Difference between revisions of "Washington, D.C."

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{{City
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Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!
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|name          =District of Columbia
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Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
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|picture        =US Capitol.jpg
 
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|picture2      =DC flag.jpg
 
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|map            =
 
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|country        =United States
 
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|state         =
 
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|region         =
 
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|settled        =1791
 
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|charter        =
 
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|population    =617,996
 
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|area         =68.3 sq mi
 
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|density        =10,065
 
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|mayor         =Vincent C. Gray
 
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|demonym        =Washingtonian
 
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}}
 
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'''Washington, D.C.''', also known as the '''District of Columbia''', since 1800 has been the capital of the [[United States]].<ref>http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/Nine_Capitals_of_the_United_States.htm</ref>
 
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Legally the name of the city is "District of Columbia".<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=016/llsl016.db&recNum=0454 District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871.] [[Library of Congress]]</ref><ref> [http://countystation.com/washingtondc.html District of Columbia Information.]</ref>
 
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[[File:DC2.jpg|thumb|400px]]
 
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==Design==
 
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[[Pierre L'Enfant]], appointed in 1791 by George Washington, designed much of the city, including the city's interesting quadrant formation. The city is divided into four quadrants, which meet at a central point at the [[United States Capitol]]. The Northwest quadrant is by far the largest, and locations in this quadrant include the [[White House]], Ford's Theater (where [[Abraham Lincoln]] was assassinated in 1865), the National Zoo, and a number of the Smithsonian Museums. L'Enfant was fired over a dispute involving [[Thomas Jefferson]] before the city's design was completed.<ref>http://www.exploredc.org/index.php?id=3</ref>
 
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In 1814, the British army attacked the city as a part of the [[War of 1812]] and burned a number of public buildings in the city, including the [[White House]]. First Lady [[Dolly Madison]] famously saved a portrait of [[George Washington]] from the White House before the building was burned.<ref>http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/washingtonsack.htm</ref>
 
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The city is located along the [[Potomac River]]. The Anacostia River branches off this, and runs through parts of the Southeast and Northeast Quadrants. This river has had problems with pollution.
 
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Washington, D.C. is served by the [[Metrorail]] subway system.
 
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==Government==
 
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Article I of the Constitution specifies that [[Congress]] has exclusive legislative jurisdiction over the District of Columbia.<ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html#section8</ref>  In 1973, Congress passed the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, [[P.L.]] 93-198, which proposed a charter that delegated legislative authority to a locally-elected [[mayor]] and [[Council of the District of Columbia|council]]; the charter was approved by local referendum in 1974.<ref>http://government.westlaw.com/linkedslice/default.asp?rs=gvt1.0&vr=2.0&sp=dcc-1000</ref><ref>http://www.narpac.org/ITXICE.HTM</ref>
 
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[[Image:WashingtonDC1.gif|thumb|200px|A view of the Washington Monument and United States Capitol In Washington D.C]]
 
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===Politics===
 
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The voters in Washington are 90% Democratic. It is America's fourth-most liberal city.<ref>http://www.govpro.com/News/Article/31439/</ref> The current mayor of the District of Columbia is [[Vincent C. Gray]].
 
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===Elected officials===
 
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* [[Vincent C. Gray]], Mayor.
 
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* Phil Mendelson, Council Chair
 
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*Michael A. Brown, Council Chair Pro Tempore
 
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*At-Large
 
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**David Catania
 
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**Michael A. Brown
 
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**Vincent Orange
 
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*Ward Members
 
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**Kenyan McDuffie
 
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**Jim Graham
 
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**Jack Evans
 
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**Mary M. Cheh
 
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**Muriel Bowser
 
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**Tommy Wells
 
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**Yvette Alexander
 
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**[[Marion Barry]]
 
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====Federal====
 
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*Del. [[Eleanor Holmes Norton]]<ref>[http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/n000147/ Washington Post U.S. Congress Votes Database]</ref> [D, DC-0]<ref name="alas">[http://www.myjournalcourier.com/articles/state_21548___article.html/alas_columbia.html Alas, D.C. is not a state] The capital has an elected House representative, Eleanor Norton, but she can only vote in committee, not on the floor.</ref>
 
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===Constitutional and legal disputes===
 
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On March 9, 2007, the [[United States Court of Appeals]] for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down Washington, D.C.'s ban on private [[handgun]] possession, as it pertains to carrying them inside one's own home, on the grounds that the [[Second Amendment]] guarantees the right of individual citizens to keep and bear firearms.<ref name="Parker">''See Parker v. District of Columbia'', 478 F. 3d 370 (2007) [quoted in ''District of Columbia v. Heller'', 554 U.S. ____ (2008).]</ref>  In a dissent, however, one judge wrote that the District of Columbia is not a [[state]] and therefore the [[Second Amendment]] does not apply within the District of Columbia. Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban was one of the most restrictive [[gun control]] laws in the nation.<ref>http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-03-09T223851Z_01_N09246717_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-GUNS-RULING.xml&src=rss</ref>  On June 26, 2008, the [[Supreme Court]] affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals.<ref name="Heller">''District of Columbia v. Heller'' [http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf]</ref>
 
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[[Image:Washington Monument and WWII memorial.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The WWII memorial and Washington Monument]]
 
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License plates in Washington, D.C. read "taxation without representation," referring to the fact that citizens of the District pay federal income taxes but do not have voting representation in either the [[United States Senate|Senate]] or [[House of Representatives]].<ref>http://dmv.dc.gov/serv/plates/tax.shtm</ref>  These plates do not appear on the presidential limousines. [[George W. Bush|George Walker Bush]] had the plates removed from the limousines after his inauguration, reversing [[Bill_Clinton|William Jefferson Clinton's]] policy.<ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E0DB173CF93AA25752C0A9679C8B63</ref>  The capital has an elected House representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton, but she can only vote in committee, not on the floor.<ref name="alas"/><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/05/AR2011010501936_2.html? Boehner elected House speaker as 112th Congress convenes]</ref>
 
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Since 1992, Washington, D.C. has offered [[domestic partnership]]s.<ref>[http://www.answers.com/topic/domestic-partnership-in-the-united-states Answers.com]</ref>  In 2009, the D.C. Council enacted a law, effective March 3, 2010, that "expanded the
 
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definition of marriage in the District to include same-sex couples."<ref>[http://www.dcappeals.gov/dccourts/appeals/pdf/10-CV-20_JACKSON_MTD.PDF ''Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics''], citing D.C. Code § 46-401 (a) (Supp. 2010); 57 D.C. Reg. 27 (Jan. 1, 2010).</ref>
 
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===Corruption===
 
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The 2010 election was hotly contested and resulted in a number of convictions.  Incumbent mayor [[Adrian Fenty]] lost the Democratic primary to [[Vincent C. Gray]].  However, his primary effort was assisted by a minor candidate [[Sulaimon Brown]], who Gray paid to stay in the primary race and appointed to a position in his administration.  When this became public, Gray fired Brown and the resulting investigation led to campaign staff being convicted. On Tuesday, July 10, 2010, Jeanne Clarke Harris, plead guilty to laundering campaign contributions from city contractor [[Jeffery E. Thompson]] through friends into the Gray campaign.  The effort involved $653,000 in improperly reported donations. U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr said that the 2010 mayor's race was "compromised by backroom deals, secret payments and a flood of unreported cash."<ref name=wp711>{{cite news|title=Gray's victory called tainted|author=Mike DeBonis and Nikita Stewart|date=July 11, 2012|page=A1}}</ref> Harris said that Thompson sought to hide his campaign contributions to Gray to avoid angering the Fenty administration that had awarded large contract to Thompson's firms.<ref name=wp711/>  Howard Brooks and Thomas W. Gore have previously plead guilty to charges surrounding the forwarding of Gray campaign cash to Brown.<ref name=wp711/>
 
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[[Kwame R. Brown]] was the Chairman of the District of Columbia Council until he resigned to plead guilty to bank fraud and campaign finance charges in 2012.
 
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A probe of DC government employees disclosed that 318 of them had collected $1.9 million of unemployment benefits while on the DC payroll. The DC government is seeking return of the funds and has dismissed or prosecuted the employees.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://washingtonexaminer.com/d.c.-says-more-than-300-city-workers-involved-in-unemployment-scandal/article/2513901#.UKzKE5I5V4s|title=D.C. says more than 300 city workers involved in unemployment scandal|date=
 
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November 19, 2012|first=Alan|last=Blinder|work=Washington Examiner|accessdate=November 21, 2012}}</ref>
 
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Current city councilman [[Marion Barry]] has previously served as Mayor from 1979 to 1991, and from 1995 to 1999.  While Mayor, he was arrested for crack cocaine possession.<ref>{{cite news |title= Barry Arrested on Cocaine Charges in Undercover FBI, Police Operation |work= The Washington Post |date= January 19, 1990 |page= A1 |first= Sharon |last= LaFraniere |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/tours/scandal/barry.htm }}</ref>  After serving his sentence, he successfully ran for city councilman in 2004.  In November 2012, Barry organized the distribution of free Thanksgiving turkeys in his Ward that was funded by a $30,000 donation.  DC law does not require disclosure of the donors, so Barry declined to name the funders, saying it's only "liberal white folks" who are interested in disclosure rules for turkey giveaways.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2012/11/19/barry-only-liberal-white-folks-care-who-pays-for-my-turkey-giveaway/|title=Barry: Only “Liberal White Folks” Care Who Pays for My Turkey Giveaway|first=Alan|last=Suderman|date=Nov. 19, 2012|work=Washington City Paper|accessdate=November 21, 2012}}</ref>
 
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== Symbols ==
 
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[[File:DC flag.jpg|thumb|DC flag.]]
 
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Some official symbols are:
 
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*Motto: "Justia Omnibus" - Justice for All
 
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*Song: The Star-Spangled Banner
 
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*Bird: Wood thrush
 
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*Flower: American beauty rose
 
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*Tree: Scarlet Oak
 
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{{Clear}}
 
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==See also==
 
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[[File:Tulips White House.jpg|right|240px]]
 
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*[[White House]]
 
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*[[Art cities]]
 
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*[[Famous American Buildings]]
 
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*[[United States Capitol]].
 
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[[Image:US Capitol.jpg|thumb|left|US Capitol.]]
 
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{{Clear}}
 
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== External links ==
 
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*[http://www.washington.org/ What's hot in Washington, DC.]
 
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*[http://www.vrc.dc.gov/vrc/cwp/view.asp?a=1196&q=446778&vrcNav_GID=1408&portal_link=hr Tours] Official website of the Government of the District of Columbia.
 
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*[http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/ Cultural Tourism DC.] Local History.
 
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*[http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/dc/ District of Columbia]
 
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==References==
 
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<references/>
 
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[[Category:Capital Cities]]
 
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[[Category:United States Cities and Towns]]
 
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[[Category:Urban History]]
 
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[[Category:DC| ]]
 

Revision as of 19:10, August 9, 2014

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves! Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.

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