Article I, Section 8 Clause 17 of the US Constitution permits Congress to create a federal district outside state structure to be governed by Congress as the nation's seat of government. As we know in 1790 Congress passed the Residency Act as part of the Compromise of 1790, moving the seat of power to near Georgetown. But what if either another location was chosen, or like the provision in the 1891 Brazilian Constitution, used as a stopgap?
The other proposed location was Columbia, PA, but really any site along the fall line could work for an Alt-1790 location. I believe the reason why they ended up picking DC was the expectation of a later C&O Canal to connect the capital directly to the Great Lakes, something later proven to be almost impossible by canal.
If Washington is built as a Brasilia, the obvious future location is probably St Louis due to its location almost exactly at the centre of the country, but if the South desires the city to be considered more in the South, a location on the Mississippi or Ohio would work better. Wickliffe, KY is a location at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio that has the benefit of being on the bluffs not the flood plain, and also having the capability of being a blank slate for the construction of the city. Memphis is another obvious location if the South desires a more *trapped* city, like DC could have been. Some locations i'm going to throw into the convo too: Vandalia IN, Nashville TN, Cincinnati OH, Lexington KY, Paducah, KY
The other proposed location was Columbia, PA, but really any site along the fall line could work for an Alt-1790 location. I believe the reason why they ended up picking DC was the expectation of a later C&O Canal to connect the capital directly to the Great Lakes, something later proven to be almost impossible by canal.
If Washington is built as a Brasilia, the obvious future location is probably St Louis due to its location almost exactly at the centre of the country, but if the South desires the city to be considered more in the South, a location on the Mississippi or Ohio would work better. Wickliffe, KY is a location at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio that has the benefit of being on the bluffs not the flood plain, and also having the capability of being a blank slate for the construction of the city. Memphis is another obvious location if the South desires a more *trapped* city, like DC could have been. Some locations i'm going to throw into the convo too: Vandalia IN, Nashville TN, Cincinnati OH, Lexington KY, Paducah, KY
