Retrocession (District of Columbia)
Encyclopedia
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
for the original purpose of creating the national capital. The District of Columbia was formed in 1791 from 100 square miles (259 km²) of land ceded by the states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in accordance with the Residence Act
Residence Act
The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States, is the United States federal law that settled the question of locating the capital of the United States, selecting a site along the Potomac River...
. The area of 31 square miles (80 km²) that was originally ceded by Virginia was returned to that state in 1847. The District's current area consists of the remaining 69 square miles (179 km²) of territory originally ceded by Maryland. Returning the remaining portion of the District of Columbia to the state of Maryland is cited as a way to provide full voting representation
District of Columbia voting rights
Voting rights of citizens in the District of Columbia differ from those of United States citizens in each of the fifty states. District of Columbia residents do not have voting representation in the United States Senate, but D.C. is entitled to three electoral votes for President. In the U.S...
in Congress and return local control
District of Columbia home rule
District of Columbia home rule is a term to describe the various means by which residents of the District of Columbia are able to govern their local affairs...
of the city to its residents.
Background
The Organic Act of 1801District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801
The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 is an Organic Act enacted by the United States Congress, which incorporated the District of Columbia and divided the territory into two counties: Washington County to the north and east of the Potomac River and Alexandria County...
officially organized the District of Columbia and placed the federal territory under the exclusive control of Congress. The District was organized into two counties: the County of Washington
Washington County, D.C.
The County of Washington was one of the five political entities contained within the geographic region comprising what was originally the 100-square-mile District of Columbia. These were the City of Alexandria, the County of Alexandria, Georgetown, the City of Washington, and the County of...
on the east side of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
, and the County of Alexandria on the west side. Following this Act, citizens located in the District were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, thus ending their representation in Congress.
Almost immediately after the Organic Act of 1801, Congress took up proposals for the return of the territory to the states, all of which failed. Members of Congress proposed retrocession because they found disenfranchisement of the District's residents to be unacceptable. Other Congressmen were of the opinion that the District could not be immediately returned without the consent of the residents and the legislatures of Maryland and Virginia. Some representatives rejected the idea of retrocession entirely and concluded that the Congress lacked the constitutional authority to return the territory.
Virginia retrocession
In the 1830s, efforts grew to reunite the southern portion of the District with Virginia. Besides the fact that District residents had lost representation in Congress, a number of additional factors aided the movement to return the area to Virginia:- Alexandria had gone into economic decline due to neglect of the area by Congress. Alexandria needed infrastructure improvements in order to compete with other ports in the area such as GeorgetownGeorgetown, Washington, D.C.Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
, which was further inland and on the Chesapeake and Ohio CanalChesapeake and Ohio CanalThe Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
. Members of Congress from other areas of Virginia used their power to prohibit funding for projects, such as the Alexandria Canal, which would have increased competition with their home districts. Returning Alexandria to Virginia allowed residents to seek financing for projects without interference from Congress. - A 1791 amendment to the Residence Act specifically prohibited the "erection of the public buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the river Potomac." The institutions of the federal government, including the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and the United States CapitolUnited States CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
were therefore located in Washington on the east side of the Potomac River. This made Alexandria less important to the functioning of the national government. - At the time, Alexandria was a major market in the American slave trade, but rumors circulated that abolitionistsAbolitionismAbolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
in Congress were attempting to end slavery in the nation's capital, which would have also seriously harmed the area's economy. - There was also an active abolitionist movement in Virginia. If Alexandria were returned to the state of Virginia, the move would have added two additional pro-slavery representatives to the Virginia General AssemblyVirginia General AssemblyThe Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
.
From 1840 to 1846, Alexandrians petitioned Congress and the Virginia legislature to approve retrocession. On February 3, 1846 the Virginia General Assembly agreed to accept the retrocession of Alexandria if Congress approved. Following additional lobbying by Alexandrians, Congress passed legislation on July 9, 1846 to return all the District's territory south of the Potomac River back to the Commonwealth of Virginia, pursuant to a referendum; President Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
signed the legislation the next day. A referendum on retrocession was held on September 1–2, 1846. The residents of the City of Alexandria voted in favor of the retrocession, 734 to 116; however, the residents of Alexandria County voted against retrocession 106 to 29. Despite the objections of those living in Alexandria County, President Polk certified the referendum and issued a proclamation of transfer on September 7, 1846. However, the Virginia legislature did not immediately accept the retrocession offer. Virginia legislators were concerned that the people of Alexandria County had not been properly included in the retrocession proceedings. After months of debate, the Virginia General Assembly voted to formally accept the retrocession legislation on March 13, 1847. Confirming the fears of pro-slavery Alexandrians, the Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...
outlawed the slave trade in the District, though not slavery itself.
Constitutionality
The Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
has never issued a firm opinion on whether the retrocession of the Virginia portion of the District of Columbia was constitutional. In the 1875 case of Phillips v. Payne
Phillips v. Payne
Phillips v. Payne, 92 U.S. 105 , was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that since 1847, pursuant to the act of Congress of the preceding year, the State of Virginia has been in de facto possession of the County of Alexandria, which, prior thereto, formed a part of the...
the Supreme Court held that Virginia had de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
jurisdiction over the area returned by Congress in 1847, and dismissed the tax case brought by the plaintiff. The court, however, did not rule on the core constitutional matter of the retrocession. Writing the majority opinion, Justice Noah Swayne
Noah Haynes Swayne
Noah Haynes Swayne was an American jurist and politician. He was the first Republican appointed as a justice to the United States Supreme Court.-Birth and early life:...
stated only that:
The plaintiff in error is estopped from raising the point which he seeks to have decided. He cannot, under the circumstances, vicariously raise a question, nor force upon the parties to the compact an issue which neither of them desires to make.
Recently, the validity of the retrocession has been called into question based on the application of the contract clause
Contract Clause
The Contract Clause appears in the United States Constitution, Article I, section 10, clause 1. It states:The Contract Clause prohibits states from enacting any law that retroactively impairs contract rights...
found in Article One of the United States Constitution
Article One of the United States Constitution
Article One of the United States Constitution describes the powers of Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. The Article establishes the powers of and limitations on the Congress, consisting of a House of Representatives composed of Representatives, with each state gaining or...
. By annexing Alexandria in 1846, Virginia may have breached its contractual obligation to "forever cede and relinquish" its interest in Alexandria in violation of the contract clause.
Proposed Maryland retrocession
In order to grant the residents of the District of Columbia voting representationDistrict of Columbia voting rights
Voting rights of citizens in the District of Columbia differ from those of United States citizens in each of the fifty states. District of Columbia residents do not have voting representation in the United States Senate, but D.C. is entitled to three electoral votes for President. In the U.S...
and control over their local affairs
District of Columbia home rule
District of Columbia home rule is a term to describe the various means by which residents of the District of Columbia are able to govern their local affairs...
, some members of Congress, such as Rep. Dan Lungren
Dan Lungren
Daniel Edward "Dan" Lungren is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. The district covers most of Sacramento County and part of Solano County, as well as all of Alpine, Amador and Calaveras counties...
, have proposed returning most parts of the city to Maryland. If both the Congress and the Maryland state legislature agreed, jurisdiction over the District of Columbia could be returned to Maryland, excluding a small tract of land immediately surrounding the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and the Supreme Court building
United States Supreme Court building
The Supreme Court Building is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States. It is situated in Washington, D.C. at 1 First Street, NE, on the block immediately east of the United States Capitol. The building is under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol. On May 4, 1987, the Supreme...
which would become known as the "National Capital Service Area".
Issues
One problem with retrocession is that the state of Maryland may not want to take the District back. In the opinion of Rep. Tom DavisThomas M. Davis
Thomas Milburn "Tom" Davis III was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Virginia's 11th congressional district in Northern Virginia. Davis was considering a run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by five-term incumbent and fellow Republican John...
, discussing the matter in 1998, retroceding the District to Maryland without that state's consent may require a constitutional amendment.
A second problem is that the Twenty-third Amendment
Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution permits citizens in the District of Columbia to vote for Electors for President and Vice President. The amendment was proposed by Congress on June 17, 1960, and ratified by the states on March 29, 1961...
, ratified in 1961, grants "[t]he District constituting the seat of Government of the United States" the right to appoint electors to vote for President. At least one Bill proposed in Congress specifically tied retrocession to the Twenty-third Amendment's repeal. If the Twenty-third Amendment were not repealed, it is possible that the remaining portion of the city (the National Capital Service Area) would still be entitled to select three Presidential electors.
District residents voting in Maryland
A related but alternative proposal to retrocession is the "District of Columbia Voting Rights Restoration Act of 2004" (H.R. 3709), which would have treated the residents of the District as residents of Maryland for the purposes of Congressional representation. Maryland's congressional delegation would then be apportioned accordingly to include the population of the District. Those in favor of such a plan argue that the Congress already has the necessary authority to pass such legislation without the constitutional concerns of other proposed remedies. From the foundation of the District in 1790 until the passage of the Organic Act of 1801, citizens living in D.C. continued to vote for members of Congress in Maryland or Virginia; legal scholars therefore propose that the Congress has the power to restore those voting rights while maintaining the integrity of the federal district. The proposed legislation, however, never made it out of committee.See also
- History of Washington, D.C.History of Washington, D.C.The history of Washington, D.C. is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. Originally inhabited by an Algonquian-speaking people known as the Nacotchtank, the site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was originally selected by President George Washington. The city came...
- District of Columbia voting rightsDistrict of Columbia voting rightsVoting rights of citizens in the District of Columbia differ from those of United States citizens in each of the fifty states. District of Columbia residents do not have voting representation in the United States Senate, but D.C. is entitled to three electoral votes for President. In the U.S...
- District of Columbia home ruleDistrict of Columbia home ruleDistrict of Columbia home rule is a term to describe the various means by which residents of the District of Columbia are able to govern their local affairs...
- D.C. statehood movement