The Creation of Washington, D.C.

by Kenneth R. Bowling

Examines the political, economic, and personal ambitions that fueled the debate among the country's leaders in creating the nation's capital

Genres: History

305 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1991

Reviews

[Andrew R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great and thorough examination of the notion of what contemporaries envisioned when deciding what and where the capital should be. Some middle chapters were a little dry in their provision of detailed summaries of congressional debates, but otherwise pretty fantastic and eye-opening.

The blurb on the back of my hardcover edition is a tad misleading-- "may have contemporary resonance as debate about possible statehood heats up." I guess "may" is the operative word, as the only mention of such themes is found in a breezy epilogue. I also would have liked to have seen a chapter devoted to the 1846 retrocession of Alexandria, but perhaps it was outside of the work's scope.

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great history of the planning and design of our nation's capital in Washington, DC. Coupled with the permanent exhibit on the same subject at the National Building Museum (also in Washington, DC), this is a one-two punch for understanding the city in a whole new way.