Washington, D.C., is the capital city of the United States, located between Virginia and Maryland on the north bank of the Potomac River. The city is home to all three branches of the federal government, as well as the White House, the Supreme Court and the Capitol Building. More than 500,000 people live in Washington, D.C.
Population: 601,723 (2010)
Washington DC
Size: 68 square miles.
Nickname(s): D.C.
Motto: Justitia omnibus – “Justice for All”
Tree: Scarlet Oak
Flower: American Beauty Rose
Bird: Wood Thrush
Interesting Facts
On July 16, 1790, a compromise between Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison—known as the Residence Act—was passed, declaring George Washington’s selection of a site on the Potomac River as the nation’s new permanent capital. As part of the agreement, the federal government assumed the states’ debts.
John and Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams
White House
George Washington oversaw construction of the White House, but never lived in it. John and Abigail Adams became the first occupants of the presidential mansion on November 1, 1800, although only for the last four months of his presidency.
While still under construction, the United States Capitol held its first session of Congress on November 17, 1800. On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the first president to be inaugurated in Washington within the Senate chamber of the Capitol.
After capturing the nation’s capital during the War of 1812, British troops set fire to the White House, U.S. Capitol, several federal buildings and private residences on August 24, 1814.
First Lady Dolley Madison
First Lady Dolley Madison, who had refused to leave the White House until only a few hours before the British arrived, secured the full length portrait of George Washington and a copy of the Declaration of independence on her way out.
It took 83 years to complete construction on Washington National Cathedral. Although originally conceived of in 1791 by Major Pierre L’Enfant, who had been commissioned by George Washington to design a plan for the nation’s capital, the cathedral’s creation did not commence until September 29, 1907, when a stone from a field in Bethlehem was set into a larger slab of American granite and laid in ceremony as the foundation stone. In 1990, the National Cathedral was finally completed.
Citizens of the capital of the United States, who are deprived of voting representation in the national legislature, have been seeking statehood for years. On September 9, 1983, a Constitution and petition for statehood for New Columbia—as the new state would be called—was presented to Congress.
The National Air and Space Museum is one of the most popular museums in the world, attracting, on average, more than nine million visitors each year.
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1.Abe’s (Abraham Lincoln) first journey to Washington, D.C. to work was not as President. He first served a single term in the United States House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849.
2.Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860. He only received about 40 percent of the popular votes, though he got 180 of the 303 available Electoral votes.
His election was mostly due to Northern support, as he wasn’t even included on the ballot in most Southern states.
3.Shortly after Lincoln was elected President, the Southern states seceded from the Union, and with their attack on Fort Sumter in 1861, the Civil War began.
This war was the deadliest in the history of the United States. Over 600,000 soldiers died during the conflict, which was fought over slavery.
4.Lincoln was president for the entirety of the war. His opinion of slavery shifted with the conflict.
His priority was to try and keep the country together, and he said that if he could do it by keeping all the slaves, he would do it.
5.However, as the war progressed, he deemed it necessary and right to free all slaves, which he did when he issued his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
1.The small state of Maryland has played a huge part in American history. It participated in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.
Maryland was also important in the Industrial Revolution, America’s westward expansion, the Space Age, and more.
2.How did Maryland get its name: Maryland was named in honor of queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles I of England.
When settlers from England founded the colony of Maryland, the charter from King Charles I declared that it must be named after his wife.
3.One of Maryland’s nicknames is “Little America” because it has all types of terrain; mountains, beaches, sand dunes, farmland, forests, etc.
It also experiences a wide variety of weather and all four seasons
Soalan Quiz 1. Hafalan Quran 2. Makna Quran 3. Hafalan Hadith 4. Makna Hadith 5. World Geography & History 6. World Islamic History 7. Speak Arabic 8. Speak English Or Other 9. Mosque News 10. Quranic Miracles
