deal with it. I stay far away from the warmongers and pedophiles on capitol hill. Keep bill clinton away from me
Alexandria still is strangely different.
erm..ok
Today, there are at least two significant national institutions located in Alexandria - Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon. Many companies that do a lot of business with the US govt are located on that side of the Potomac. Many people living there commute daily to work in DC. I think if the square had remained to the present, the population would never imagine retrocession as a feasible option. Simply, not enough time had been given for the capital to grow into its allocated space.
They're both in Arlington County.
Arlington Cemetery was Robert Lee's plantation. Lincoln started burying Soldiers there, to basically "spoil" the land, as punishment for Lee.
@@brucelytle1144 Not Lincoln, but the Quartermaster General of the Union Army, Montgomery Meigs.
@@rackstraw Yes, that's true today, but "Arlington County" was formed from the NW section of the Virginia portion of what they used to call Alexandria (left side of the Virginia portion as you look at map in this video). Alexandria City (an 'Independent City' in Virginia) is just the SE part today, not delineated on the map in the video. The rest became "Arlington County". Today, Alexandria looks like a city, from the "Old Town" area close to the river, to the more modern developments in its western edge, adjoining Arlington Co. Continuing west, you run in to Arlington Co, which also looks like a city, despite actually being a small county. It's the location of Reagan National Airport (DCA) as well as the Cemetery & the Pentagon, and numerous office blocks, hotels, high rise apartment buildings, as well having as suburban streets with single family homes. :-)
😂 government buildings werent allowed on the VA side
From what I was told by a historian as I was touring the area years ago the act to prohibit government buildings in Alexandria was practical, the difficulty to get across the river easily and quickly made it much more practical to keep them on the Maryland side.
You’d think though they could have made some sort of bridge across the narrower part of the Potomac. It wouldn’t have to be a whole bunch of buildings but a few. That and a commission to actually make laws for the district not keep Maryland’s laws for the Maryland portion and Virginia’s for the Virginia portion.
Ya the river is much narrower at Georgetown, just make bridges there?
@@Random_UserName4269 Money would have had to be raised. They were having a hard enough time raising money to build the Capitol and White House.
@@zbagz01Maybe so, but does that justify an outright ban? If money was the concern, they could have just... not built there. Unless and until there were sufficient funds to make it practical. A ban seems excessive.
@@rudewalrus5636 This was 1792. There wasn't a lot of money around. They had enough money to build the President's House and the Congress House and that was about it. Labor was provided by indentured servants, some freemen and slaves. It took about 7 years to build both buildings. The government moved here in 1800.
So those were the only two government buildings that were built. It wouldn't have made sense to put one across the river.
Anyway, the agreement reached in Congress was that all government buildings would be on the eastern side of the Potomac. This may have been George Washington's choice because he had a number of large estates in Virginia and he may not have wanted to look like he would personally benefit from locating one of the two buildings planned for the new capital in Virginia.
I live in Maryland near the northern boundry marker outside of Silver Spring. I have an original 1845 map framed of the 10 square mile DC. It's amazing that most of Washington county and Alexandria County (now Arlington County and Alexandria city) was undeveloped. That changed. The city of Washington part of Washington county was planned by le entfant (he was never paid for his plan of the city) and yes slavery was the nail in the coffin to Retrocession. Very good job on your research. Interested in meeting you and showing you the original map or talking dc history. Thanks for posting this video!!! 😊
Jonathan
Yup, I've been to that one a bunch of times. LAst summer I took my son into the woods to find it after lunch at Parkway Deli
The Potomac river is weird cause Maryland owns the whole river... until you get to DC. And then VA all of a sudden owns a part of the river, for like half a second. and then it's Maryland's again.
And when you hit Tangier Island Va down Virginia owns the Chesapeake Bay all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
So who got the river in 46, 61, and 65?
Nope. DC owns the river, not VA
@@matthewgilmore4307dc owns 0 of the river
None of the Patomac River is in Virginia. Prior to the creation of DC, the boundary between Maryland and Virginia was set as the south/west shore of the river. When DC was created, that section of the river was made part of DC. When Alexandria and nearby land (now known as Arlington) were returned to Virginia, the river did not leave DC.
I've loved your videos for 5+ years and this is another great one. Thanks for making this!
Growing up in Maryland outside dc this is something I always wondered about. Makes sense because everyone I've met from Alexandria has some kind of rivalry with Maryland that we don't know about
Were gonna make you know, Lil bro
Were gonna make you know, Lil bro
On that final meditation, it’s interesting that today there are people in other parts of Virginia who would love to give Arlington and Alexandria (along with Fairfax, perhaps) back to DC. It’s safe to say that Virginia would be a reliably red state without them.
It would be a temporary measure. DC spreads like a petri dish.
@@nicholasbyram296 LOL 😆
The hate of DC isn't red or blue. It's green. NOVA economically dominates the state. Just like NY State has animosity with NYC.
I think you should put your name back in the channel title like before. Exploring History is a super generic name for modern day RUclips, with 1000s of AI narrated channels with identical names. Your early book reviews was what made me discover your stuff, you have a hell of a knack for that kind of content so it's sad to see your channel's growth slow down because you decided to rebrand with such a generic name
Thanks. I’m fairly scarred from rebranding so often - but if you see my name appear after the channel title, you’ll know why.
Alexandria County became Arlington in 1920 to avoid confusion with the city of Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia functions as the seat for the federal Department of Defense headquarters.
The pentagon has a Washington DC Address. The fact that it sits on this side of the potomac is mute. National Airport has a Washington DC address. Lots of funny things around here.
Interesting video thanks man 👍
Wow, I'm from India and i played this video because i always had this curiosity of why DC i shaped that way.
It was a great video❤🎉
Message to Americans from a Social Science Indian nerd-
1. Some Indians like me love the US and the West in general, you have a great and very interesting history.
2. As a fellow democratic citizen I worry sometimes about American politics but I'm 100% sure Americans and democratic values will win always.
3. Don't you give into this local identity thing, bind together always. We Indians learnt this the hard way.
4. I observed in this video that Britishers are global international thieves, they don't differentiate with victims based on race or ethnicity😂. This last point is just a joke
Some might speculate that Washington DC was given to us by English Jesuits in order to rule and tax the British Estates in perpetuity. Just a joke.
😂 Indians must rag on Britain. Always. I think it's probably in the Indian constitution. ❤
Honestly, I just wanted to chime in and say that I really appreciate your positivity and your optimism. The US would be lucky to have you!
Canada's capital, Ottawa, is just another Ontario city; it has never been in a separate capital district. Nevertheless, the Ottawa river forms the provincial boundary with Quebec. Some federal offices are located across the river in that province.
Oh fu Canada 💩
The tendency to shift away from the ’larger’ idea of identity towards the more regional or even local identities is not just an American issue. It can be seen all over the place. Whether it’s the shift away from the European causeway back towards the navel gazing of so-called national identity, or the shift towards regions inside single and multiple nations rediscovering their roots of interaction from before the clear cut national borders and their identities were put in place.
I though the resecession happened closer to 1861, but this is more interesting than I thought.
I’m a new Washingtonian, and this history is amazing to know! You’ve got me thinking about how I identify. Perhaps I’m romantic or old-fashioned, but I believe I-and everyone in the States-are Americans before anything else. I hope that we stay that way.
If you were old fashioned, then you would know we are part of our state first and foremost, unfortunately, a treasonous, tyrannical dictator, decided to occupy several sovereign countries.
I like working out around Jones Point Park through the Wilson bridge and around National Harbor
You can walk up to the SW marker stone. It’s in a little park in the city of Falls Church near Route 66.
As a fan of Australia’s equivalent to DC - the ACT - this is quite interesting to know. A very rare border change is happening right now, but it’s all surprisingly congenial: One of the ACT suburbs needs to expand, and the old state of NSW doesn’t have anything much going on there but farmland. I can’t believe how uncontroversial this is, and it’s only a couple of years since the shocking border closures during Covid’s first waves. They were begging to “adjust” the border between NSW and QLD because it reaches the coast in the middle of suburban streets, rather than something geological like a nearby river. But everyone got a bit testy and it’s super easy to reject cooperation when it comes to border changes. So the state that wanted to close the border had to do some insane acrobatics to do inspection checkpoints.
PS, nice TARDIS, which one is that? Moffat era or Cushing movies?
I’d say RTD; the shade of blue, the lack of the St John’s Ambulance on the front, the length and straightness of the light, and the shape of the overall structure only fits 2005-2009ish
DC was new. How could it compare to the identity of Virginia? I don’t think it was about America as much as they were not treated as equal Washingtonians. I say make the diamond whole again. 🇺🇸
bro virginia was new too
@@uvbe it’s all about relativity. It was much older. 13 colonies. Plus VA was the first place settled by the British. So no, it wasn’t new at all and compared to DC very old.
No, the District should be shrunken to only envelop Federal property like the White House, Capitol Hill, National Mall etc. The rest of the land should be incorporated into Maryland so that DC residents will have representation in Congress.
@@DewibopDC residents don’t care about voting for corrupt figureheads that ignore votes
@@Dewibop Too bad that is more difficult than it sounds - or it would have been done already. There are government buildings all over the city and the DC provides basic services to these buildings. It would also mean that all the embassies would end up in Maryland.
This video seems to show why DC statehood for the district makes mote sense then retrocession. The people living in DC are not Marylanders, they identify more with the city of DC then the state that the land used to belong to over 200 years ago.
Great video. Thanks for researching this.
My first loyalty is to the United States. My home state of Hawaii comes second. I would support what is best for the country, even if it wasn’t necessarily good for my state.
Such a peculiar thing that hawaii made it as a us state. A small chain of islands in the middle of knowhere.
Perhaps further retrocession may be a good idea. DC could be further shrunk to a nucleus of federal buildings. The remainder might be made a Maryland city which could be named Potomac City. This would end the taxation-without-representation complaint. Repeal of the twenty-third amendment to the US Constitution would be in order.
Marylander here. We don't want our portion of DC back. We've already got another basket case major city run by liberal Democrats.
There already is a "Potomac City Maryland" Pop: 47,018
@@Sylvander1911My ignorance is exposed -- thanks for that information.
This vid makes me want to visit DC, given I've only been to Philly. I love history and I want to see it just like you did.❤
I give tours in DC and the history is really interesting...
The city of Savannah, GA must have taken a hint from Alexandria when it surrendered to Gen'l Sherman during the Civil War, to prevent him from burning it. That was a really interesting video, thank you. As a Virginian, I need to spend more time in Alexandria - it's such a cool place.
As a non-native Virginian of over 30 years (my wife and kids are!) - loved this video! Even before moving here from the deep South, I often wondered how the capitol got to the way it was.
13:06 There's this one weird deck/loading dock thing on a building in Old Town that I've walked past a million times. All the buildings around it are residential. I very clearly remember the first time my mom pointed it out to me and said: "That's where they held the slave auctions". I found it on google maps i think: 110 S Lee St. (Wait a minute! LEE street???)
I live in Arlington, and it's always felt a lot like an unofficial part of DC to me. We've got the Pentagon, DC's main airport, the Airforce memorial (which is huge and visible from a lot of DC), the cemetery, the Iwo Jima memorial, Fort Meyer. The metro system spreads 4 lines across the river, and the national mall has never been more than 20 minutes and 2 bucks away for me. The DC skyline is visible from main highways in Arlington, and with Rosslyn/Court House and Pentagon city/Crystal city it doesn't feel like the urbanization drops off steeply over the river or anything.
When January 6th happened, that felt personal, like it happened at home. My mom saw them on the metro on the way to work that morning. Same thing with the 2020 George Floyd protests, and every other big demonstration that happens.
Whenever somebody asks me where I'm from, I don't say Virginia. I say "Arlington, Virginia, right over the river from DC." In the past when I've told people that I'm just "from Virginia" (I go to school in Rhode Island now) I can immediately see in their eyes that they think im a racist hick. I really don't identify with the rest of my state. If you go more than an hour south from my house, you start seeing trump flags on every farmhouse and more Don't Tread on Me license plates. Arlington is this kind of blue bubble atop a sea of red.
I've always felt like a Washingtonian who gets the extra random privilege to vote in Virginia elections.
Great stuff. Thanks. I look forward to doing a little of my own research.
That's an interesting idea... that we are less a whole as Americans, and are moving toward the regionalism and sectionalism of the past.
Look at any election by the county or city. It has near always been about rural vs urban. Self-reliance vs unionized solidarity...or common cause. Agrarian vs Industrial. One can even see this division in neo-industrial Europe. Humanity doesn't change (particularly in principles)... but the understanding of where those principles are collected in a political party, religion, etc ebbs and tides.
🇻🇮 US Virgin Islands here, where according to the Supreme Court we are incapable of understanding Anglo-Saxon principles, cannot participate in the Affordable Care Act (Health Insurance as an individual), and cannot vote or have representation in Congress.
At least you know your role.
The problem with the Virgin Islands is size. Their population is like an eighth of the size of a normal congressional district.
@@ISpitHotFiyaa Population? True, yet still a larger population than half of the original 13 colonies.
Moreover, other US territories are in similar situations… Puerto Rico = 3.3 million. Yet there are 6 states under 1 million people with a combined population of 4.5 million.
Wyoming has 567,000 people. Vermont = 623,000. Alaska = 736,000. North Dakota =770,000. South Dakota = 896,000. Delaware = 989,000
Then, Washington DC = 712,000.
And if you are born in the mainland USA and move to the Virgin Islands, you suddenly lose health insurance, representation, and (according to the Supreme Court 1922 Case Balzac, Justice McReynolds) are no longer capable of understanding Anglo-Saxon principles.
@@KGTiberiuswell if you dont live here why would you want to vote here? Why not just stay and keep all those things youre mad about losing because you left. Did you give up your guns to move there?
@@TheAnnoyingBoss US Virgin Islands is part of the United States. We have full constitutional protections… however, even though I’m from the mainland USA and only moved here a few years ago, I cannot vote because only the electoral college votes from states + DC. My comment was that All American Citizens should be able to participate. And I’m a proud arms dealer. Stop being a jerk and getting people divided. We are one nation.
Ken Burns touched on the "United States are/United States is" thing when talking about his series on the Civil War, about how the war brought that about.
Alexandria might have been more Virginian than Washingtonian in 1846, but as the civilian, military and intelligence bureaucracy of DC has exploded during the 20th and early 21st centuries, from what I've seen of the place, Alexandria is just a more scenic extension of Washington. As things stand in 2024, retrocession might as well have never happened.
Nice piece, sir! But Carolinians??!! Maybe a future topic could be how and why North Carolina and South Carolina are so distinct. it always irks me when people say "the Carolinas" or "Carolinians." Growing up I was taught that North Carolina was "a vale of humility between two mountains of conceit," meaning South Carolina and Virginia.
And today, it should be shrunk again: to include from H street to the Potomac, and 4th St NE to the Potomac. The remaining area should be ceded back to Maryland, with a prohibition on permanent residency within the new confines. So finally, those good people will have representation.
The U.S. should have seized Alexandria and returned it to the District of Columbia when we seized Arlington and made it a National Cemetery. They voided the Retrocession when Virginia seceded.
I would love a follow up video describing why Polk's retrocession decree wasn't annulled as a result of the Civil War?
Beautifully done.
I am honestly blown away that such honest intellectual investigation on hot topic issues exists on the internet without all of the new wave dogma of the current political divide. Bravo. Definitely subscribing for more.
As a lifelong Marylander, I understand why NoVAns hate us so much now. Even tho we don't think about them.
Still missed how Alexandra became Arlington and how “Alexandria” exists but more as a blob at the southern end of Arlington.
Also, I actually placed some geocaches (when that was a thing) at the corners of DC, albeit not at the southern tip as a park it was not permitted. I moved before getting a special exception.
I really hope that your take at the end won’t come to pass! America is strong because it’s such a large country, if we start retreating back into our states then the systems that run our economy and infrastructure that we take for granted will break down too. It’s important to have unified standards and laws across an economic area. Furthermore, I think Americans overestimate how different they actually are. Your average Texan and your average Californian will actually have very similar lives and live in similar places and engage in the same culture. There’s no practical reason to draw a line in the sand between the two. Furthermore aside from native Americans we don’t have any cultural minorities in the traditional sense. There’s no Catalan or Brittany of the US, everyone is either an American or an immigrant and the latter are spread out throughout the country. That’s usually the reason regions are granted autonomy, because their culture is different from the rest of the country. But we don’t have anything like that aside from maybe Hawaii and the territories. I just don’t think it’s a good idea. In fact, if I had my way I’d reorganize the US into a unitary state. Federalism is just outdated for our country at this point, we don’t need it anymore because regional differences aren’t really a thing anymore due to increased travel and globalization. Federalism should be reserved for multi-cultural blocks like the EU or Russia.
Edit: although obviously I’d have reservations keep their autonomy
The countries of Germany and Austria destroys this argument.
@@IkeOkerekeNews Germany may be a federal state but it’s still more centralized than the US is.
@@legoboy468
The difference of centralization between the two countries is largely ambiguous, due to fundamental differences in conception of the division of powers (Germany is more administratively federalized than the US, while the US is more legally federalized). While it is hard to say who is the more centralized, it is clear that they are far more centralized compared states within the same types (Canada for the US, Switzerland for Germany).
Being a history buff this will make for interesting conversations in the area.
1) Democratic in control of the House. The 1844-45 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between July 1, 1844, and November 4, 1845. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives. 224 elected members representing 27 states took their seats when the first session of the 29th United States Congress convened on December 1, 1845. 142 Democratic seats. On top of that James K Polk from Tennessee and a Slave holder was President. 1845-1846 was the last gasp of Southern control of levers of power in Federal government. Once California came into the Union the south influence started downhill.
the people that live in dc should be able vote for senate or congress but still can not. there are more people in dc than states like WY. If DC cant have senators then WY shouldn’t either. no taxation without representation !
So my question is, after the Civil War, why didn’t the Union get back Alexandria as part of the surrender terms?
Talking about Alexandria with Mr. Grime is some post apocalyptic experience.
I’m from Nova I grew up in Fairfax county My family has been in this area since the 1650’s in PG county according to ancestry, I’m 40. I disagree with you about Alexandria, It is like DC in many ways, Arlington and parts of Falls Church as well. Old Town Alexandria and Georgetown look the same with the cobbled streets and the architecture and styling of the buildings are identical. I Like the video and I think it’d be cool if you did a video about the battle of Bladensburg to follow up about the occupation of Alexandria, that was something that I did not know they didn’t teach us about that.
I live in PG and I love the history so close to home
Good job I enjoyed the vid 👍 👌
Were USA troops stationed in "Alexandria Co. in 1861. How did the Federal troops get across the river to Bull Run?
Yes, they were. Alexandria has an interesting Civil War history, but it was occupied by the Union for almost the entire war. I think most troops crossed over Long Bridge, which was where the 14th St. Bridge is today, running from SW DC to what is now Pentagon City.
@@willshen6597 So regardless of the civil separation in 1846, the military still occupied the original space. I understand that the USA military occupied Ft. Monroe and the Naval facilities in Hampton Rhodes, but I would have assumed that Virginia Militia would have controlled the remaining territory.... apparently not. When Virginia seceded, they probably could have taken all of Washington DC but sent messages to General Scott to the effect that they had no aggressive designs on "Washington" But they did take Haper's Ferry and the Union abandoned the navy facilities and retreated into Ft. Monroe. IMHO, the exchange of cannon fire (in which no one was injured) at Ft. Sumter was NOT the beginning of the War. The War was initiated by the Union attempt to take Richmond that was thwarted at Bull Run. Historians overlook many important facts. Secession and War are two different things. Did the War start without Lee, Jackson, Johnston, et al. NC, VA, and TN? Jefferson Davis sent peace comissio0ns to Lincoln that were never accepted and after VA entered the Confederacy< VA did NOT attack the vulnerable Washington, DC. Maryland private citizens resisted the arrival of Union troops transferring to DC from New York and New England. Exactly who actually started the WAR?
I worked in Alexandria the day I’m watching this video. I love learning local history.
Great video 👍 appreciate it
I do wish we would return to strong states to better represent the residents of that state while still understanding what unified us as a nation and the constitution.
This was unexpectedly excellent. I appreciate your finding large themes from minutae. And I've been seeing that identification with state over federal, in my state, for years now. In my opinion it's a good thing. Identification with demographic however is becoming perhaps even larger. I'm concerned by that.
Thank you again. Really terrific presentation.
...and by 1863, West Virginia decided to go its own way.
Traitors.
*FACT:* The westernmost boundary stone is in Alrington.
That's the one I've seen if it's near E. Falls Church.
That video is so interesting not only related to Washington DC construction, but also related to Usamerican cultural and political identity.
One fact that was overlooked in the video is that when Congress authorized George Washington to select the final location of DC, they said it would be along the Potomac River and they gave him a northern and a southern limit. Washington, wanting to include Alexandria, stretched the definition of his limits by putting THE CENTER of the district at the southern limit. But even then, it only included about 80% of what was then the city of Alexandria. There were still some edges of the city that remained in Virginia.
I'm so glad that you went to the Jones Point Lighthouse. Hope you stopped at Ben and Jerry's.
Since VA got their part of D.C. back that sets the precedence up for if D.C were to "become" a state for Maryland to get their part back.
There shouldn’t be anything in D.C. but the federal agencies, White House, Supreme Court. Perhaps Georgetown University and the Georgetown neighborhood. All the other sections of the District are residential and commercial and have nothing whatsoever to do with being the seat of government. But as a Marylander, if they dumped those crime-ridden ghettos that make up much of D.C. on us, I would immediately put my house on the market and leave.
@@leeb.7188 you're very funny. So are happy to live in the same state that has Baltimore, but DC is where you draw the line. 😂🤡
Patriotism & pride in your home state don’t have to conflict with each other. It can also be above partisan politics. Its history doesn’t have to be perfect for you to be proud of it.
Pride comes before destruction
Your statement about only fed bldgs in Maryland side was from Abraham Lincoln...after Alexandria left DC...
Can I think of myself as a citizen of spaceship Earth?
What this analysis is missing is a comparison to Washington County. You talk about the identity of Alexandrians, but some of the same factors affecting Alexandria County were present across the river as well. NO ONE in DC had voting rights*; that wasn't just on the Alexandria side of the river. Even with respect to slavery, Maryland was a slave state, so people on the Washington side of the river might have also been concerned by the possibility of abolition. So why was retrocession so much more popular idea in Alexandria than Washington? Or indeed, was it more popular (as opposed to just more successful)?
[* Indeed, even today, although they can now vote for President, residents of the District of Columbia have no voting representation in Congress - at the same time that Congress exercises ultimate authority over the government of the District. Nearly 700,000 U.S. citizens pay federal taxes without (voting) representation.]
My family has been in the DC area since at least the creation of the District (at least a couple of ancestors in Georgetown when it was ceded to the District - their address changed from Georgetown, MD to Georgetown, DC overnight). I would like to correct a couple of errors in the video beginning with the title.
You have to understand that the District of Columbia was set up just like any other state (actually territory) with cities and counties. On the MD side Georgetown (a port city at the time) was an existing city within the new territory of the District of Columbia and it was still a separate entity in 1846. The rest of the MD side consisted of the brand new city of Washington - where the seat of Government was to be located - and the remainder of the MD side - which was Washington County - which was the biggest portion of the District on the MD side. On the VA side was Alexandria City which was a separate port city and the rest was the county of Alexandria (today Arlington County - which I think is the smallest county in terms of area in the US).
In 1846 Washington, DC was simply the new city portion of the District - and only that portion).
So with that background - I think the title of the video is misleading in regards to the history of the city. Washington DC was not cut in 2 in 1846 - it remained as intact as ever. The District of Columbia was cut in 2 (actually is was more like they lost 1/3 of the land area of the District) and not the city. Also - in regards to the issue of federal buildings not on the VA side - the federal buildings were restricted to the Washington City part of the District - that's why the city was being built - to be the seat of the Government. The rest of the District was to serve other purposes just like any other state or territory. Also, since it was not foreseen that the VA side would be needed for any federal government purpose, there was not much resistance to giving it back to VA.
See, Washington can be made 'smaller'.
There has to be some carryover of federal legal jurisdiction in Alexandria, because I’ve noticed that when the federal government criminally prosecutes someone for something like a national defense crime, they frequently put the person on trial in VA. It was particularly noticeable when it involved a civilian Naval employee who both lived and worked in D.C., but he was put on trial for espionage in Alexandria, VA. I think the government prefers that venue, as the potential jurors are likely to be more conservative than those in D.C., but how is this legally possible? My only explanation came about when I read a book by a former DOJ prosecutor who was trying a case in D.C., and he found a provision in the law that said if there is no specific federal law that address a particular issue, that the DOJ could revert to the laws of Maryland. So perhaps there’s something similar going on with trying certain D.C. crimes in Alexandria, VA.
Restonian here. I moved to NoVA from Ohio when I was 11; I remember visiting DC and Alexandria with my family a few times as we settled in to the area, and even at that age, I could tell there was something different about the two places.
Even today, I love going to Old Town Alexandria; DC, not so much (it doesn't help that traffic and parking in DC is so bad, and the Metro is kind of mehh). Regarding your musings on community and identification, I see a real community spirit in Alexandria, especially in the Fisherman's Wharf area, where in the summer you have so many nice live concerts and events, people walking the streets. And we're not just talking about "Good Ol' Boys" (although I am glad there are still a number of generations-long Alexandrians still in the area to perpetuate the good aspects of Southern culture) but also people from all over the world who have made Alexandria their home.
I don't see that as much in DC, given the transient nature of many DC residents who come and go with the political waves, with the exception of the indigenous African-American communities and the Hispanic neighborhoods that have existed for several generations now; they definitely identify as part of a "DC community,."
What about the Pentagon its across the river in Arlington considered to be in DC super confusing.
Laws change. The Pentagon was built in the 1940s. Today many government agencies in addition to the DoD have their headquarters in Northern Virginia. The CIA, NRO and NGA immediately come to mind. The US Navy is probably the largest tenant in the part of Alexandria known as Crystal City.
How was “Arlington” not said even once in this video?
Because it was not renamed Arlington County until like 1920.
"Ashlar Stone" on point, reference to Ptah.
I learned from you that Alexandria surrendered the city and was the focul point of the slave trade, so much so they left the capital to keep it. I bet they love you down there spreading this around
6:00 (Outside the District,) Maryland owns the Potomac. So when you create the District, you need to make some sort of new decision about how it is controlled, and it would have made more sense to avoid the issue by making the District one county and to just delegate local authority to a county government.
15:23 - “No one else was in the room where it happened …”
Had the capitol stayed in Philadelphia, there would just be Georgetown, Alexandria, and several smaller towns scattered throughout the area. I wonder how large those cities would have grown on their own.
Wow, a description of how we get to our 2nd Civil War
More like antebellum America: a less relevant nation with state governors running their states as mini countries independent of federal directives.
Loved my 12 years in Alexandria. Still miss it.
Thank you. I visited Alexandria (esp. liked Apothecary). Was never told this.
It would have worked if Congress had made DC under one jurisdiction that was able to create local laws.
Good idea. I always thought the way they did D.C. was stupid. It really makes no sense. I think they maybe thought it might reduce the corruption and concentration of power they saw in European capitals at that time. NOPE. They should re-do it and make it similar to National Parks; it's Federal land but within a state. So those on the Maryland side who are/were permanent residents of DC are also considered to be residents of Maryland and are subject to its state laws and vote in its elections. Non permanent residents such as elected officials, staff of elected officials, administrative appointees of elected officials are considered non-permanent residents and only Federal and DC specific local laws apply, and they vote in their home-state elections. In short, it would be a semi-autonomous enclave of Maryland that caters to the functioning of the Federal Government, but doesn't leave its permanent residents in legal and electoral limbo.
@@brianfox771The original reason was to prevent any state from taking Congress Hostage. The historical background was that the original Congress was located in Philadelphia, but when hundreds of Pennsylvanian Militiamen mutinied and surrounded Congress to demand payments for their service during the Revolutionary War, the PA governor refused to assist Congress. This was why Congress decided to create a Federal Territory for the Capital under the direct control of Congress.
3:56 This is a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln, who was President from 1860 to 1865.
This is after the Virginia went back to Virginia in 1846.
Although Mr. Lincoln was a U.S. Representative for one term (1847-1849).
So this makes sense.
Thanks!
I love you💕.
"The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American," Patrick Henry, 1774.
Some were aware that to the outside world we were Americans and not Virginians. Among themselves, our forefathers saw their distinctions between their home state. In fact to them "state" was not a region or area, but a sovereign (or quasi-sovereign) nation. But those who saw the pending war with Great Britain also saw how Europe viewed those colonies. When Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783, they did not recognize the "Untied States of America", but each individual state. Like most history, and most wars, there is usually more complexity to the topic than can be discussed in short segments. This topic about Virginia reacquiring that land is one that is frequently overlooked in the history of our land.
I, too, am a tenth generation Virginian. Descendant from Alexander Guill, who was receiving a military pension from the Virginia Militia during the American Revolution.
Excellent work. Shows again pretty ckearly that actually the Civil War was rather a Secession War..
Or a retrocession war, depending on which side you were on.
@@brucetucker4847 well, the war was not started for a retrocession. But fair point.
Washington DC needs reparations from the South. They need to take it back.
I think the South needs reparations from the United States.
@@keittkatranch5167definitely not. The south has caused long term lasting damage to itself and the rest of the nation.
Washington DC is IN the south. WTH?
No. Americans today may be very divided, but the divisions only incidentally and occasionally fall along state lines. Dividing the country up into historical states is an anachronism, and not one that reflects the complexities of the United States today.
Is the US really "divided?"
Robert E Lee would’ve been more comfortable in joining the Union cause if Virginia was controlled by DC. Lincoln could’ve easily done what he did to Maryland.
But hey, hindsight is 20/20. ^_^
No need for background music.
Why is the portion of the original District of Columbia on the Virginia side of the river, north of Four Mile Run, now the County of Arlington and no longer part of the City of Alexandria?
When DC was created, the City of Alexandria (pretty much what is now referred to as Old Town) and the remaining land on the west side of the Potomac were combined into Alexandria County.
After the Civil War, the City of Alexandria became a separate entity from Alexandria County. (Not sure why).
In 1920, to avoid confusion, Alexandria County was renamed Arlington County. The name was taken from Arlington House, Robert E Lee’s former home located in what is now Arlington Cemetery.
@@sresnic Thank you. I lived in Arlington in my early to mid 20's. Wonderful place.
@@carlscamino5844 I’ve been living there since 2001.
@@sresnic It's because Virginia's Constitution defines all cities in the State independent from counties.
@@taoliu3949 Except that counties are comprised of individual cities and towns. That is, with the exception of Arlington, which is its own county. It has both a sheriff’s office (normally a county function) as well as a police force.
Constitutional republic is a word so many dont understand today, im in uk and have argued this to many who dont know or why its important its not a federeal democracy
People in Reston/Herndon think that Alexandria is dangerous. Historic, sleepy community of retired people and professionals -- dangerous. "What's this brick all about!? Candace, I'm scared!!" It's adorable to be stereotyped something that is nothing like what it's really like. Former Sen. Mark Warner might still live in his historic Alexandria house. Robert E. Lee's boyhood home is preserved on Washington St. "Dangerous." Is the Ben and Jerry's shop and then the Hagen Daas shop around the corner too much riff-raff for you? I think when they leave the house, the only sunlight they get is through their Tesla's windshield -- from driveway to the parking garage at Tyson's II!
All D.C.'s current problems they should just go back to Maryland
Not sure that Maryland wants D.C.
@@carlscamino5844 Or DC residents want to be part of Maryland.
@@zbagz01 Agreed. Very few people want change.
WHERE IS AS THEY SAY,"ONE THING WE HAVE LEARNED FROM HISTORY IS THAT WE DON'T LEARN FROM HISTORY!".
And then Alexandria was further split into Alexandria City and Arlington County.
I am starting a petition to get the original boundaries restored!!!!
And therein lies the answer to the DC statehood question...if the people that live in the geography ceded as DC east of the Potomac need representation in Congress then put them back in Maryland. This way Maryland gets another congressional district or two [while some other state(s) of course would lose] and the structure of the Senate remains intact. Easier than forming another state out of DC, which is likely unconstitutional anyway.
It can’t be overstated ……..Chattel Slavery was the major factor
Excuse me, "He selected it for Washington City". Big difference.
Your line is drawn incorrectly. The Potomac River is part of DC.
Your information about voting is also incorrect. While DC residents couldn’t vote in federal elections, they retained the municipal government of Alexandria (for which they COULD vote).
Even your information about slavery is off. Importation of slaves into the country was banned by the federal government in 1805. There was very little left of slave trading after that.
Thank you for sparing me the self-important lecture about getting along that so many others give when they talk about polarization. The idea that I ought to make nice with people who are actively trying to strip me of my rights and make my life miserable says so much about the kind of person who would say it.
Workers of the World, Unite!