Washington, D.C. (pronounced /ˈwɒʃɪŋtən ˌdiːˈsiː/, WOSH-ing-tən DEE-SEE), formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, founded on July 16, 1790. The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the Territory of Columbia until an act of Congress in 1871 The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 is an Act of Congress, which revoked the individual charters of the City of Washington, the City of Georgetown, and the County of Washington and created a new city government for the entire District of Columbia. The legislation effectively merged what had been separate municipalities within the federal effectively merged the City and the Territory into a single entity called the District of Columbia. It is for this reason that the city, while legally named the District of Columbia, is known as Washington, D.C. The city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington Washington (pronounced /ˈwɒʃɪŋtən/ ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the forty-second state in 1889, which is located on the country's Pacific coast.
The city is located on the north bank of the Potomac River The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately 383 statute miles (616 km) long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles (38,000 km²). In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast of the USA and the 2 and is bordered by the states of Virginia The area's history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony. Land from displaced Native American tribes and slave labor each played a significant role in the colony's early politics and plantation economy. Virginia to the southwest and Maryland Maryland is a major center for life sciences research and development. With more than 350 biotechnology companies located there, Maryland is the third-largest nexus in this field in the United States to the other sides. The District has a resident population of 599,657; because of commuters from the surrounding suburbs, its population rises to over one million during the workweek. The Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington Metropolitan Area, formally known as the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV MSA, is a U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget. It is also part of the larger Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest combined statistical area in the United, of which the District is a part, has a population of 5.3 million, the ninth-largest The United States Office of Management and Budget has defined 366 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) for the United States of America. The OMB defines a Metropolitan Statistical Area as one or more adjacent counties or county equivalents that have at least one urban core area of at least 50,000 population, plus adjacent territory that has a metropolitan area In the United States, a metropolitan area refers to a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are not legally incorporated as a city or town would be, nor are they legal administrative divisions like counties or states. As such the precise definition of any in the country.
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 provides for a federal district A capital territory or capital district is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in the federal model of government, no one state or territory takes pre-eminence because the national capital lies within its borders.[clarification needed]. A capital territory can be a, distinct from the states, to serve as the permanent national capital. The centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States is the central government entity established by the United States Constitution, which shares sovereignty over the United States of America with the governments of the individual U.S. states. For official purposes in U.S. courts, the government is sued as the United States of America, and is referred to are located in the District, as are many of the nation's monuments and museums. Washington, D.C. hosts 174 foreign embassies This is a list of diplomatic missions in the United States. At present, Washington, D.C. hosts 174 resident embassies. Eleven nations maintain diplomatic relations with the United States through their missions at the United Nations in New York. However, only those offices in New York that serve as an official diplomatic mission to the United as well as the headquarters of the World Bank The World Bank Group is a family of five international organizations that makes leveraged loans, generally to poor countries. The Bank came into formal existence on 27 December 1945 following international ratification of the Bretton Woods agreements, which emerged from the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference (1–22 July 1944). It, the International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund is the international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rate and the balance of payments (IMF), the Organization of American States The Organization of American States is an international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. Its members are the thirty-five independent states of the Americas, although Honduras was suspended as a result of the June 28, 2009 coup d’état that expelled President Manuel Zelaya from office (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank is an international organization established and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1959 to support Latin American and Caribbean economic and social development and regional integration by lending mainly to governments and government agencies, including State corporations. The current president, and the Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization is an international public health agency with over 100 years of experience working to improve health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It enjoys international recognition as part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization, and (PAHO). The headquarters of other institutions such as trade unions, lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy with the intention of influencing decisions made by legislators and officials in the government by individuals, other legislators, constituents, or advocacy groups. A lobbyist is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest or a member of a lobby. Governments often define and regulate groups, and professional associations are also located in the District.
The city is governed by a mayor The structure of Washington, D.C.'s city government has changed several times since the City of Washington was officially granted a formal government in 1802. From 1802 to 1812, the mayor was appointed by the President of the United States. Between 1812 and 1820, the city's mayors were then selected by a city council. From 1820 to 1871 the mayor and a 13-member city council The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of Washington, D.C. Because the United States Constitution places the District of Columbia under the sole control of Congress, all acts of the council are subject to congressional override, and thus the council has less power than most city councils in the. However, the United States Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C has supreme authority over Washington, D.C., and may overturn local laws. Residents of the District therefore have less self-governance than residents of the states. The District has a non-voting, at-large Congressional delegate A delegate to Congress is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives who is elected from a U.S. territory or from Washington, D.C. to a two-year term. While unable to vote in the full House, a non-voting delegate may vote in a House committee of which the delegate is a member. The positions are now more permanent, having, but no senators. D.C. residents could not vote in presidential elections Elections for President and Vice President of the United States are indirect elections in which voters cast ballots for a slate of electors of the U.S. Electoral College, who in turn directly elect the President and Vice President. They occur quadrennially on Election Day, the Tuesday between November 2nd and 8th. The most recent election occurred until the ratification of the 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. The first Presidential election in which it was in effect was the presidential in 1961.
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houseboat fire Washington Post (blog) Fire officials say a cat has died in a fire at a houseboat in southwest Washington . DC fire and EMS department spokesman Pete Piringer says authorities were ...
