In its Triumph, an Irony in Democratic Representation

Abstract

Owing much of its power to America's emergence as a power on the world stage, the McMillan Commission plan for Washington, DC, achieved its goal of establishing a monumental core at the heart of the city that could be considered “worthy of the nation.” Its very success, however, signaled the growing distance between capital and city. As strong a cultural representation of national democratic values as the central core remains, it provokes resentment among Washington residents who are denied full political representation in that same government.