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Why was the southern half of D.C. given back to Virginia?
Emilia Smitham
Alexandria, Virginia instantly regretted losing it‘s state citizenship which disenfranchised them 100%. no Presidential vote, no Congressional representation, and their local government was appointed by the President and Congress. It was the seat of Fairfax County, Virginia until it was ceded to the federal government. On top of that federal law required all federal buildings to be built north of the Potomac River in what was once Maryland. That wasn’t intended as a snub but about the practicality of that times. The Potomac at the time could only be crossed by barge or boat, so dividing the federal in two geographically was unwise. So the people of Alexandria lost a lot and got literally nothing in return. When you account for the fact that the Virginia only made up 39% of the federal district the decision naturally made sense. The big debate was over was it Constitutional to change the makeup of the federal district not was it proper to do so.
Also slavery played a minor part too but didn‘t influence the decision. Alexandria was a hub for the slave trade, abolitionists didn’t like that slaves were sold and owned within the boundaries of Washington D.C. Virginia also was more than happy to regain the Alexandria area because it meant more pro-slave representation both on a state level and in Congress.
In time the area of DC returned to Virginia would become vitally important to the federal government. They built the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery in retroceeded area of Virginia that was for a few decades part of Washington DC.
The debate over the rights of citizens of Washington DC didn’t end with the retrocession of Alexandria in 1846. It goes on till this day, DC still has no vote in Congress and only limited self government. It did finally get the right to vote in Presidential elections in the 1960s.
Patrick Gentry
Curt Eichmann
Patrick Gentry
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThe federal government was convinced by Virginia interests that the original 100-mile-square DC was too large and the federal government would never need so much space. So the Virginia portion was ceded back to Virginia
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