Washington D.C is home to 700,000 American citizens, each bearing the same responsibilities of a citizen from California, Wyoming, or Vermont. D.C citizens pay taxes, serve on juries, and are draft eligible. Countless D.C residents are veterans or government employees, devoting their careers to serving the United States. Despite these facts, the United States capital serves as a massive stain on the reputation of the nation’s democracy. Despite major strides in democratic representation in the 19th and 20th centuries, the District of Columbia and its citizens lack full representation in the United States government. This injustice is at odds with basic democratic principles of equal representation, civil rights endowed in the United States Constitution, and damages the quality of American democracy.
This paper will address the hypocrisy of D.C’s current lack of statehood. This will be done in three sections. First, we will address the democratic and constitutional values that the District violates. Egalitarianism is the core of democracy and the District’s lack of representation goes directly counter than that. These values are reflected in the Constitution and go against what American revolutionaries fought for in the 18th century. We will also address specific constitutional provisions that the District loses out on, especially that of federalism.
The second substantive chapter addresses the District’s inequality through the lens of racial justice. Being a plurality Black city plays a large role in the denial of D.C statehood, and the denial of statehood aligns with centuries of Black Americans being subjugated socially, economically, and politically. This will also investigate the role race played in previous statehood battles in order to compare those to today’s effort.
Our last substantive chapter investigates the situation surrounding Congressional intervention and oversight of the District. This focuses on Congressional legislation on crime and social issues that are not an example of benevolent governance but a play at electoral politics and a projection of national agendas on to the District. This will conclude with an analysis of the role of race and the belief that non-whites are not privileged to self-governance. Our final chapter will bring these together and piece together our final argument.