Until Europeans arrived in what is now the District of Columbia in the 17th century, the Nacotchtank, a tribe of Native Americans, lived here. European settlers appropriated the area, including the valuable resources of the Nacotchtank tribe, and established their own communities: Alexandria and Georgetown.
Neighboring Washington was originally founded as a city and initially comprised only about one-third of the district. The federal District of Columbia, established in 1790, did not include neighboring communities until later.
When George Washington became President, New York City was still the capital of the United States. However, since the 13 founding states of the USA wanted a central location on the populated East Coast as their capital, D.C. was envisioned as the seat of government. On June 11th, 1800, Washington D.C. officially became the capital of the United States.
During the British-American War of 1812, the newly built Washington D.C. was nearly destroyed, and the population numbers remained small for a long time. It was not until slavery was abolished that D.C.'s population grew, as many former slaves moved to the city.
Because Washington D.C. is not affiliated with any US state, residents of the capital were not allowed to vote at the national level for a long time. Only since the 23rd Amendment of 1961 have D.C. residents been allowed to vote in presidential elections. In January 2021, there was a second attempt to turn D.C. into a state with a legislative initiative (Washington, D.C. Admission Act H.R. 51).