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U.S. constitution signing
The Constitution was signed by 39 out of 55. The people who refused to sign were because of the lack of the Bill of Rights. During the debate of the Constitution, they decided to frame an entirely mew government. -
Residence Act passed
The act of 1790 designated a site on the Potomac River as the permanent capital of the United States. On August 26, L'Enfant submitted this plan, which had broad, radiating avenues connecting significant focal points, and his design for Washington, D.C. remains. -
Competitions to design the President's house and the U.S. Capitol
The Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, announced the competition to design the President's House at the request of President George Washington. James Hoban, an Irish-born architect, won the commission for the house, which L'Enfant had allowed because of his 1791 plan for the capital city. Dr. William Thornton, a physician, won the commission for the Capitol after the deadline. -
Latrobe named Surveyor of Public Buildings and Ground
Thomas Jefferson invited Benjamin Henry Latrobe, an English immigrant, to become the Surveyor of Public Buildings and Grounds. Latrobe oversaw the completion of the capitol building and the President's house which he designed the North and South porticos. -
The Oldest Building in GSA Inventory Constructed
In 1810 a German financier, David Parish, constructed a simple store and warehouse in Ogdensburg, New York. U.S. Custom Services moved into a leased space in the store and then purchased the building in 1936. -
Capital Burned during War of 1812
British troops defeated American troops at Bladensburg, Maryland, when British troops arrived in Washington on August 24, 1814. They soon set fire to major federal buildings throughout the city including the President's house, the Capitol, and the Treasury building, which resulted in the city being in ruins. -
Charles Bulfinch Appointed Architect of the Capitol
After Latrobe retired, Charles Bulfinch assumed the role on January 8, 1818. Bulfinch was educated at Harvard and was New England's leading architect, he oversaw the completion of the wings and the central portion of the U.S. Capitol building. -
Robert Mills Appointed Architect of Public Buildings
Studied under both Benjamin Henry Latrobe and James Hoban, Robert Mills was the first American-born architect of Public Buildings. After spending his first years in Washington and changing some existing public buildings, Mills won the competition for the design of the Washington Monument in 1836. -
Texas Annexed
After gaining independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas became an independent nation until 1845 when Texas was voluntarily annexed by the United States. A border dispute between the United States and Mexico, which both had refused to recognize Texas's independence led to the Mexican-American war. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago
The Treaty ended the Mexican-American war on February 2, 1848, for $15 million the US acquired 500,000 miles of land. After a few years, the federal government began constricting a "state house" in Santa Fe.