Hannah Eve

Washington DC has such a rich history that dates back to the near beginnings of the country, and has meant different things to different people over the years and decades. Rich in history and culture, there is no shortage of possibilities when looking for topics.

I am looking at 3 different areas for potential topics.

1- The history and development of Union Station I love union station and every time I walk through the massive doors and into the vast openness of it, I can feel the history that surrounds it. Unfortunately I don’t know what that encompasses. I am not sure what angle would be taken on this topic, but imagine that the opening would be a good place to start. Union Station is such a social venue that taking a cultural historical approach to it would be interesting. I would start with newspaper and journal databases in hopes of finding a solid starting block. If there was nothing specific about Union Station, I would broaden it to look at architecture in DC and see if that came up with anything. Most sources would be primary sources.

This is an important topic because Union Station has been and is a sign of the culture. It has ever changing stores and restaurants. Its a place where there are tourists and locals hanging out and, yet it still maintains its past. Its a building that in my opinion represents the people of DC.

2- Anti-Segregation in Washington DC
This is a very broad topic and I would probably focus on adjustment out of segregation and after the walk of Martin Luther King and his speech. DC being such a diverse place, would be interesting to see how that played out with the people in the city. What did the government side of the city say about it? With DC being majority colored, what was the effect of anti-segregation in DC compared to other parts of the country. I would need to look at segregation before King’s speech just to understand what it was like in DC. Then look at the progression of change after King’s speech till now. I would use databases and newspapers to find this information. Would look very specifically for local sources because I imagine it was very different in DC then anywhere else.

This is an important topic because segregated America was a big time in our country’s history, and if we are going to claim that we are no longer segregated and a free country then how we got there is important. DC offers a very unique point of view on the topic as a whole and as the capitol of our country it’s important that it sets the example.

3- Development of the City
You don’t need to be in DC long before you are frustrated with the roads and the general confusion in the layout of the city. It’s also pretty common knowledge that the Potomac used to come up pretty much in front of the White House. Why was DC chosen to be the capital city? Through maps and primary source papers found through databases, I would hope to find at least where to start with this topic. I would imagine the Library of Congress would have some interesting resources available on the subject.

This is important because when we decided to make DC our nation’s capitol way back when, we had expectations for how it would turn out and how it would be illustrated to the rest of the world. Today’s DC is a lot different then the DC that it was when first established.