In early December 1790, as part of implementing the Residence Act, Congress took steps that confirmed land along the Potomac River would host the new federal capital. Surveyors under George Washington’s direction began planning and marking the District of Columbia. The selection reflected compromises balancing interests of northern and southern states. It placed the capital on a site accessible to coastal shipping and relatively distant from existing major cities. Over the next decade, federal buildings and streets rose on what had been rural land. The creation of Washington, D.C., changed regional politics and the geography of federal power.
