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Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900
This book traces the history of the development, abandonment, and
eventual revival of George Washington's original vision for a grand
national capital on the Potomac. In 1791 Washington's ideas found
form in architect Peter Charles L'Enfant's plans for the city. Yet
the unprecedented scope of the plan; reliance on the sale of city
lots to fund construction of the city and the public buildings; the
actions of unscrupulous land speculators; and the convoluted
mixture of state, local, and federal authority in effect in the
District all undermined Federalist hopes for creating a substantial
national capital. In an era when the federal government had
relatively few responsibilities, the tangible intersections of
ideology and policy were felt through the construction,
development, and oversight of the federal city. During the
Washington and Adams administrations, for example, Federalists
lacked the funds, the political will, and the administrative
capacity to make their hopes for the capital a reality. Across much
of the next three decades, Thomas Jefferson and other Jeffersonian
politicians stifled the growth of the city by withholding funding
and support for any project not directly related to the workings of
the government. After decades of stagnation, only the more
pragmatic approach begun in the Jacksonian era succeeded in
fostering development in the District. And throughout these
decades, driven by a mixture of self-interest and national pride,
local leaders worked to make Washington's vision a reality and to
earn the respect of the nation. George Washington's Washington is
not simply a history of the city during the first president's life
but a history of his vision for the national capital and of the
local and national conflicts surrounding this vision's acceptance
and implementation.
While scholars have rightly focused on the importance of the
landmark opinions of the United States Supreme Court and its Chief
Justice, John Marshall, in the rise in influence of the Court in
the Early Republic, the crucial role of the circuit courts in the
development of a uniform system of federal law across the nation
has largely been ignored. This book highlights the contribution of
four Associate Justices (Washington, Livingston, Story and
Thompson) as presiding judges of their respective circuit courts
during the Marshall era, in order to establish that in those early
years federal law grew from the 'inferior courts' upwards rather
than down from the Supreme Court. It does so after a reading of
over 1800 mainly circuit opinions and over 2000 original letters,
which reveal the sources of law upon which the justices drew and
their efforts through correspondence to achieve consistency across
the circuits. The documents examined present insights into
momentous social, political and economic issues facing the Union
and demonstrate how these justices dealt with them on circuit.
Particular attention is paid to the different ways in which each
justice contributed to the shaping of United States law on circuit
and on the Court and in the case of Justices Livingston and
Thompson also during their time on the New York State Supreme
Court.
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