D.C. Reading List
| Free DC! - Statehood Now! |
| D.C. Reading List |
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Sam Smith, Captive Capital; Colonial Life in Modern Washington, Indiana University Press, 1974. Sam's book is a classic: a one-stop history and political-sociology of the District. Explains in a nutshell how we got to where we are and why we have been stuck here. Explains the tension between the real people and the rich, business & political élite. Explains the birth of the statehood movement. Kenneth R. Bowling, The Creation of Washington, D.C.; the Idea and Location of the American Capital, 1991. If you want to know why the District Clause is in the Constitution or why the District of Columbia is located where it's located, here's the place to find the answer. Steven J. Diner, Democracy, Federalism and the Governance of the Nation's Capital; 1790-1974, 1987. A fine monograph on the District -- shorter than Sam's work and more "academic," and so an excellent tool. Constance McLaughlin Green, Washington - A History of the Capital, 1800-1950, Princeton University Press, 1962. This is the best overall history of the District. It was originally issued as a two volume set and then issued in paperback as a single volume. Constance McLaughlin Green, The Secret City: A History of Race Relations in the Nation's Capital, Princeton University Press,1967. Although slightly limited, this volume is the best comprehensive analysis of the issue of race which is the major "nerve" in the spinal cord of the history of the District. Howard Gillette, Jr., Between Justice and Beauty; Race, Planning, and the Failure of Urban Policy in Washington, D.C., 1995. Dr. Gillette's book surveys the entire history of congressional supervision of the District, focusing on the question whether this has helped or hurt the actual welfare of the District's neighborhoods and communities. Kate Masur, An Example for All the Land - Emancipation and the Struggle Over Equality in Washington, D.C.,The University of North Carolina Press, 2010. This is first study of the Reconstruction in half a century. It combines political, social, and legal history and finds Washington, D.C. was a laboratory for social policy and equality at a pivotal moment in American history. It is all the D.C. history you never knew. Mark S. Greek, Washington, D.C. Protests - Scenes From Home Rule to The Civil Rights Movement, History Press, 2009. This is the story in pictures of the fight by D.C. residents over the past forty years for their democratic rights. David L. Lewis, District of Columbia, A Bicentennial History, WW. Norton & Company and the American Association for State and Local History, 1976. This book is part of the series on the states and the nation published for the national Bicentennial of the American Revolution. Harry S. Jaffe and Tom Sherwood, Dream City - Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C., Simon & Schuster, 1994. This book tells the story of District of Columbia from the 1960's and the fight for civil rights and home rule to the early 1990's and the imposition of the Federal Control Board. It specifically covers the years of Mayor Marion Barry.
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D.C. Reading List