District of Columbia

District of Columbia
a federal area in the E United States, on the Potomac, coextensive with the federal capital, Washington. 637,651; 69 sq. mi. (179 sq. km). Abbr.: DC (for use with zip code), D.C.

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Federal district of the U.S. Coextensive with the city of Washington, it is bounded by Maryland and Virginia.

Originally 100 sq mi (259 sq km), the territory was authorized by Congress in 1790 and granted by Maryland and Virginia; it now occupies 68 sq mi (176 sq km). The site was chosen by Pres. George Washington and became the seat of the federal government by 1800. Part of the district (Alexandria, Va.) was retroceded to Virginia in 1847. The slave trade was prohibited in the District in 1850 and slavery was abolished in 1862. The territorial government was abolished in 1874 in favour of government by a commission appointed by the president. Residents were granted suffrage in national elections in 1961 by the 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The mayor-council form of government was established in 1967. Originally appointees of the president, the mayor and councilors became elected officials in 1973 and received local legislative powers in 1974.

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      federal district, eastern United States, on the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (Washington) (q.v.).

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • District of Columbĭa — District of Columbĭa, das Gebiet der City of Washington, der Bundeshauptstadt der Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika, s. Columbia 1) …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • District of Columbia — District of Co|lum|bi|a D.C. the District of Columbia the special area in the eastern US, next to Maryland and Virginia, which includes Washington, the capital of the US …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • District of Columbia — [after COLUMBUS1 Christopher] federal district of the U.S., on the N bank of the Potomac River: 61 sq mi (159 sq km); pop. 572,000; coextensive with the city of Washington: abbrev. DC or D.C …   English World dictionary

  • District of Columbia —   [ dɪstrɪkt əv kə lʌmbɪə], Abkürzungen D. C., postamtlich DC, der 1791 geschaffene Bundesdistrikt der USA mit der Bundeshauptstadt Washington, der unmittelbar dem Kongress der USA unterstellt ist; 177 km2, (1999) 519 000 Einwohner (1990: 606 900 …   Universal-Lexikon

  • District De Columbia — Washington (District de Columbia) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Washington et DC. Washington, D.C …   Wikipédia en Français

  • District de Columbia — Washington (District de Columbia) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Washington et DC. Washington, D.C …   Wikipédia en Français

  • District de columbia — Washington (District de Columbia) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Washington et DC. Washington, D.C …   Wikipédia en Français

  • District of Columbia — Washington (District de Columbia) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Washington et DC. Washington, D.C …   Wikipédia en Français

  • District of Columbia — Washington D. C. Washington Monument und Weißes Haus …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • District of Columbia — noun the district occupied entirely by the city of Washington; chosen by George Washington as the site of the capital of the United States and created out of land ceded by Maryland and Virginia (Freq. 12) • Syn: ↑D.C., ↑DC • Instance Hypernyms:… …   Useful english dictionary

  • District of Columbia — noun The District of Columbia (U.S. federal district) is the federal capital of the United States of America. The City of Washington used to be a municipality within the District of Columbia until 1871 when two entities were merged. For this… …   Wiktionary

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