Existing comment:
George Washington believed that a national university at the seat of federal government would break down sectional differences and strengthen the Union. He wanted to locate it on the twenty-acre federal land north and west of Constitution Avenue and Twenty-third Street. President Washington repeatedly called on Congress to establish the university, but members saw it as a threat to existing colleges in their states and refused. In 1821, more than two decades after Washington's death, Congress chartered what became The George Washington University. |