Washington, DC

For other uses of the name Washington, see Washington (disambiguation) Washington, DC formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. Columbia was founded on July 16, 1790 in land carved from Maryland and Virginia. It became the active capital city in 1800. The land from Virginia was returned to that state in 1846, leaving only the land from Maryland as the current District. The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the Territory of Columbia, alongside Georgetown and Washington County. An act of Congress in 1871 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.

Washington, DC in In the Presence of Mine Enemies
Washington, D.C. was the capital of the United States until its destruction during the Third World War by the Greater German Reich's atomic bombs. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania also met the same fate.

With Washington's destruction, the capital was shifted to Omaha, Nebraska where a Pro Nazi puppet government was established. Washington, D.C. was left in ruins well into the 21st Century.

Washington, DC in "Must and Shall"
Washington, DC was the capital of the United States during the Great Rebellion, when the Southern states sought independence as the Confederate States. On 12 July 1864, President Abraham Lincoln was felled by a CS sharpshooter while reviewing the ramparts at Fort Stevens just outside the city. His successor Hannibal Hamlin swore retribution on the Confederacy during his Inauguration Speech which included installing a permanent military occupation in the former Confederacy, ruining their economy and promoting the black people who had been slaves to important positions after the war. This consequently left much of the former Confederacy seething with rebellious feelings, including Louisiana where FBS agent Neil Michaels helped prevent a German-backed uprising in New Orleans, during World War Two in 1942.

Washington, DC in Southern Victory
Washington, DC was the official capital of the United States, but had not been used in that capacity for anything but ceremonial functions (such as Presidential inaugurations and state funerals) since the outset of the Second Mexican War, when it was bombarded by Confederate artillery. The U.S. government moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Though that war lasted only a year, Philadelphia remained the de facto seat of government for the thirty years of peace that preceded the Great War. In the first year of the Great war, Washington was invaded and captured in the early stages of a Confederate advance, and remained occupied until the war was almost over. It was, in fact, the last piece of occupied territory the Confederates held before being driven from the United States. The C.S. made a stiff defense that required the United States to shell the city for days.

During the war, a sophisticated and effective spy ring formed in Washington and provided the US government with valuable intelligence throughout the conflict. This ring was led by Bill Reach, who was presumed killed in the US bombardment to retake the city--but was in fact killed by his ex lover Nellie Semphroch when he was attempting to rape her.

President-elect Calvin Coolidge died of a heart attack in Washington on January 5, 1933. His running mate, Herbert Hoover, was sworn as president on February 1, 1933. Even though Philadelphia was the de jure capital, Washingtonians were not allowed to vote in the presidential elections.

Washington, DC in The Guns of the South
The capture of Washington City by the Army of Northern Virginia guaranteed victory for the Confederate States and the end of the Second American Revolution. Despite having militarily won complete control of the city, Robert E. Lee, wishing to be a generous victor and to establish good relations with the US for the post-war period, decided to leave the White House as an unoccupied enclave, instructing his troops not to enter the building. He also did not take President Abraham Lincoln prisoner when he had the chance.

Initially, Lincoln refused to accept defeat and was willing to destroy the city to rout the Confederates, who were low on ammunition. But he was forced to concede when Lee informed him Confederate forces had seized Federal rail supply lines earlier that day.

Washington, DC in The Two Georges
Victoria was the seat of government for the North American Union. It was named after Queen-Empress Victoria of Britain.

Literary comment
Victoria is referred to several times as being on the south side of the Potomac River, rather than the north side as OTL Washington is, suggesting that it comprises the Virginia regions of Arlington County and perhaps a few nearby entities.

Washington, DC in "Vilcabamba"
Washington, DC fell under Krolp domination sometime after their invasion. It was still the de jure capital of the rump United States, but the last president to have actually resided in the city was Harris Moffatt I. The de facto capital of the rump United States, along with rump Canada was Grand Junction, Colorado.

Washington, DC in Worldwar
Washington, DC was the seat of the United States government when the Race's Conquest Fleet invaded Earth in 1942. Early in the ensuing war, Atvar decided to destroy Washington with an explosive-metal bomb to lower U.S civilian and military morale. The choice was strategic, as the radiation would likey drift into the sea, but at the same time Atvar disliked it as D.C. was only a administrative center and not an manufacturing one. Luckily for the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, most of his cabinet, and most of Congress, had already been evacuated from the city. Contrary to the Race's hopes, Washington's destruction only encouraged more resistance.

The destruction of Washington prompted the Jews of Poland to reconsider their relationship to the Race. While the Race had liberated every Nazi concentration camp they'd come across, and had even destroyed Berlin, the destruction of Washington made the Jews acutely aware that the Race still sought to subjugate the whole of humanity. Resistance leader Mordechai Anielewicz was one of those who felt this dilemma very deeply, leading him to try steering a very delicate "middle course" between helping the Race and helping Germany.

Despite Congressional efforts, Washington was never rebuilt. After the Race agreed to grant the United States sovereignty at the Peace of Cairo in 1944, the seat of government was permanently relocated to Little Rock, Arkansas.

Washington, DC in The Man With the Iron Heart
As the continued occupation of Germany grew increasingly unpopular in the United States, Washington, DC was the site of a number of protests against, counter-protests for, and press conferences about the situation.

On July 4, 1947, one such protest seemed on the verge of rioting when Everett Dirksen announced to a crowd of protesters in Lafayette Park, that just a short time before, Indianapolis City Councilman Gus van Slyke had been assassinated while giving a speech. Dirksen then quickly whipped his audience into a frenzy, blaming the assassination indirectly on the Truman Administration. He then led the crowd in singing "The Star-Spangled Banner".