<P> A new federal city was then constructed on the north bank of the Potomac, to the east of Georgetown . On September 9, 1791, the three commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in honor of President Washington . The federal district was named Columbia, which was a poetic name for the United States commonly in use at that time . Congress held its first session in Washington on November 17, 1800 . </P> <P> Congress passed the Organic Act of 1801, which officially organized the District and placed the entire territory under the exclusive control of the federal government . Further, the unincorporated area within the District was organized into two counties: the County of Washington to the east of the Potomac and the County of Alexandria to the west . After the passage of this Act, citizens living in the District were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, which therefore ended their representation in Congress . </P> <P> On August 24--25, 1814, in a raid known as the Burning of Washington, British forces invaded the capital during the War of 1812 . The Capitol, Treasury, and White House were burned and gutted during the attack . Most government buildings were repaired quickly; however, the Capitol was largely under construction at the time and was not completed in its current form until 1868 . </P> <P> In the 1830s, the District's southern territory of Alexandria went into economic decline partly due to neglect by Congress . The city of Alexandria was a major market in the American slave trade, and pro-slavery residents feared that abolitionists in Congress would end slavery in the District, further depressing the economy . Alexandria's citizens petitioned Virginia to take back the land it had donated to form the District, through a process known as retrocession . </P>

Where did the name washington dc come from