Why Washington, D.C. Was Cut in Two in 1846 #historyfacts #historymap #geography #washingtondc

[Domjot]

That's pretty cool that they actually kept the stone

[nicholasrabideau]

As a land surveyor, I have actually had to look and go find stones like this. But to see one preserved in such a way... amazing. I have never seen that.

[GodfatherBoxSet]

That part was ceded back to Virginia because congress was going to ban slavery in the District of Columbia. There was a huge slave market in Alexandria and the people there fought to have that area returned

[evilemperorzurg]

The big reason Alexandria went back to Virginia is actually because of slavery. In 1847 a bill was drafted in congress (co-authored by Abraham Lincoln during his one and only term in congress) that would end slavery in D.C. it failed but it spooked slave overs across the river. They then petitioned for Alexandria to rejoin Virginia.

[boratsagdiev]

It wasn't a question of identity it was a question of slavery

[ryanbradley]

Well yeah people call it Washington DC but it is actually just the District of Columbia. The capital city is called Washington which just happens to be the eastern part there that is now the entire thing, although it used to have 2 cities, Alexandria and Washington, as cities within the District of Columbia

[theawfultrumpeter]

There are more stones in Arlington for the western boundaries

[aAtom]

Fun fact, the retrocession of Alexandria is why Maryland owns the entirety of the Potomac River rather than it being split down the middle.

[Callsign_Prophet]

It should join DC. The politics of Alexandria is far more in line with DC than Virginia

[Neptunade]

DC wasn't just taken from Virginia and Maryland, the land wemt through a process to be ceded voluntarily by the inhabitants if both states.

[IndigenousAmericanTrucker]

Most of the original boundary stones on the Virginia side that still exist are in people's backyards if I'm correct! Unlike the parts of D.C. that borders Maryland, the parts that border VA was not a street, but an imaginary line! So, all the boundary stones that still exist on the D.C. and MD borders are all on three streets. Eastern Ave, Southern Ave, and Western Ave. There may be a few more outside of those three streets, like the Jones point boundary stone shown in the video, for example. In my opinion, they mind as well just bring the VA side back to D.C. just to complete the diamond. The only problem would be that some of the buildings on the VA side don't coincide with the rules for buildings in D.C.. Also, the system they have for the streets would completely go against the present design of D.C.. They would probably have to even build a street for that southwest border line, which is supposed to be Western Ave if it would've ever existed, and the present Western Ave is supposed to be Northern Ave, which doesn't exist! I mean, the VA side pretty much operates like its D.C. and some places over there like the Airport, and the Pentagon is owned by D.C., and both have a D.C. address and zip code, although they are on the Virginia side of the border! So, why not bring it back to D.C.? It makes too much sense, even though both sides hate each other, lmao!

[gabemuldoon]

Living in Alexandria I’ve gone here multiple times. You start to take amazing pieces of history like this for granted.

[jamousjay]

So cool man! Thanks for the knowledge!

[Daveyverse]

Isn’t it time to return DC back to Maryland and just keep federal buildings separate?

[BlueDebut]

I stayed in Alexandria when I visited DC. It feels unique from the rest of DC. Its a beautiful area.

[probablysomedingus]

In Maryland, we honor a sacred rule that we like to call ‘no backsies’

[Mortimenow]

Very cool. I’m literally looking at the Jones Point lighthouse right now.

[That-guy-named-Henry]

As a Canadian this knowledge will never be relevant to me but still a cool video 👍

[amykay]

We call it the dmv. Dc, Maryland, Virginia

[lccody]

Now we need to give the rest of D.C. back to Maryland.