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In a book about U.S.
cities and states, we must remind you that while
Washington is a city, it's also a state; and that the
District of Columbia is neither state nor city.
Confused? In case you didn't know, the District of
Columbia is a federally protected enclave of sorts,
settled and founded in the late 18th century. The
government still owns it, and its only city was named
after our good father George Washington, who decreed
that it should be the nation's capital. And so it was in
1800.
Today, it is the seat of one of the world's most
powerful nations, playing a key role in international
politics and relations in even the most remote corners
of the world. America's president lives in its White
House, our elected legislators and appointed officials
assemble there in the hallowed halls of Congress and the
judiciary, and it is home to one of the world's largest
and most respected museums in the world, The
Smithsonian. A visit to the Washington and Jefferson
Memorials in the spring fills visitors' noses with the
sweet scent of cherry blossoms, and their heads with a
weighty sense of the nation's historic roots in
revolution, the fight for independence, and freedom of
expression. When politics get ugly and social problems
seem overwhelming, Washington can be a good reality
check, a reminder of how far we've come as a nation, and
an inspiration to keep us ever mindful of the diversity
and liberty that keeps America great.
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