Washington DC.....

[Loosehead]

Just reading a link in the 51st state question and as far as I can tell Washington DC is the capital of the USA but is not actually in the USA. Wikipedia give loads of info but I can't find what I want to know, ie what is the status/tenure, I mean it's a district not a state and not in a state, I do not understand the entity. Can some enlightened American explain to this confused limey? Is there a parallel with anywhere else that can help understanding? thanks

[chijiki]

Washington DC is the capital of the USA.
DC as it is normally known straddles the state borders of Virginia and Maryland in the East of the USA.

There is a Washington State which is in the far North West of the USA.

[Loosehead]

Thanks for your efforts chijiki but I know that.

DC is not itself a state although it's self governing as far as I can tell.

[heathfield]

The status of Washington D.C. within the United States is a total mess, and is still unresolved after all these years. Steps have been taken most recently to have it acknowledged as a State, but progress is slow, and the government doesn't seem to be bothered about it. There's a fairly comprehensive article about it all here

[buildersmate]

Its probably a good article but I found it extremely longwinded and I got bored after page 2 and stopped reading. I believe the short explanation is that when the original States (about 15 of them I think - all in the East) were trying to unite, there was a bun-fight over where the new capital should be - Philadelphia in Pennsylvania had been the old capital. It was somehow agreed that the new capital shouldn't be in any one State, to stop any one state becoming too powerful. Maryland, Delaware and Virginia each donated a bit of land for the new capital, which is why is it where it is - on the border between all three of them.

[cymrudiamond]

Yay Buildersmate :) Well done! It matters not whether it is a separate district or state, it's part of the US,and that's about all you can say to that. As an American, I never paid it any mind. As a matter of fact, no one I've ever known has been concerned about it? Interesting...