Welcome back to The Constitution Line by Line.
I'm Senator Mike Lee.
(light jazz music)
The text gives Congress the power,
"To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever,
"over such district, not exceeding 10 miles square,
"as may, by cession of particular states,
"and the acceptance of Congress,
"become the seat of government of the United States,
"and to exercise like authority over all places
"purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state,
"in which the same shall be,
"for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals,
"dock yards and other needful buildings."
With Clause 17 of Article One Section Eight,
also known as the Enclave Clause,
Congress established what would become Washington, DC,
as the seat of the national government.
It was important not to house the national government
within any particular state,
as that might give undue power to that state's legislature,
as well as to blur the lines
between state power and federal power.
Therefore, a small amount of land was apportioned off
to be no more than 10 miles square
to fall within an exclusively federal jurisdiction.
Note that this power has never been interpreted
to exclude the operations of local government,
but merely to make a clear separation
between state power and federal power.
It's important to note
that this doesn't necessarily preclude local offices
from existing within the DC government, and in fact,
Congress has created such a system by statute,
with DC having its own city council and its own mayor,
who are elected by the residents
of the District of Columbia.
But it's important to point out
that this is a federal creation.
Congress still retains the authority,
under that legislation, to undo acts of DC's government,
and Congress always retains the authority,
under the Constitution, to undo that system of power,
because ultimately,
it's Congress that has exclusive legislative jurisdiction
over that land mass.
It's also important to note
that Clause 17 of Article One Section Eight
gives Congress corresponding authority, that is,
authority like that which we have
over the District of Columbia,
to be exercised over any other federal land mass
that's acquired with the consent
of the host state's legislature.
This was a requirement that was put in place
in response to a concern raised by Elbridge Gerry
in September of 1787,
toward the end of the Constitutional Convention.
He noted that there was a risk that,
if Congress had this power,
this power to have exclusive legislative jurisdiction
over federal land within a state,
Congress could undo the sovereignty of particular states
by buying up a lot of land.
So it was in response to that concern,
that language was added,
making clear that Congress' Enclave Clause authority,
that is, Congress's authority to exercise
exclusive legislative jurisdiction over federal land,
could be exercised on the condition that it was acquired
by the consent of the host state's legislature.
In other words,
the state in which the federal land at issue
would have to voluntarily relinquish
its sovereign bundle of rights for the land in question,
in order for Congress to step into the shoes of the state,
to exercise exclusive legislative jurisdiction.
As the population of the District of Columbia
has grown over the years,
campaigns to declare the district a state in and of itself
have become more common.
"Taxation without representation"
was one of the inciting causes
of the American Revolution in the first place,
and some have argued that DC residents
are facing the same injustice,
being subject to taxes
without having representatives in the Senate,
and only one non-voting delegate
in the House of Representatives.
This concern was partially addressed
with the ratification of the 23rd amendment in 1961,
giving the District of Columbia it's three electoral votes
in presidential elections,
although this creates further complications
for the DC Statehood Movement.
Because Article One Section Eight
requires the seat of the national government
to be independent from any state,
other proposals involve shrinking the District of Columbia
to include only a few federal buildings
and the national mall,
such as are necessary to run Congress and the Supreme Court
and the Executive Branch of government,
either making the remaining land a new state
or ceding it back to Maryland
from which it originally came.
You see the District of Columbia was formed originally
from land donated by Maryland and by Virginia.
About a century later,
it was decided that the part that came from Virginia
didn't need to be part of DC,
so that part was given back to Virginia.
We have an additional problem with the 23rd amendment.
Without the repeal of the 23rd amendment,
a smaller redrawn boundary for the District of Columbia
would arguably have just a few residents,
and they would arguably be limited
to the presidential family.
And if the 23rd amendment remained intact
without a repeal of it,
at the same time you created
this smaller District of Columbia,
you would then have the presidential family,
essentially, having the ability
to cast three electoral votes for the District of Columbia.
Thank you for joining me for this episode
of The Constitution Line by Line.
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I hope you'll join us next time.
(light jazz music)