Washington D.C.

Washington, DC may look like a city, but it belongs to the whole country. It isn’t part of any state, and people here take pride in living where history is still being written every day. Families notice it right away: school groups at the monuments, joggers passing the White House, and debates spilling out of Congress.

The city’s plan came from Pierre L’Enfant, who designed wide boulevards and grand circles in the late 1700s. George Washington chose the site because it sat between the North and South, and from the start it symbolized compromise. The British tested that idea in 1814 when they burned the Capitol and the White House during the War of 1812. Both buildings rose again, a sign the nation wasn’t going away.

Slavery, civil rights, and protest all shaped Washington. Enslaved people helped build its landmarks, a fact visitors learn at the African American History and Culture Museum. The city became a rallying ground during the Civil War, and a century later Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Marches still fill the National Mall when people demand change.

World events often land here too. Franklin Roosevelt guided the country through World War II from the White House, and Cold War spies once slipped messages across city parks. Every president has left a mark, from Lincoln’s statue to Kennedy’s flame at Arlington Cemetery.

For kids and parents exploring, Washington feels like a giant outdoor classroom. You can climb the steps of the Capitol, peer at rockets in the Air and Space Museum, or stand in quiet reflection at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Every block has a story, and seeing them together makes the nation’s history feel close enough to touch.