| Show when aten con congos res me 3 a V as wn g ton ca alit A fo 2 MIN john pl A 1 ent lg of contress the capitol in 18 1900 00 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON S TUE time draws near for the final session of the seventy second congress of the united states to convene in washington it Is interesting to recall that the american congress met for the first time in the present national capital capita just years ago and there can be no more striking evidence of the growth and progress of this nation than a comparison of present day washington and the present magnificent structure which houses the legislative part of our government with the new settlement of washington and the uncompleted structure which was vaas the beginning ginning ot of our national capitol it will be remembered that tile first capital of the new dew nation which come came into being as the result of the revolution devolution was new kew york city there it was on april 16 1 1789 that the first congress convened and the two houses after completing their organization by electing john langdon of new hampshire as temporary president of the senate and frederick A muhlenberg of pennsylvania as speaker of the house met lo in joint session to count the electoral votes cast in the several states a few weeks before and to proclaim officially the election of george washington as president and john adams as vice president on july 9 1790 congress passed an act for establishing a permanent sent seat of the federal government and this act provided for the selection by the president of a district of territory ten miles square somewhere on the potomac river in the region beginning at the mouth of the eastern branch or anacostia river and extending many miles to the northwest the president was authorized to appoint three commis to survey define and limit the district selected and prior to december 1800 1900 they were required to provide in this district suitable buildings tor for the accommodation of congress and of the president and for the public offices 0 of the government of the united states for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the purchase of the land and the erection of the buildings the president was authorized and requested to accept grants of money it was further provided that on the first monday of december 1790 the seat of government should be removed from new york to philadelphia where it was to remain until december ISDO 1800 when it was as to be transferred to the new potomac district in accordance with this act president washington in 1791 chose one county in I 1 maryland da ryland and one to in virginia with the potomac river flowing between for the site of the new national capital which was to be known as the district of columbia at first this district was ten miles square or one hundred square miles and contained across of land which was ceded to the federal government by the two states of virginia and maryland put but in 1840 1846 all the land on the western side bide of the potomac was ceded back bach to virginia and as a result the district zif it columbia since that time contains only 04 square ralles miles As AA commissioners to survey define and urn it the district and to erect the suitable buildings washington named den cen thomas johnson who had been his intimate friend during the revolution dr david stuart of virginia and daniel carroll a member of that illustrious maryland family the commissioners decided that the federal city should be named the city of washington in honor of the first president and the plan of the city was to be made by maj pierre charles lenfant the young r reach french engineer and architect who had reconstructed the buildings in new york and philadelphia used tilled by congress in march 1792 the commissioners advertised in the newspapers of philadelphia boston and new york that they would give a lot in the city of washington and to the person who should pro produce dute to them the most approved plan tor for a capitol to be erected in tile the city of washington sixteen plans were submitted in response to these advertisements but all were rejected because they did not meet the requirements then stephen Hal Il allate late a french architect of new york submitted a plan which met with great favor aud and it seemed that tie he was about to be awarded the work but in the meantime william thornton a talented englishman living in new york who had a powerful friend in the be person of thomas jefferson then secretary of state drew up an elaborate plan for the capitol and submitted it to jefferson who laid it before washington V S NI L A 41 0 o le A J thomas Jeffer sorL with an enthusiastic endorsement the president thought it admirable and said it combined grandeur simplicity and convenience he vi wrote rote to the commissioners requesting them to adopt thorntons Thorn ThorD tons plan in preference to nal Hal lates but charged them to do it with delicacy immediately the commissioners informed Il allate or of the change and upon his examination of thorntons Thorn tons plan the frenchman declared that thornton Thorn too had bad stolen the idea from his ilal lates original designs the result was an acrimonious dispute between the two men which lasted for several months but in the end the commissioners accepted thorntons Thorn tons plan and awarded him the first premium As a sort of consolation prize they gave 11 allate et a premium of and appointed him bim as one of the architects of the capitol with an annual salary of 2000 As architect for the capitol a talented young irishman named james sioban whose plan for the presidents house had already beef accepted was appointed and it was decided to construct the capitol of virginia sandstone instead of brick as was first proposed and the stone was obtained from a quarry on adula creek on september IS 18 1733 1703 the cornerstone of the C capitol was mas laid and fr from 0 to that time on the work of construction was carried on energetically in the meantime congress was meeting in philadelphia la and had made an appropriation of for the necessary expense of the lemoral lem tem oval of the government to lo washington in june bruu all the records papers office furniture etc of the various federal departments were loaded on oil packet sloops at philadelphia and for the new city on tile banks of the potomac tile the officials ili anil and clerks numbering in all not more than two hundred went to washington in lumbering stage coaches arriving after a long tiring journey of nearly a week eek mrs adams the wife ife of the vice president tins lias left us a record of her adventures on that trip she says after leaving baltimore we wandered about for two hours without findan finding a guide or a path woods are all you carl can see from the time you leave baltimore Palt imore until you reach the city which Is so only in nattie name here and there Is a small hut but without a glass window interspersed among the forests through which you travel for miles mile without seeing a human being after the luxury of life in new york and philadelphia most of the government officials looked with dismay upon this wilderness CRY city set to in a almost equal to the great Serb onlan bog as one of them described the new capital it was in such an environment its as this that the sixth congress began its second session on november Iso vember IT 17 1800 the first sessi session oll hold in the e new ht capital the north wing of the capitol atol in which the session was held field was in a very in complete condition and both houses were crowded into narrow badly arranged quarters on the opening day president john mains adams appeared before a joint session of the two houses find and made the following impressive adi dress 1 congratulate the people of the united states mates on nn the assembling of congress at tile iho permanent sent seat of their government and I 1 con fc you gentlemen on the prospect of a residence not to be changed although there ts Is cause to apprehend that accommodations accommodations are not now so go complete as might be wished yet there Is great reason to believe that this incon ve veri olence lence will cease with the present session it would be unbecoming the representatives of this nation to assemble for the first time in this solemn temple without looking up to the supreme ruler of the universe and imploring his blessing may this territory be the die residence of virture and happiness in this city may that piety and virtue that wisdom and magnanimity that constancy and self government which adorned the great character whose name it bears be forever held field in veneration here and throughout our country may simple manners pure moral and true religion nourish flourish fo forever reverl it la Is with you gentlemen to consider whether the local powers over the district or columbia vested by the constitution lo in tile the congress of the united states shall be immediately exercised erel sed if in your opinion this important trust ought now be executed you cannot fall while performing it to take into view the future probable situation of the territory tor for the happiness of which bich you are about to provide you will consider it as tile the capital of a great nation advancing with unexampled ra rapidity in arts in commerce in wealth and in population and possessing within itself those energies gies and resources which if not thrown away or lamentably misdirected will secure to it t a long course of prosperity and self government this first session of congress in the new capital was destined to witness some of the most exciting scenes in the history of the nation although the federalists had bad a small majority in congress it was evident that the political control of tile the country which they had had since constitutional government went into effect was fast slipping away from them adams adams rigorous enforcement of the alien and sedition laws had driven many foreign born citizens into the rising democratic rep republican lean party then too there were other causes for bitterness which marked the dooni doom of the once all powerful federalists era lists who nho had been in control of the government of the new nev nation continuously for eleven years the presidential campal campaign n of 1800 was an exciting one with john adams as the federalist candidate for reelection election re running with charles cotesworth pinckney as vice president opposed to them on the democratic republican ticket was thomas jefferson then vice president for president and aaron burr for vice president PresIde dent nL the election resulted in a victory for the democratic republicans who ho received 72 electoral votes to the federalists 03 63 the constitution at that time provided for each presidential elector to vote for two persons without designating which was to be Pre president and which to be vice president the person receiving the highest number dumber of votes was to be president and the nest dext highest vice pres president ideal by an amendment to the constitution in 1804 the electors are now required to vote separately for president and vice president when the electoral votes were ere cast it was found that the crafty political manipulation of aaron burr had resulted in a tie vote for h himself in and jefferson both being higher than the vote for adams so the election was thrown into tile house of representatives amid the greatest excitement the house began to ballot for a president on february 11 1801 there were members from 16 states and each state had one vote with the majority of the states necessary for a choice the house sat ant with closed doors and balloting went on oil continuously day and night on the first ballot eight states voted for jefferson ferson and six for burr two states vermont and add maryland were divided and could not cast a vote ballot daliot after ballot was taken with no change in the result finally on february 17 a break come came and jefferson was elected president by the votes of ten states during the balloting tile the excitement I 1 in n the country was intense charges of all kinds flew thick and fast it was charged by the demo cratic republicans that the federalists were voting for burr to prevent an election until after march 4 when they would usurp the office of president by making chief justice N mar f ar shall of the supreme court president thus establishing tab lishing a federalist limited monarchy on oil the other hand the federalists charged jefferson with every sort of crime asserted he was an infidel and spread the report that if ff he were elected the bibles would he be taken away from the people finally the federalist leader it in the house james A bayard of delaware got c control or of enough votes to be able to elect jefferson or prolong the contest so he made a deal with jefferson receiving from him hill the assurance that he would support tile the public credit credit main tain fain the naval system and would not remove from public office certain minor officials on po no litreal grounds in ID return for this rayard bayard ar ranged for vermont and Illary maryland lanil to cast a unanimous vote and give the two necessary votes to jefferson thus he was finally dually declare ared elected and tits his inauguration took place carpl 1 l I 1 rell 4 1801 tile the first president to be inaugurated inaugurated in the new capital of the united states Q by western |
