# Washington, D.C. -- Why??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-why/255085 "2004-07-14T15:39:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-why/255085/21 "2004-07-14T23:27:53Z")
> [@SNenc](#): > > Before that time, there was considerable debate about moving the capital to an inland location. I think the story said that St. Louis was one of the proposed locations. After all, it would be centrally located not only between north and south, but also east and west, and still be accessible by water. Oh joy - all the heat and humidity, but with more mosquitos and tornados. Nice. And in fact, I’ve heard the southern-effciency-northern-charm line applied to St. Louis, too. Let’s face it, the only way we’d get a city with a decent climate in all seasons is if we moved the capital to the Pacific coast. I’d prefer the Northwest - too much sunlight rots the brain, I think. Waitaminnit, that might actually be a step _up_ for our nation’s leaders…San Diego, DC? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-why/255085/22 "2004-07-15T16:33:12Z")
> [@adirondack\_mike](#): > > I also remember reading (but can’t cite) that the early congress only met in the spring and had business finished by the summertime. You just have to look in the US Constitution to see that it specifies Congress will meet on the first Monday in December unless specified otherwise by law. This was changed by the 20th Amendment in 1933 to be the 3rd of January. The reason for this was not because of the DC weather (DC hadn’t been chosen yet when they wrote the Constitution) but rather that many Congressmen were expected to be farmers or plantation owners. Winter is the slack season for them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-why/255085.md?page=1)