THE CENTRE HALL, PA, The Ca im 1800 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON " ws near for the final Seventy-second cone pitol 4 session gress of th 'nited States to con- vene in ins ston, it is Interesting to recall thi n Congress met for the first time in the present years ago more striking evidence of the growth and progress of this nation than a comparison of present-day Washington and the present magnificent structire which houses the legislative part of our government with the “new settlement” of Wi ing and the uncompleted structure which was the be- ginning of our National Capitol, It will be remembered that the first Capital of the new nation, which can into sing ns the result of the Hev on There It was on April 16, 3789, that congress convened and the two houses completing their organization by electing Langdon of New npshire as tempora ident of the senate and Frederick A. Mu berg of Pennsylv: met In Joint session to count the electoral votes cast In the several state ww weeks before and to proclaim offic as speaker of the Li / tion of George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President. On July 9, 17% YONLTes M «1 an act for establishing Tmanent it of th feds government and fon by the Presider rei J miles square, mewher n th Potomae river, in the region beginning at th wuth of the eastern on i tending many n fdent was authorize sioners to “survey, ie an i ! trict selected and, prior f wember, 1800, they were requ { i i [a district * vt oae 1353 ahle } t mmodation gress and of th ident, and for the offices of the gos nited States™ For the purpose of defraying the expenses of the purchase of the land an he erection of the buildings, the Preside: wins “authorized and requested to accept grants of money.” It was further provid December vor be removed fron ew York to where it was to remain until ala 1800, when It was to be transferred to the new Po tomae district, In accordance with this act President Wash- ington In 1791 chose one county In Maryland and one In Virginia, with the Potomae river lowing ween, for the site of the new Na- tional 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 64.000 acroes of land, which was ceded to the federal government by the two states of Virginia and Maryland. But In 1848 all the land on the western se of the Potomae was ceded back to Virginia and as a result the Distriet of Columbia since that time contains only 64 square miles, As commissioners to “survey, define and lime it” the district and to erect the “suitable bnild- ings,” Washington named Gen, Thomas John gon, who had been his intimate friend during the Revolution, Dr. David Stuart of Virginia and Daniel Carroll, a member of that {llnstrious 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 Ma). Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the young French engineer and architect who had reconstructed the buildings in New York and Philadelphia used by congress, In March, 1792, the commissioners advertised in the newspapers of Philadelphia, Boston and New York that they would give a lot In tha city of Washington and $500 to the person who should "produce to them the most approved plan for a capitol to be erected In the city of Washington.” Sixteen plans were submitted in response to these advertisements but all were rejected because they did not meet the require ments. Then Stephen Hallate, a French archi tect of New York, submitted a plan which met with great favor ond It seemed that he was about to be awarded the work, But in the meantime William Thornton, a tak ented Englishman living In New York, who had a powerful friend in, the person of Thomas Jefferson, then secretary of state, drew up an elaborate plan for the Capitol and submitted it to Jeltggson, who Iald it before Washington nthusiastic endorse it admirable and said and conven! oners, requesting in pref hem to do It "“w R250 vis of the E22 ky) the was appoit construct the Capitol instead of brick as wna + stone was obtained ry on Aquia creek. On September cornerstone of the Capitol was lal that time on the work of construction ried on energetically, In the meant & CONRress as pecting In i ia and had made an appropriation $46.02 “for the necessary expense of the removal” of the government to Washington. In June, 1500, all the records, papers, office furni- ture, ete. of the various federal departments were loaded on packet sloops at Philadelphia and despatched for the new city on the banks of the Potomac. The officials and clerks, num- bering in all not more than two hundred. went to Washington in lumbering stage coaches, ars riving after a long, tiring journey of nearly a week, Mra, Adams, the wife of the Viee Presi has left us a record of her adventures on trip. Bhe says: “After leaving Baltimore we wandered about for two hours without finding fn guide or a path. Woods are all you can see from the time you leave Baltimore until yon reach the city, which Is 80 only In name. Here and there is a small hut, without a glass win- dow, interspersed among the forests, through which you travel for miles without seeing a human being.” After enjoying the luxury of life In New York and Philadelphia most of the government offi cials looked with dismay upon this “wilderness city set in a mudhole almost equal to the great Serbonian bog,” as one of them described the new Capital, It was in such an environment as this that the Sixth congress began its second session on November 17, 1800, the first session held in the new Capital. The north wing of the Capitol, in which the session was held, was in a very in- complete condition, and both houses were crowded Into narrow, badly arranged quarters, On the opening day President John Adams appeared before a joint session of the two houses and made the following Impressive ad- dress: “1 congratulate the people of the United Btates on the assembling of congress at the permanent seat of thelr government; and I con gratulate you, gentlemen, on the prospect of a residence not to be changed, Although there is cause to apprehend that accommodations are not now so complete as might be wished, yet there is great reason to believe that this incon. venlence will cease with the present session, “It woul of this nati this solemn Supreme i his hless which ceiving the i President and the next {By an amendment to the electors are now requis ly for President and Vi When the electoral vot found that the crafty p Aaron Burr had resulte self and Jeffegson, both vote for Adams So the into the house ‘of reprosentatis greatest excitement, the house begs ba for a President on February . 18 “here were 108 members from 10 states at ach state had one vote with the majority of the nies neces sary for a choice. The he doors and balloting went on conti and night. On the first ballot eight states voted for Jef ferson and six for Burr. Two states. Vermont and Maryiand, were divided and could not cast a vote. Ballot after ballot was taken with no change in the result. Finally on February 17 f break came and Jefferson was elected Pres fdent by the votes of ten states During the balloting the excitement in the country was intense. Charges of all Kinds flew thick and fast. It was charged by the Demo. eratic-Republieans that the Federalists were voting for Burr to prevent an election until after March 4 when they would usurp the of- fice of President by making Chie! Justice Mar. ghall of the Rupreme court, President. thus os. tablishing a Federalist limited monarchy. On the other hand the Federalists charged Jeffer son with every sort of crime, asserted hg was elected the Bibles would be taken away from the people. Finally the Federalist leader in the house, James A. Bayard of Delaware, got control of enough votes to be able to elect Jefferson or prolong the contest. So he ‘made a deal with Jefferson, receiving from him the assurance that he would support the public credit, main. tain the naval system and would not remove from publie office certain minor officials on po- litleal grounds. In return for this, Bayard ar ranged for Vermont and Maryland to cast a unanimous vote and give the two necessary votes to Jefferson. Thus he was finally declared elected and his inauguration took place March 4, 1801, the first President to be Inaugurated in the new Capital of the United States, (@ by Western Newspaper Union.) ER ASPIRIN Starts Due velopment Bayer STANT neu: being afford NO TABLETS ARE GENUINE Copr Electrical Wood Tester | Fe 2 The Bayer minine Slant refund : no matter how |} lieved by Creomulsios 521 ¥ rk Block Brobange » Irth Avenao, N. ¥. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers