Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/158

150 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 17 years inclusive), of whom 10,494 were col- ored, 14,971 were males, and 16,700 females. The following statements embody the statistics of the colored schools of Washington city and Georgetown for the year ending June 30, 1872, and of the other schools for the year ending Aug. 31, 1872 : the number of school houses owned by the District was 42 ; value of school property, $816,005; number of schools, 233, including 1 preparatory high school (colored), 16 grammar, 36 intermediate, 51 secondary, 111 primary, and 18 ungraded schools (county of Washington) ; number of teachers, 264, of whom 27 were males ; pupils enrolled, 15,555, of whom 5,435 were colored ; average atten- dance, 10,688, of whom 3,639 were colored. The school tax in Washington city was 60 cents on $100, in Georgetown 25 cents, and in the county of Washington 40 cents. The receipts were $3,398 64 from fines, &c., and $352,241 43 from taxation; total, $355,640 07. The total expenditures were $479,995 94, in- cluding $129,654 51 for teachers' wages, $79,- 409 76 for incidental expenses, and $140,577 51 for sites, buildings, &c. The separate ex- penditures (included in the total) of the colored schools of Washington and Georgetown were $49,855 59 for teachers' wages, $18,747 04 for incidental expenses, and $60,403 68 for sites, buildings, &c. ; total, $129,006 31. The school tax for the year ending June 30, 1873, was 33 cents on $100 in Washington city, 53 cents in Georgetown, and 50 cents in the county of Washington. According to the census of 1870, there were 87 schools not public, viz. : 1 classical academy, 2 commercial, 61 day and boarding, and 23 parochial and charity schools. The number of teachers was 256 ; pupils, 7,010; annual income, $199,313. The number of private schools in 1872, as appears by the report of the United States commissioner of education, was 123 (including 31 institutions for secondary instruction), having 6,217 pupils. The census returns of 1870 include 696 libra- ries, containing 793,702 volumes, of which 569, with 383,766 volumes, were private. The others were classified as follows: 1 congres- sional, 190,000 volumes ; 14 departmental (United States government), 115,185; 4 court and law, 32,348 ; 95 Sabbath school, 39,853 ; 6 church, 2,850; 7 circulating, 29,700; total libraries not private, 127, with 409,936 volumes. The number of newspapers and periodicals was 22, viz. : 3 daily, 1 tri-weekly, 12 weekly, and 6 monthly. There were 111 church or- ganizations and 112 houses of worship; num- ber of sittings, 63,655 ; value of property, $3,393,100. The church edifices were: Bap- tist, 16 ; Christian, 1 ; Congregational, 1 ; Episcopal, 16 ; Evangelical Association, 1 ; Friends', 1 ; Jewish, 1 ; Lutheran, 10 ; Meth- odist, 36 ; New Jerusalem, 1 ; Presbyterian, 15; Reformed, 1; Roman Catholic, 11; Uni- tarian, 1. After the adoption of the articles of confederation by the United States, the question of fixing upon a seat of government for the Union called forth much sectional rivalry. During the period between the con- clusion of the revolutionary war and the adop- tion of the present constitution, congress met at Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, and New York. After the organization of the govern- ment under the constitution, March 4, 1789, warm discussions took place in congress on the location of the capital, which were finally settled by the passage, June 28, 1790, of an act containing the following clause: "That a district of territory on the river Potomac, at some place between the mouths of the Eastern branch and the Connogacheague, be and the same is hereby accepted for the permanent seat of the government of the United States. 1 ' The same act provided that congress should hold its sessions at Philadelphia until the first Monday in November, 1800, when the govern- ment should remove to the district selected on the Potomac. The area fixed upon for the district was a square of 10 miles, or 100 square miles. It embraced 64 square miles of Mary- land, constituting the county of Washington, which was ceded by that state to the United States in 1788, and 36 square miles of Virginia, constituting the county of Alexandria, ceded in 1789. The portion on the Virginia side of the Potomac was retroceded to that state in 1846. In 1814 Washington was taken by the British, who burned the capitol, presidential mansion, and congressional library. In the early part of the civil war strong fortifications were erect- ed for the protection of the capital, which was several times threatened ; but no fighting oc- curred within the District until July 12, 1864, when Gen. Early with a considerable force at- tacked Fort Stevens, an isolated work about 6 m. N. of Washington. At this time the gar- rison had been much weakened by the with- drawal of troops to strengthen the army be- fore Richmond, but reinforcements arrived the same day, and the confederates were repulsed. Slavery was abolished by the act of congress of April 16, 1862, and the right of suffrage was extended to colored citizens by the act of Jan. 8, 1867. The constitution of the United States confers upon congress the exclusive legislative control over the District, but does not allow the inhabitants any vote for presi- dential electors. Previous to the act of 1871 the legislative power had been exercised di- rectly by congress, in which, however, the people had no representation; but upon the establishment of a territorial form of govern- ment by that act the right of electing a del- egate to congress, with the same privileges as delegates of other territories, was granted. The act repealed the charters of the cities of Washington (pop. in 1870, 109,199) and George- town (pop. 11, 384), which had been incorporated May 3, 1802, and Dec. 25, 1789, respectively, on and after June 1, 1871 ; but provided that the portions of the District included within the then limits of those cities should continue to be known as the city of Washington and the