National Capital Removal

Did you ever stop to think what a bad idea it is to have Washington, D.C., as our nation’s capital? Surely anyone with any foresight at all would have realized that the colonies would grow and the people would move west, leaving Washington, D.C., a terrible place for a seat of government. It was time the nation’s capital was moved to a more central location. St. Louis, maybe. This was the thinking in 1869 when a national convention was called in St. Louis to petition Congress to take that step. Delegates from three states showed up. It was no secret that St. Louis wanted the capital. In fact almost a quarter century earlier the state constitution had provided land near the city as a location for the federal government’s new home.

AOWM – October 20