It was James Madison who in the 43rd of his Federalist Papers decreed that America needed a federal district separate from the states in order to ensure its security. Madison made his argument in 1788, just five years after the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 in which a group of soldiers attacked the Congress in Philadelphia. Residents of Washington, D.C. have an at-large representative in the House of Representatives, but no senators causing many to claim, perhaps justifiably, that they suffer taxation without representation. Not until the ratification of the Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution in 1961 could D.C. residents vote in presidential elections.
The federal government accounts for 27% of the jobs in Washington, D.C. and ancillary industries such as lobbying firms, industry trade groups, and professional associations comprise another significant chunk. Other industries are growing in D.C. Those include education, finance, and scientific research. Global real estate investment has grown in import in recent years, and the city’s many fine institutions of higher learning are a source of employment for its residents.
Roads
Interstate 66: Washington, D.C. is the site of the eastern terminus of I-66, which begins at Middletown, Virginia. This route 66 has no connection with its more famous namesake, U.S. Route 66.
Interstate 295: This 8-mile spur route connects Maryland’s Indian Head Highway located on the Potomac River with downtown D.C.
Interstate 395: A 13-mile spur route linking Springfield, Virginia with Washington, D.C., I-395 passes under the National Mall near the U.S. Capital.
Interstate 695: This little (1.39 mile) route is not signed, but it does in fact exist. It is known as the Southeast Freeway and is a quick way to get from I-395 to Pennsylvania Avenue.