The District of Columbia

I'm on the train to Washington DC. It's an Amtrak direct from Stamford, but is going to take five hours. So lots of time for rumination and doodling. So here I am doodling.
The District of Collumbia is governed directly by the Federal Government of the United States, in contrast to other States. It was formed when the winners of the war of independence decided they needed a separate Federal Capital. It was initially ten miles square from land that was formed from Maryland and Virginia. Later Virginia reclaimed the land.

Anyway , more of that when I get there, meanwhile a brief historical note:

'The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 led to notable growth in the District's population due to the expansion of the federal government and a large influx of freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862, which ended slavery in the District of Columbia and freed about 3,100 enslaved persons, nine months prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1868, Congress granted male African American residents of the District the right to vote in municipal elections.
After the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in the District, primarily in the U Street, 14th Street, 7th Street, and H Street corridors, centers of black residential and commercial areas. The riots raged for three days until over 13,600 federal troops managed to stop the violence. Many stores and other buildings were burned; rebuilding was not complete until the late 1990s.
In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, providing for an elected mayor and city council for the District. In 1975, Walter Washington became the first elected and first black mayor of the District.'