Washington, D.C., is the capital city of the United States of America. "D.C." is an abbreviation for the District of Columbia, the federal district coextensive with the city of Washington. The city is named after George Washington, military leader of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States. Columbia in this context is an early poetic name for the United States of America. The city is commonly referred to as The District or simply Washington. Historically, it was called the Federal City or Washington City. To avoid confusion with the state of Washington, located in the Pacific Northwest, the city is often called simply D.C..

The District of Columbia, founded on July 16, 1790, is a federal district as specified by the United States Constitution. The U.S. Congress has ultimate authority over the District of Columbia, though it has delegated considerable authority to the municipal government. The land forming the original District came from the state of Maryland and Commonwealth of Virginia. However, the area south of the Potomac River was returned to Virginia in 1847 and now is incorporated into Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. After 1847, the remaining land that formed the area now known as the District of Columbia was formed exclusively from land that once belonged to Maryland.

Long before towns began to have any importance in the region, the social life of the great landowners was varied and delightful. Tobacco had brought vast wealth to the gentleman planters of Virginia and Maryland, and the abundance of slaves had given them ample time for leisure. The gentlefolk lived much in the saddle, thinking little of riding five, ten even more miles to pay a social call, or to dine, with a neighbor.

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