Retrocession (District of Columbia)
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The District of Columbia, the national capital of the United States, was formed in 1790 from 100 square miles that were ceded to the federal government by the states of Maryland and Virginia.
Retrocession is defined as the reversal of a cession, returning land to the entities to which it originally belonged. The 32 square miles originally ceded by Virginia was returned to Virginia in 1847, and some have proposed that the remaining 68 square miles, or most of them, should be returned to Maryland.
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[edit] Virginia retrocession
Almost immediately after the "Federal City" was laid out north of the Potomac River, the residents south of the Potomac in Alexandria County, D.C. began petitioning to be returned to Virginia's jurisdiction. Over time, a movement grew to separate Alexandria from the District for several reasons:
- Alexandria was an important port and market in the Atlantic slave trade. There was increasing talk of abolition of slavery in the national capital, and Alexandria's economy would suffer greatly if slavery were outlawed.
- There was an active abolition movement in Virginia, and the pro-slavery forces held a slim majority in the Virginia General Assembly. (Eighteen years later, in the American Civil War, the most anti-slavery counties would secede from Virginia to form West Virginia.) If Alexandria and Alexandria County were retroceded to Virginia, they would provide two new pro-slavery representatives.
- Alexandria's economy had stagnated as competition with the port of Georgetown, D.C. had begun to favor the north side of the Potomac. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was already helping Georgetown take more business from Alexandria, and the canal was still being extended.
- Alexandria's residents had lost representation and the right to vote at any level of government.
After a referendum, voters petitioned Congress and Virginia to return the area to Virginia. By an act of Congress on 9 July 1846, and with the approval of the Virginia General Assembly, the area south of the Potomac (39 square miles [101 km²]) was returned, or "retroceded," to Virginia effective in 1847.[1]
The retroceded land was then known as Alexandria County, Virginia, and now includes a portion of the independent city of Alexandria and all of Arlington County, the successor to Alexandria County. A large portion of the retroceded land near the river was an estate of George Washington Parke Custis. It would be passed on to his daughter and her husband, Robert E. Lee, and would eventually become Arlington National Cemetery.
[edit] Proposed Maryland retrocession
It has been proposed that the remainder of the District be given back to Maryland. Retrocession would take a simple act of Congress, though it is generally accepted that Congress would not take such a step without the approval of Marylanders and Washingtonians via referenda. Currently, there is little support for retrocession, though some see it as a solution to the twin problems of D.C. voting rights and D.C. home rule.
Such a move, according to some, would be constitutional if at least the part of the District that contains the main offices of government (the National Capital Service Area) were to remain in the District officially; the U.S. Constitution requires the national capital to be no more than 100 square miles, but does not specify a minimum size for the District. However, it is unclear if the Constitution even requires the creation of a District to begin with; after all, the nation didn't have such a district until Washington was founded. If it does, then such a move would require, as a technicality, the repeal of the 23rd Amendment due to there being no citizens of such a District. The only residents of such a rump District would be the First Family, who vote in their hometown, plus, possibly, the homeless.
The remainder of Washington would become a city in Maryland, allowing residents to vote for Maryland's Congressional delegation like any other resident of the state, as well as in state elections.
[edit] Arguments for retrocession
Proponents like the Committee for the Capital City feel such a move would be of financial benefit to Washington; the city would be relieved of burdens not shared by other American cities such as running a prison system and a Department of Motor Vehicles, and it would finally be free from the veto power of Congress. Maryland would benefit from the prestige of being the home state of the national capital of the world's superpower and would gain additional tax revenue. Congress would benefit from no longer having to scrutinize the decisions of the city government; committees overseeing DC government have traditionally been amongst the least prestigious jobs for members. Further, it would give most residents of the District a say in federal government, as they would be able to vote for a represenative and senators, and thus have representation.
[edit] Arguments against retrocession
Proponents of D.C. statehood are against the idea of retrocession because they feel that the city, having been separated from Maryland since the 18th century, has a separate identity; although Maryland is mere city blocks away from many Washingtonians, there is no connection to the state for them. Others see it as a means to block proper representation, which they feel includes two senators. Since these senators would be almost certainly Democratic, the Republicans in the Senate would not be eager to admit the District as a state. It would have less problem giving the city back to Maryland, as that would, at worst, mean one more Democrat in the House. Many in Washington object to Maryland's use of the death penalty, which has been abolished in the District. Many in Maryland object to retrocession because they feel that the city, which has relatively high crime and poverty rates, would be a burden on state government agencies. Others feel that the federal government should have a role in running the national capital; such a role allows for proper management of the city as a symbol of the nation and can be used to reject projects that would be seen by a majority of Americans as ruinous to the capital.
