This concept engages students in an analysis of the founding of Washington, DC as the nation's capital and the extent to which Washington, DC both embodied and contradicted the ideals of the American Revolution. Students should understand that Washington, DC developed as both a seat of government and an emerging American city with its own unique identity and culture. Students should evaluate the efficacy and tactics of activists who challenged the idea of the city as a haven of democracy in their attempts to abolish slavery.