As the only American city under direct congressional control, Washington has served historically as a testing ground for federal policy initiatives and social experiments - with decidedly mixed results. Well-intentioned efforts to introduce measures of social justice for the district's largely black population have failed. Yet federal plans and federal money have successfully created a monumental federal presence - a triumph, argues Howard Gillette, of beauty over justice. Beginning in 1790, Gillette traces the ambiguous legacy of congressional involvement in Washington's urban development. He describes how, even before the Civil War, initiatives that began as economic development became entangled with issues of race. He explains how this city, belonging to the nation, has reflected the nation's concerns first with white rule and later, clumsily and haltingly, with equal opportunity. Yet despite ambitious planning and generous spending, Gillette argues, federal participation in Washington's affairs has proven largely unsuccessful.
A primer on the political and social history of the nation's capital (and the particular problems of Marion Barry's Washington), this text concludes with the suggestion that Congress retrocede all but the heart of the city to Maryland, as it earlier did Alexandria County to Virginia. With the issue of congressional relations with America's cities again at the centre of public discussion, the questions raised in this book aim to provoke debate, both inside the Beltway and beyond.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"Well written, impressively documented, and logically argued, Gillette's narrative chronicles the growth of Washington from the late eighteenth century to the present."--A. Scott Henderson, 'Washington History' 'Between Justice and Beauty' is an important book, especially at a time when the nation's capital and many other cities' problems seem so intractable. It provides the context necessary to understand current urban problems an identifies key systemic problems: inadequate funding and an emphasis on the monumental city at the expense of the residential city. It demonstrates how race remains central to the American experience. As an urban biography, the book provides a selective but well-written and researched history, a story unique and similar to that of other cities."--'American Studies International'
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Für Beruf und Forschung
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 229 mm
Breite: 152 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-8018-5069-1 (9780801850691)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Howard Gillette Jr. is professor of American civilization and history at George Washington University, where he was a founder and the first director of the Center for Washington Area Studies.
