No D.C. Retrocession?

[MAC161]

Just a random speculation, after perusing some details on D.C. history:

What if retrocession of the Virginia portion of D.C. hadn't taken place, or been reversed, say in the wake of the Civil War or sometime later? A cursory reading suggest the first option isn't that likely, but the second seems possible based on the legislation introduced or local petitions circulated to repeal it in the later 19th and early 20th century.

Presuming the first option does occur, what effect might this have on the abolitionist movement, the Civil War, and D.C. per se up to today's statehood debate? If the second takes place, in either century, what might the impact be on the layout of infrastructure (the Pentagon being the biggest example) as well as the statehood question?

 

[Jackson Lennock]

DC today has 690,000 people.
Arlington has 240,000 people.
Alexandria has 160,000 people.
Combined, that's 1,090,000 people, and with more suburban'ish bits the politics would be a bit more purple I guess; although a very blue purple.

However, a lot of the boom in Arlington and Alexandria is because of people trying to get out of DC, which had crime issues in the mid twentieth century and had/continues to have height restrictions on new real estate development which limits overall construction for business and residential purposes alike. It's possible that much of the boom that went to Arlington and Alexandria OTL would just go to Fairfax here.

On the other hand, I'm unsure if DC statehood would necessarily happen purely because of the logistical headaches (Congress doesn't want some state being able to finagle with the infrastructure, roads, etc.). What's more likely is that the push for an Amendment for DC to get voting house membership and Senators would get more momentum. Getting voting house membership is something even a Republicans have supported in the past.

 

[SpanishSpy]

The most plausible time for this to happen is the seizure of Alexandria County after the Civil War, undoing the retrocession.

I don't know how it develops from there - until the early 20th century there was a major Black settlement at Freedman's Village near what is now the Pentagon, and you also had Green Valley (also in Arlington). You could see a majority Black core extending all the way to Bailey's Crossroads if that happens, with the white professionals in Fairfax, Falls Church, etc.

If that's the case, you still don't get statehood because that would be a threat to institutionalized white supremacy.