Superellipse and District of Columbia retrocession: Difference between pages

Revision as of 21:28, 16 May 2002

Revision as of 03:52, 11 May 2007

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The [[District of Columbia]], the [[national capital]] of the [[United States]], was formed in 1790 from 100 [[square mile]]s that were [[cession|ceded]] to the federal government by the [[U.S. state|states]] of [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]].

A '''super ellipse''' is a geometrical figure which in an [[cartesian coordinate system]] can be written as

:(''x''/''a'')^''n'' + (''y''/''b'')^''n'' = 1

where ''n'' ≥ 2 and a and b are the radii of the oval shape. The case ''n'' = 2 yields an ordinary [[ellipse]] while larger values of ''n'' create a shape that increasingly resembles a rectangle.

'''Retrocession''' is defined as the reversal of a [[cession]], returning land to the entities to which it originally belonged. The 32 square miles originally ceded by Virginia were returned to Virginia in 1847, and some have proposed that the remaining 68 square miles, or most of them, be returned to Maryland.

The super ellipse can be described parametrically as:

:''x''(θ) = ''a'' cos^2/''n''(θ)

:''y''(θ) = ''b'' sin^2/''n''(θ)

(0 &le; &theta; < 2&pi;).

== Virginia retrocession ==

Though often credited with its invention, [[Piet Hein]] did not discover the super-ellipse. The general cartesian notation of the form comes from the French mathematician [[Gabriel Lamé]] who generalized the equation for the ellipse, describing it as a wider set of curves.

Almost immediately after the "Federal City" was laid out north of the [[Potomac River]], the residents south of the Potomac in [[Alexandria County, D.C.]] began petitioning to be returned to Virginia's jurisdiction. Over time, a movement grew to separate [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]] from the District for several reasons:

* Alexandria was an important port and market in the [[Atlantic slave trade]]. There was increasing talk of [[Abolitionism|abolition]] of slavery in the national capital, and Alexandria's economy would suffer greatly if slavery were outlawed.

* There was an active abolition movement in Virginia, and the pro-slavery forces held a slim majority in the [[Virginia General Assembly]]. (Eighteen years later, in the [[American Civil War]], the most anti-slavery counties would secede from Virginia to form [[West Virginia]].) If Alexandria and Alexandria County were retroceded to Virginia, they would provide two new pro-slavery representatives.

* Alexandria's economy had stagnated as competition with the port of [[Georgetown, Washington, D.C.|Georgetown, D.C.]] had begun to favor the north side of the Potomac. The [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]] was already helping Georgetown take more business from Alexandria, and the canal was still being extended.

* Alexandria's residents had lost representation and the right to vote at any level of government.

After a referendum, voters petitioned Congress and Virginia to return the area to Virginia. By an act of Congress on [[9 July]], [[1846]], and with the approval of the Virginia General Assembly, the area south of the Potomac (39 square miles [101 km²]) was returned, or "retroceded," to Virginia effective in [[1847]].[http://www.citymuseumdc.org/gettoknow/faq.asp]

However Hein did popularize the use of the super-ellipse in architecture, urban planning and furniture making, and he ''did'' invent a solid super-egg called a super-ellipsoid starting with the super-ellipse

:(''x''/4)^2.5 + (''y''/3)^2.5 = 1

and revolving it about the ''x''-axis.

The retroceded land was then known as [[Alexandria County, Virginia]], and now includes a portion of the [[independent city]] of [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]] and all of [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington County]], the successor to Alexandria County. A large portion of the retroceded land near the river was an estate of [[George Washington Parke Custis]]. It would be passed on to his daughter and her husband, [[Robert E. Lee]], and would eventually become [[Arlington National Cemetery]].

City planners in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]] needed a solution for a roundabout in their old city square [http://www.sbk.stockholm.se/SergelT/Index.htm Sergels Torg]. Piet Hein's super-ellipse provided the needed aesthetic and practical solution.

In [[1969]], negotiators in [[Paris]] for the [[Vietnam War]] could not agree on the shape of the negotiating table. Piet Hein designed a huge super-ellipse shaped table which accomodated all parties.

The super-ellipse was used for the shape of the [http://www.mexico-city-mexico.com 1968 Olympic Stadium] in [[Mexico City]].

== Proposed Maryland retrocession ==

“Man is the animal that draws lines which he himself then stumbles over. In the whole pattern of civilization there have been two tendencies, one toward straight lines and rectangular patterns and one toward circular lines. There are reasons, mechanical and psychological, for both tendencies. Things made with straight lines fit well together and save space. And we can move easily – physically or mentally – around things made with round lines. But we are in a straitjacket, having to accept one or the other, when often some intermediate form would be better. To draw something freehand – such as the patchwork traffic circle they tried in Stockholm – will not do. It isn’t fixed, isn’t definite like a circle or square. You don’t know what it is. It isn’t esthetically satisfying. The super-ellipse solved the problem. It is neither round nor rectangular, but in between. Yet it is fixed, it is definite – it has a unity.”

-- Piet Hein

It has been proposed that the remainder of the District be given back to Maryland. Retrocession would take a simple act of [[U.S. Congress|Congress]], though it is generally accepted that Congress would not take such a step without the approval of Marylanders and Washingtonians via referenda. Currently, there is little support for retrocession, though some see it as a solution to the twin problems of [[D.C. voting rights]] and [[D.C. home rule]].

Such a move, according to some, would be [[constitutional]] if at least the part of the District that contains the main offices of government (the National Capital Service Area) were to remain in the District officially; the [[U.S. Constitution]] requires a national capital "not exceeding ten Miles square", but does not specify a minimum size for the District. However, it is unclear if the Constitution even requires the creation of a District to begin with; after all, the country did not have such a district until Washington was founded. If it does, then such a move would require, as a technicality, the repeal of the [[Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution|23rd Amendment]] due to there being no citizens of such a district. The only residents of such a rump district would be the [[First Family of the United States|First Family]], who vote in their hometown (plus, possibly, some [[homeless]] people).

The remainder of Washington would become a city in Maryland, allowing residents to vote for Maryland's Congressional delegation like any other resident of the state, as well as in state elections.

=== Arguments for retrocession ===

Proponents like the Committee for the Capital City feel such a move would be of financial benefit to Washington; the city would be relieved of burdens not shared by other American cities such as running a [[prison]] system and a [[Department of Motor Vehicles]], and it would finally be free from the veto power of the [[United States Congress]]. Maryland would benefit from the prestige of being the home state of the national capital of the world's [[superpower]] and would gain additional tax revenue. Congress would benefit from no longer having to scrutinize the decisions of the city government; committees overseeing DC government have traditionally been amongst the least prestigious jobs for members. Further, it would give most residents of the District a say in federal government, as they would be able to vote for a representative and senators, and thus have representation.

=== Arguments against retrocession ===

Proponents of [[D.C. statehood]] are against the idea of retrocession because they feel that the city, having been separated from Maryland since the [[18th century]], has a separate identity; although Maryland is mere city blocks away from many Washingtonians, there is no connection to the state for them. Others see it as a means to block proper representation, which they feel includes two senators. Because the city is a stronghold of the [[U.S. Democratic Party|Democratic Party]], [[U.S. Republican Party|Republican]]s in the [[U.S. Senate|Senate]] would not be eager to admit the District as a state. Republicans would have less of a problem giving the city back to Maryland, as that would, given the city's current population, add only a single Democrat to the [[U.S. House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]. Many in Washington object to Maryland's use of the [[death penalty]], which has been abolished in the District. Many in Maryland, meanwhile, object to retrocession because they feel that the city, which has relatively high crime and poverty rates, would be a burden on state government agencies. Others feel that the federal government should have a role in running the national capital; such a role allows for proper management of the city as a symbol of the nation and can be used to reject projects that would be seen by a majority of Americans as ruinous to the capital. Finally, the measure still fails to completely solve the problem of voting representation for all Washingtonians, because any transfer of less than the entirety of the District could still leave some citizens without representation.

== Current legislation ==

On April 16, 2007, Rep. [[Louie Gohmert]] ([[Republican|R]]-[[Texas]]) introduced H.R. 1858, the "District of Columbia-Maryland Reunion Act," which would transfer the bulk of Washington to Maryland if Maryland will have it.[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.1858.IH:]

==See also==

*[[Washington, D.C.]]

*[[District of Columbia voting rights]]

*[[District of Columbia home rule]]

*[[District of Columbia Vote in House of Representatives]]

*[[D.C. Statehood]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.washingtonmd.org Committee for the Capital City (pro-retrocession)]

*[http://www.dcvote.org/pdfs/mdrretro062004.pdf The Debates over the Retrocession of the District of Columbia, 1801&ndash;2004]

[[Category:History of the District of Columbia|Retrocession]]

[[Category:Home rule and voting rights of the District of Columbia]]