Safeguarding the Declaration of Independence Washington, District of Columbia
Washington, District of Columbia
(1800 - August 1814)
The idea of a national capital city seems to have originated at a meeting of the Congress in June 1783 in Philadelphia. Members of Congress started a movement to establish a centrally-located town where the lawmakers could conduct the business of government. Several locations were considered over the next six years, but regional disagreements prevented a decision until 1790. The result was a political compromise, which located the new capitol on the Potomac River.