In 1790, founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton agreed upon the Compromise of 1790, in which it was agreed that the capital city of the United States would be moved from Philadelphia to a new location in the South, what would eventually become known as the District of Columbia. George Washington chose the location of the new city, along the banks of the scenic Potomac River, and one year after its establishment, the City of Washington was named in his honor. The federal district was poetically named the District of Columbia, and the Congress of the United States held its first session on Capitol Hill in November of 1800.
Between 1790 and 1800, residents of this federal territory were able to elect representatives to Congress as part of the Virginia or Maryland delegations. In 1801, however, Congress passed the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, splitting the city into Washington, in the north, and Alexandria, in the south. Following passage of this legislation, residents of the District were no longer considered residents of either Maryland or Virginia and were subsequently no longer able to vote for Congressional representation. From that moment onward, only a few decades after American colonists coined the phrase “taxation without representation,” Washington residents were refused the most basic right of a voice in their government, an atrocity that still continues today.
In 1871, the District of Columbia and the City of Washington were merged, creating Washington, DC as we know it today. Other states continued to gain admittance to the Union, and representation in Congress, while DC residents continued to go without. Only in 1961, with the passage of the 23rd Amendment, were the residents of DC actually given the opportunity to vote for president. Even this small victory was not without controversy, and although the District was more populous than 13 of the 50 states in 1960, it was not, and cannot, be granted more electoral votes than the least populous state regardless of its own population.
In 1978, there appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Both Houses of Congress passed the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment. This Amendment proposed to treat the District as though it were a state, particularly in regard to representation in Congress and the Electoral College. However, the Amendment was ratified by only 16 states, more than 20 short of the two-thirds needed, and the oppression of District residents continued.
Recently, small steps have been taken towards granting the District the equal voting representation it deserves. In 2008 Congress lifted the ban on spending money lobbying for fair representation and the DC Council approved $500,000 towards a DC voting rights campaign. The Shadow and Congressional Delegation, along with other Democrats in the Senate, brought the DC Voting Rights Bill to within three votes of the 60 needed to begin debate, the farthest the bill has ever gotten.
This year the House Voting Rights Act 2009 (S. 160–HR 1.57157) will again reach the floor for Congressional debate. Although progress has been made, there is much more that needs to be done in the future in order to halt the systematic, politically biased exploitation of the District by a selfish right-wing coalition that does not want the voices of DC residents to be empowered on a national level.
Agencies 
