【美国精神】第44期

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Explanation:

  Each of the fifty states has a capital (or a city where government buildings are and important decisions are made) for its state government. But what about the federal¹ (or national) government? Where is its capital? Our Founding Fathers knew that if they put the federal capital within one state, that state would have more power and prestige² (or importance and respect) than all the other states, and that wouldn’t be fair. They had to find a way to have a federal capital that would not favor (or give advantages to) one state more than all the others.

  The first capital of the United States was New York City, but this was just a temporary capital, a capital for a short period of time. Our first president, George Washington, had to find a better place for the capital. In 1791 the capital was moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At that time, Philadelphia was the biggest city in the country, so it made sense for the capital to be there. But even this was only temporary and the U.S. government planned to move the capital to a site (or place) on the Potomac River.

  In 1800, the U.S. capital officially moved to Washington, DC. DC stands for District (or area) and Columbia, which refers to Christopher Columbus, who was an explorer (or a person looking for new places and things) and was one of the first people to come to North America from Europe. Washington, DC is the country’s capital and a city, but it is not a state. It isn’t in a state, either. Washington, DC was made by taking some lands from Maryland and Virginia, two states that border (or are next to) Washington, DC today.

  When Washington, DC was built, the site was very unpleasant. The capital was built on swampland (or very wet earth). The weather was bad and there were many mosquitoes and other insects. But the plan was successful and Washington, DC is still our nation’s capital today. The White House, where the president lives, the Capitol Building, where Congress³ makes laws, and the Supreme⁴ Court, where legal decisions are made, are all in Washington, DC, along with many other federal buildings. There are also many businesses, museums, and monuments (or things built to remember people and things from the past). Many people live in Washington, DC, but because it is not a state, they do not have any representatives who can vote in Congress, since that is reserved (or set aside) for states.

 

 

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