Early Republic

Residence Act Establishes Federal Capital Location

July 1790
District of Columbia
Date
July 1790
Location
District of Columbia
Type
legislation

What happened

Congress passed the Residence Act, specifying the new capital should be situated on the Potomac River between the Eastern Branch and the Conococheague Creek. The act gave President Washington authority to appoint three commissioners to oversee the survey of the federal district.

People involved

When this happened

Residence Act Establishes Federal Capital Location occurred in July 1790, during the early republic period of American history.

Where this happened

Residence Act Establishes Federal Capital Location took place in District of Columbia. Explore the full history of District of Columbia and primary source records from this era.

Historical context — Early Republic

The early republic period saw the United States move from the weak Articles of Confederation to the federal Constitution ratified in 1788, with the Bill of Rights added in 1791. George Washington served two terms as president (1789–1797), establishing precedents for executive authority, and the federal capital moved permanently to Washington D.C. in 1800. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubled the nation's territory for roughly $15 million, opening vast trans-Mississippi lands to American expansion. The War of 1812 against Britain ended inconclusively but produced a surge of American national identity and eliminated most British support for Indigenous resistance east of the Mississippi. The Northwest Indian Wars (1785–1795) and the Creek War (1813–1814) broke Indigenous confederacies that had resisted US expansion. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 temporarily balanced slave and free states as the nation expanded westward, but embedded the contradiction of slavery in every subsequent territorial debate.

Source

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: History.

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Settlement
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About Residence Act Establishes Federal Capital Location

What was Residence Act Establishes Federal Capital Location?
Congress passed the Residence Act, specifying the new capital should be situated on the Potomac River between the Eastern Branch and the Conococheague Creek. The act gave President Washington authority to appoint three commissioners to oversee the survey of the federal district.
When did Residence Act Establishes Federal Capital Location happen?
Residence Act Establishes Federal Capital Location occurred in July 1790.
Where did Residence Act Establishes Federal Capital Location take place?
Residence Act Establishes Federal Capital Location took place in District of Columbia.

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