If DC Was Never Created...Then Northern Virginia/Mid-Arlantic would...... (manufacturing, metro)
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If George Washington never created a new city for the federal capital, and it remained in NY, Philly, or went elsehwere...what would the mid-atlantic region be like today?
-Would Northern Virginia be forests, farms, and southern? Would Northern Virginia be part of the greater Baltimore region?
-Would Baltimore not be over-shadowed and instead be to Maryland/the mid-Atlantic as Boston is to New England?
Baltimore would be bigger than it is now, and perhaps Alexandria would have more of a unique identity as its own city, something on the order of Savannah or Charleston.
DC never had a notable manufacturing sector, so I'd imagine the greater DC area would be much more rural today with Alexandria being a slightly bigger Fredericksburg and more southern oriented, though Alexandria was a sizable town by the time DC was created so it could be almost as big as Richmond is today. Georgetown would be a quaint town similar to an Annapolis. Maryland possibly could have seceded into the confederacy without DC needing to protect it, though western Maryland could have joined West Virginia when it seceded from Virginia due to its economy. Despite this, the North would likely still have a strong enough population to win the war. However, Baltimore could have been invaded much more easily and there may have been a big civil war battle there. Richmond would likely be a bigger city, probably in a greater magnitude than what Baltimore became. The problem with Baltimore is that its still not too far from Philadelphia to make it stand out on its own, though for much of the 19th century Baltimore was nearly as big as Philly so there could have been a better shot of itself standing out.
Maryland possibly could have seceded into the confederacy without DC needing to protect it, though western Maryland could have joined West Virginia when it seceded from Virginia due to its economy.
Maryland voted 53-12 to stay in the United States before the federal government stepped in. The federal government did not keep Maryland from seceding, it only deterred further unrest. It is extremely unlikely that without the federal government Maryland would have voted to leave the United States.
Source: History degree
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