District Clause of the U.S. Constitution

E253878

constitutional clause provision of the United States Constitution

The District Clause of the U.S. Constitution is the provision that grants Congress exclusive legislative authority over the federal district that became Washington, D.C., allowing it to govern the nation’s capital separately from any state.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
District Clause	2
District Clause of the U.S. Constitution canonical	1
District Clause of the United States Constitution	1
United States Congress (by statute establishing the district and its divisions)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2300820 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: District Clause of the U.S. Constitution
Context triple: [Law of the District of Columbia, shapedBy, District Clause of the U.S. Constitution]

A. Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution
The Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution is a provision in Article IV that grants Congress broad authority to govern and regulate U.S. territories and their property.
B. Admissions Clause
The Admissions Clause is the provision of the U.S. Constitution that empowers Congress to admit new states into the Union and regulate their terms of entry.
C. Compact Clause of the United States Constitution
The Compact Clause of the United States Constitution is the provision that restricts states from entering into agreements or compacts with other states or foreign powers without the consent of Congress.
D. Article I, Section 4 of the United States Constitution
Article I, Section 4 of the United States Constitution is the Elections Clause, which allocates authority over the times, places, and manner of holding federal elections primarily to state legislatures, subject to alteration by Congress.
E. Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution
Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution, known as the Supremacy Clause, establishes that the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the supreme law of the land, overriding conflicting state laws.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: District Clause of the U.S. Constitution
Target entity description: The District Clause of the U.S. Constitution is the provision that grants Congress exclusive legislative authority over the federal district that became Washington, D.C., allowing it to govern the nation’s capital separately from any state.

A. Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution
The Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution is a provision in Article IV that grants Congress broad authority to govern and regulate U.S. territories and their property.
B. Admissions Clause
The Admissions Clause is the provision of the U.S. Constitution that empowers Congress to admit new states into the Union and regulate their terms of entry.
C. Compact Clause of the United States Constitution
The Compact Clause of the United States Constitution is the provision that restricts states from entering into agreements or compacts with other states or foreign powers without the consent of Congress.
D. Article I, Section 4 of the United States Constitution
Article I, Section 4 of the United States Constitution is the Elections Clause, which allocates authority over the times, places, and manner of holding federal elections primarily to state legislatures, subject to alteration by Congress.
E. Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution
Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution, known as the Supremacy Clause, establishes that the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the supreme law of the land, overriding conflicting state laws.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	constitutional clause ⓘ provision of the United States Constitution ⓘ
affects	governance structure of Washington, D.C. ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	District Clause of the U.S. Constitution ⓘ surface form: District Clause Enclave Clause ⓘ Seat of Government Clause ⓘ
appliesTo	District of Columbia ⓘ federal district serving as the seat of the U.S. government ⓘ
authorizes	Congress to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over the federal district ⓘ
basisFor	federal enclave jurisdiction over certain military installations ⓘ
citedInCase	District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. ⓘ Loughborough v. Blake ⓘ
citedInDebate	debates over D.C. home rule ⓘ debates over D.C. statehood ⓘ
constitutionalFunction	to ensure federal independence from any state government ⓘ
distinctFrom	Commerce Clause ⓘ surface form: Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution Property Clause ⓘ surface form: Property Clause of the U.S. Constitution
draftedDuring	Constitutional Convention ⓘ surface form: Constitutional Convention of 1787
foundIn	Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the United States Constitution ⓘ
governs	seat of the Government of the United States ⓘ
grantsPowerTo	United States Congress ⓘ
grantsTypeOfPower	exclusive legislative authority ⓘ
historicalResult	creation of the District of Columbia in 1790s ⓘ
implication	residents of the federal district historically lacked voting representation in Congress ⓘ
interpretedBy	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
jurisdictionOver	federal district that became Washington, D.C. ⓘ
languageSpecifies	district must be ceded by particular states ⓘ district must become the seat of the Government of the United States ⓘ
legalStatus	currently in force ⓘ
limits	state sovereignty over the federal capital ⓘ
maximumAreaAuthorized	ten miles square ⓘ
motivatedBy	concern over state influence on the national government ⓘ experience of the 1783 Pennsylvania Mutiny at Philadelphia ⓘ
partOf	Article I of the United States Constitution ⓘ
purpose	to allow Congress to govern the nation’s capital separately from any state ⓘ
relatedTo	Home Rule Act of 1973 ⓘ Residence Act ⓘ surface form: Residence Act of 1790
requires	acceptance of ceded territory by Congress ⓘ cession of territory by one or more states ⓘ
scopeIncludes	police powers within the District of Columbia ⓘ regulation of local government structure in the District of Columbia ⓘ taxation within the District of Columbia ⓘ
separatesFrom	jurisdiction of any individual state ⓘ
textBegins	“To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square)…” ⓘ
usedToJustify	congressional authority over D.C. budget ⓘ congressional authority over D.C. criminal code ⓘ congressional control over District of Columbia local laws ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Law of the District of Columbia → shapedBy → District Clause of the U.S. Constitution ⓘ

Home Rule Act of 1973 → constitutionalBasis → District Clause of the U.S. Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: District Clause of the United States Constitution

Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the United States Constitution → alsoKnownAs → District Clause of the U.S. Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: District Clause

District Clause of the U.S. Constitution → alsoKnownAs → District Clause of the U.S. Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: District Clause

Lafayette Division → governingBody → District Clause of the U.S. Constitution ⓘ

this entity surface form: United States Congress (by statute establishing the district and its divisions)

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (47)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (5)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited