U.S. Capital After a Bloodier Civil War

They could, yes, but assume for whatever reason you choose that they simply don't want to rebuild DC and decide to relocate the capital.

my only problem with that is that DC was built particularly to avoid giving 'bragging rights' to any existing city. So, if they decide to abandon DC completely (in which case, the land would be given back to Maryland, IIRC), I'd think they'd still want to carve out a chunk of land somewhere else and make it the new 'DC'... I'd think they'd still want it somewhere in the east, so the government people would still have easy access to NYC and Philadelphia and the rest (the east coast is still the economic and political heart of the nation). Faced with all that, I'd think they'd just rather build again in the existing DC...
 
my only problem with that is that DC was built particularly to avoid giving 'bragging rights' to any existing city. So, if they decide to abandon DC completely (in which case, the land would be given back to Maryland, IIRC), I'd think they'd still want to carve out a chunk of land somewhere else and make it the new 'DC'... I'd think they'd still want it somewhere in the east, so the government people would still have easy access to NYC and Philadelphia and the rest (the east coast is still the economic and political heart of the nation). Faced with all that, I'd think they'd just rather build again in the existing DC...

I should perhaps have also made it clear that, yes, a permanent one would be a ne, seperate capital district, rather than remaining as part of a state.
 
I was just thinking of Philly or New York because they've already been the capital before, and the historical connection is obvious and a selling point.

However, there is the practical question of actually fitting the government into these cities. If they want buildings as grand and purpose-built as the Capital and White House and the New Washington Monument, they're going to have to knock a lot of things down.

The entire National Mall in Washington D.C. would fit nicely in Central Park.
 
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