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Building the Nation's Capital is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how Washington, D.C. was planned and grew from fields into a capital, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.5.3-5. It prints 6 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 17 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Building the Nation's Capital

D2.Geo.5.3-5

NameDate

Read the information text and answer its questions, then circle the best answers.

1.Look at the source, then answer the questions.

L'Enfant's Plan for the Capital

An information text written for this worksheet. In 1790 Congress decided to build a new capital city beside the Potomac River. President George Washington chose the exact place and asked Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, a French-born engineer who had fought in the American Revolution, to design it. At the time the land was mostly farms, fields and woods. In 1791 L'Enfant drew a plan. He placed the Capitol, where Congress meets, on a hill, and the President's House about a mile and a half away, joined by a wide avenue. Streets ran north to south and east to west like a grid, and wide avenues crossed them on a slant, meeting at circles and squares. A long open park, now the National Mall, stretched west from the Capitol. Enslaved workers, as well as free workers, did much of the work of building the Capitol and the President's House. L'Enfant argued with the leaders in charge of the city and was dismissed in 1792, but the city was later built mostly on his plan.

  1. 1. How did L'Enfant's streets run?
  2. 2. Where did L'Enfant place the Capitol?
  3. 3. Who did much of the work of building the Capitol and the President's House?
  4. 4. Why might L'Enfant have put the Capitol on a hill?
2.Why did the United States build a new capital city in the 1790s?
  • A.To build a whaling port
  • B.To make a new state
  • C.To have one permanent home for the national government
3.Who is the city of Washington, D.C. named after?
  • A.George Washington, the first President
  • B.A river in Maryland
  • C.Washington State
4.Why is Washington, D.C. not part of any state?
  • A.It was set up as a federal district for the national government
  • B.No one lives there
  • C.It belongs to Canada
5.Who lived on the land where Washington, D.C. now stands, long before the city?
  • A.French soldiers
  • B.American Indian peoples, such as the Nacotchtank
  • C.Settlers from Spain
6.What does D.C. stand for in Washington, D.C.?
  • A.District of Columbia
  • B.Department of Congress
  • C.Division of Capitals

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Building the Nation's Capital

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. North to south and east to west like a grid, with wide avenues crossing on a slant. 2. On a hill. 3. Enslaved workers, as well as free workers. 4. So the building where Congress meets could be seen from far across the city.
  2. 2.To have one permanent home for the national government
  3. 3.George Washington, the first President
  4. 4.It was set up as a federal district for the national government
  5. 5.American Indian peoples, such as the Nacotchtank
  6. 6.District of Columbia

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.