Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., also known as the District of Columbia, has been the capital of the United States since 1800 AD. Pierre L'Enfant designed much of the city, including the city's interesting quadrant formation. The city is divided into four quadrants with a central point at the United States Capitol. The Northwestern quadrant is by far the largest quadrant, and locations in this quadrant include the White House, Ford's Theater (where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 AD), 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.

In 1814 AD, the British army attacked the city as a part of the War of 1812 AD 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.

On March 9, 2007 AD, a U.S. Court of Appeals struck down Washington, D.C.'s ban on private handgun possession as an infringement on the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right of individual citizens to keep and bear firearms. The sole dissenting judge dissented because she held 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.