ARP371 Creating Washington, DC

American Revolution Podcast

Michael Troy

History, Education

4.6 • 938 Ratings

🗓️ 7 December 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

President Washington hires close friends to make the land deals necessary to establishing the new federal city on the Potomac River. He also personally selects French immigrant Pierre L'Enfant as the city planner. This episode's, blog entry, at ⁠⁠⁠blog.AmRevPodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ includes a complete transcript, as well as more resources related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Washington: The Making of the American Capital, by Fergus Bordewich. Online Recommendation of the Week: A History of the National Capital, Vol. 1: 1790-1814, by W.B. Bryan: https://archive.org/details/historyofnationa0001wilh Join the podcast mail list: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/d3445a9cd244/american-revolution-podcast-by-michael-troy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ARP T-shirts and other merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://merch.amrevpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ask your American Revolution Podcast questions on Quora: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amrevpod.quora.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join the Facebook group, American Revolution Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/132651894048271⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow the podcast on X ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@AmRevPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support this podcast on Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/AmRevPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or via PayPal ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://paypal.me/AmRevPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:04.3	Think about cheese.
0:06.3	Make your thoughts cheesier.
0:08.8	Now add 100% chicken breast fillet,
0:10.9	Chipotle sauce and amade cheese melt.
0:12.9	And it's giving the new cheesy chicken stack at McDonald's.
0:16.6	Did we mention it's cheesy?
0:18.5	Cheese.
0:20.4	Availments with the 4th of Jan, 226 from 11 a.m.
0:22.7	Price and participation may vary.
0:23.8	Subjects of availability.
0:34.8	Hello, and thank you for joining the American Revolution. This week, episode 371, creating Washington, D.C.
0:44.3	Back in episode 367, we covered the grand compromise, where states agreed to the assumption of war debts,
0:51.5	along with moving the capital to the banks of the Potomac River between
0:55.6	Maryland and Virginia. That compromise included the Residence Act of 1790, which would locate the
1:01.9	permanent capital on the banks of the Potomac River. It authorized the president to appoint three
1:07.0	commissioners to establish exact borders for the due capital, to purchase the necessary
1:12.1	land, and to begin building accommodations necessary for the federal government.
1:17.2	The Constitution and the authorizing legislation both limited the size of the new federal
1:22.2	district to 100 square miles, 10 miles by 10 miles. There was some debate about whether placing the site
1:30.1	further up river above Great Falls, but pretty quickly the focus became the area around Georgetown,
1:36.2	Maryland, a small community just below Great Falls. Georgetown itself had become a thriving
	...

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