The Title on the Map reads:

"Published as the Act directs February 1, 1793 for the Proprietors by J. Good, Bond Street" This is one of several maps circulated in European cities with the hope of raising investment during the early years of the capital's planning.

After the Revolutionary War the nation faced the practical dilemma of choosing where to create the permanent seat of government. The initial choices for the new capital where New York and Philadelphia, but neither city had elevated itself to a point of obvious selection. After much discussion, it was decided that an entirely new city should be created and President Washington signed into law that a site on the Potomac River would become the capital of the United States.

The American engineer, Major Andrew Ellicott, was chosen to survey and lay out the boundaries of the new city. During Ellicott's work Washington also appointed the French engineer, Charles L'Enfant to survey the land designated for the city and produce a ground plan worthy of comparison to any of the great European cities.

While his vision was grand, L'Enfant proved to be a very difficult person to work with and he finally exasperated both Washington and Jefferson to the point that Washington dismissed him in 1792. His difficult personality carried over to the point of refusing to turn over any of his survey work and Ellicott had to reconstruct the plan from his notes and recollections.

Ellicott's plan is housed in the Library of Congress and while L'Enfant is credited in the title, it is not clear which parts of the finished plan are actually L'Enfant's and which are Ellicotts.

Washington became the official capital of the United States in 1800. Congress opened its first session in the new city in November with John Adams as the first president to reside in the new city.

Created/Published : "Literary" magazine and "British" review in January, 1793

Creator : J. Good, London, 1793

Housed in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress

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Product #: ct000511