Washington, DC, History for Kids: The Making of a Capital City
Introduction The story of Washington DC is the tale of a grand vision It shows how a swath of swampy wilderness along the Potomac River became a beautiful and majestic capital city It’s a fascinating tale that unfolded very gradually over the last three centuries The city that was once ridi culed as an inconvenient underpopulated muddy mess of a place took many years to become the national capital that its designer originally envisioned As each puzzle piece fell into place Washington continued to evolve and grow Along the way many of the key moments in our coun try’s history both tragic and triumphant happened here Today Washington DC is a thriving and inspiring metropolis filled with history culture and natural beauty This is the story of how it got that way ix
Mo CNA CAN S len regon MANN A MIAEK REO POWHATAN LEE Haitian Blant TZ hts ACK G TH T O C OKS THN ET
A Capital Is Born 1 1600 1792 If you had walked around in what is today Washington DC just 250 years ago you would never have guessed that the nation’s capital would wind up there in the swampy emptiness along the north side of the Potomac River 1
