How Did Washington, D.C., Become the Federal Capital?

1.     Why was not an existing city like Boston, NYC, or Charleston chosen for the national capital?

An existing city was not chosen due to the fact there were jealousies, problems with access, private interests.  The decision to put the capital in place that was not within a state avoided all of those issues.

2. How did political struggles of the time--the "assumption bill" debate--influence the decision to place the capital on the Potomac?

The assumption bill votes were the trade off for the votes to put the capital on the Potomac River.  Hamilton went to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and the three agreed to the deal.  Madison rounded up enough votes in the southern states for assumption in exchange for the Potomac River site which was closer to those southern states and that is what they were interested in.

3. What was significant about the location chosen for Washington, DC?

The location of Washington D.C. was significant because it was located on a site which was rural and the land could be purchased from Maryland farmers.  The location was strategic to the rivers and mountains in the area.  George Washington also liked the site because of his own interests being located near it. 

4. Explain George Washington’s obvious conflict of interest over the site for the capital. Why didn’t this conflict of interest raise any concerns back in the 1790s?

George Washington owned the Potomac Company which built canals and he was the president and principal investor who would benefit the Potomac River site for the capital.  Washington owned an extensive amount of land near this site.  This location for the capital could be potentially a great investment for the President.  This probably did not raise any conflict of interest concerns because he was the first President and there was no previous history of this sort of problem and because George Washington was very well liked no one thought it was any problem. 

CDL: France, England, & Women’s Rights in the 1790s

1.        What reasons did the people have against women’s rights in this time period?

Women did not have many rights in this time period.  Women had a duty to their husband and were deemed to be not intelligent enough to have positions of authority or vote.  Women were to take care of the home and the children and be submissive to their husbands.

2.        Why did Mary Wollstonecraft call marriage legalized prostitution?

Mary Wollstonecraft called marriage legalized prostitution because women had to marry a man in order to survive financially.  The wealthier the potential husband the better so that the wife could be taken care of.

3.        Why was the idea of having rights to a formal education so important to women who supported feminist ideas?  How could having a formal education give women a better sense of equality?

Rights to a formal education were important to the women who supported feminist ideas be the education would open the door to positions of authority.  Women with education would be more intelligent and there would be more respect from men which would make them feel like they are more equal to men. 

4.        Why did most women of the 1790’s prefer a moderate stance rather than an influential stance when it came to Women’s Rights?

Women wanted a more moderate stance on Women’s Rights because they wanted it to be more family focused.  Most women wanted to not have a radical stance like the French with situations like single mother living situations.  Women wanted the family unit to stay intact but in addition to their role within the home they wanted to be heard politically and to be able to share and express their ideas. 

CDL: Was the New United States a Christian Country?

1. Why did Madison want the Constitution to say little about religion, and how did people react to it?

 Madison wanted the Constitution to say little about religion because he did not want the government to have the power to choose for the people one religion over another.  Madison wanted to take the ideas of Thomas Jefferson in that people had the right to choose their religion.  Some people were very confused that the constitution did not use language of religion and at one point Alexander Hamilton said jokingly that they had just forgotten it. 

2. Why does the first amendment grant equal rights to all religion?

 The first amendment grants equal rights to all people that they can be free to choose their choice of religious belief and the U.S. Government would not be able to force citizens to a specific religious following.

3. If a substantial majority of the individual states had constitutions that assumed the primacy of Protestantism why doesn't the Constitution of the United States invoke Christianity as the State Religion?

 Invoking Christianity as the state religion would take away the religious free right of the people to have faith in whichever they choose and this would cause the U.S. Government to meddle in the private affairs of citizens and they needed to be concerned only with governing not religious views.

4. The first amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...” Why did the founding fathers feel they needed to enumerate Freedom of religion. (In addition to speech, press, peaceable assemble, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.)?

The founding fathers probably had in mind the religious bickering that had occurred over the years between the British .The founding fathers also I am sure thought of the people that had settled in the U.S. and of the many different religious faiths. The founding fathers wanted a government that was not about religion but that was about maintaining laws and freedoms which could include all people of all faiths and backgrounds equally.