What Is the Capital of the United States? Civics Question 119

The answer is Washington, D.C.

Question 119 asks for the capital of the United States. The answer is Washington, D.C. Say the two letters after the name so the officer does not have to wonder whether you mean the state of Washington on the other side of the country.

What the D.C. Stands For

D.C. means District of Columbia. It is a federal district, not a state, and that was the point of it.

The states argued over where the national government should sit, and no state wanted a rival state to hold it. The answer was to build the capital on land along the Potomac River that belonged to no state at all. The government moved there in 1800. Before that, the capital had sat in other cities, including New York and Philadelphia.

Why the Officer Asks This

The capital is where the three branches of government you studied actually work. Congress meets there, the President lives and works there, and the Supreme Court hears cases there. Every branch question on the test points to the same city.

D.C. also changes the answers to four other questions for the people who live there. District residents have no U.S. senators, live in a place that is not a state, and have no governor and no state capital to name. If you are a D.C. resident, those are your answers.

How to Remember the Capital

The first President’s name is on the capital city. George Washington, Washington, D.C. The man who led the country first, the city that leads it now.

For the letters, use the full name once while you practice: District of Columbia. Columbia is an old poetic name for America, so the capital is the American district of the American country.

Common Ways People Get This Wrong

The biggest trap is the state of Washington. It sits in the far northwest, its largest city is Seattle, and it has nothing to do with the capital. Saying “Washington” with no letters after it leaves the officer with two cities to choose from.

New York and Philadelphia are the other common misses. Both really did hold the government in the early years, which is why they feel almost right. Neither is the capital now.

What to Say on Test Day

Say “Washington, D.C.” Then stop.

You do not need the state names, the river, or the year the government moved. Three syllables and two letters finish this question.