| Acknowledgments | p. xi |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| "This Wilderness City" Early Impressions (1800-1860) | p. 15 |
| Abigail Adams, from Letters of Mrs. Adams, the Wife of John Adams | p. 17 |
| Christian Hines, "My Early Days," from Recollections of Washington City | p. 20 |
| Washington Irving, from Letters of Washington Irving to Henry Brevoort | p. 22 |
| George Watterston, from The L Family at Washington; or, A Winter in the Metropolis | p. 26 |
| Margaret Bayard Smith, from A Winter in Washington; or, Memoirs of the Seymour Family | p. 30 |
| James Fenimore Cooper, from Notions of the Americans: Picked Up by a Travelling Bachelor; and "Letter to His Wife," from The Letters and Journals of James Fenimore Cooper | p. 38 |
| Frances Trollope, from Domestic Manners of the Americans | p. 44 |
| Alexis de Tocqueville, "Of Parliamentary Eloquence in the United States," from Democracy in America | p. 50 |
| Charles Dickens, from American Notes for General Circulation | p. 54 |
| Herman Melville, "They Visit the Great Central Temple of Vivenza," from Mardi, and a Voyage Thither | p. 60 |
| Eye of the Storm Race, Slavery, Civil War (1830-1905) | p. 65 |
| Black Hawk, from Autobiography | p. 67 |
| John Greenleaf Whittier, "Letter to the Essex Transcript," from The Letters of John Greenleaf Whittier | p. 68 |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson, from The Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820-1872 | p. 73 |
| William Wells Brown, "Death Is Freedom," from Clotel; or, The President's Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States | p. 75 |
| Solomon Northup, from Twelve Years a Slave | p. 80 |
| Nathaniel Hawthorne, from "Chiefly About War-Matters. By a Peaceable Man" | p. 85 |
| Louisa May Alcott, from Hospital Sketches | p. 93 |
| Walt Whitman, from Memoranda During the War | p. 101 |
| Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, "My Introduction to Mrs. Lincoln," from Behind the Scenes: Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House | p. 108 |
| Upton Sinclair, from Manassas: A Novel of the War | p. 113 |
| Vanity Fair Reconstruction and National Expansion (1865-1910) | p. 117 |
| Mark Twain, "The Facts Concerning the Recent Resignation"; and Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, from The Gilded Age, a Tale of Today | p. 119 |
| John William DeForest, from Honest John Vane, a Story | p. 130 |
| Frederick Douglass, from "Our National Capital: An Address Delivered in Baltimore, Maryland, on 8 May 1877" | p. 134 |
| Bret Harte, "The Office-Seeker" | p. 140 |
| Henry Adams, from Democracy, an American Novel; and from "Washington (1850-1854)," in The Education of Henry Adams | p. 150 |
| Frances Hodgson Burnett, from Through One Administration | p. 164 |
| Gertrude Atherton, from Senator North | p. 168 |
| Booker T. Washington, from "The Reconstruction Period," in Up from Slavery, an Autobiography; and from "Colonel Roosevelt and What I Have Learned from Him," in My Larger Education | p. 176 |
| Henry James, from "Washington," in The American Scene | p. 189 |
| David Graham Phillips, from "A Memorable Meeting," in The Fashionable Adventures of Joshua Craig, a Novel | p. 202 |
| City of Hope and Heartbreak Minority Reports (1880-2000) | p. 211 |
| Anna Cooper, from "The Early Years in Washington: Reminiscences of Life with the Grimkés" | p. 213 |
| Paul Laurence Dunbar, "Mr. Cornelius Johnson, Office-Seeker" | p. 216 |
| Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins, "General Washington: A Christmas Story" | p. 224 |
| Mary Church Terrell, from "What It Means to Be Colored in the Capital of the United States" | p. 233 |
| W.E.B.Du Bois, from "Miss Caroline Wynn," in The Quest of the Silver Fleece | p. 237 |
| Edward Christopher Williams, from When Washington Was in Vogue: A Love Story | p. 245 |
| Alain Locke, "Beauty and the Provinces" | p. 251 |
| Langston Hughes, "Washington Society," from The Big Sea | p. 254 |
| Ralph Ellison, from Juneteenth | p. 160 |
| Mario Bencastro, from Odyssey to the North | p. 265 |
| A Capital Town Private Lives and Public Views (1920-2010) | p. 271 |
| Sinclair Lewis, from Main Street: The Story of Carol Kennicott; and from It Can't Happen Here: A Novel | p. 273 |
| Jean Toomer, "Seventh Street" and "Avey," from Cane | p. 281 |
| Willa Cather, from The Professor's House | p. 287 |
| Samuel Hopkins Adams, "A Lesson in Politics," from Revelry | p. 292 |
| John Dos Passos, from "The State Park Bottoms," in Number One (Volume 2 in District of Columbia Trilogy); and from "Washington Is the Loneliest City," in State of the Nation | p. 301 |
| Louis J. Halle, from Spring in Washington | p. 315 |
| Marita Golden, from "Naomi," in Long Distance Life | p. 318 |
| Edward P. Jones, "Marie," from Lost in the City | p. 324 |
| Thomas Mallon, from Two Moons | p. 335 |
| Andrew Holleran, from Grief | p. 341 |
| Nation's Crossroads Poetry and Politics (1920-2010) | p. 347 |
| Langston Hughes, "Lincoln Monument: Washington," "Lincoln Theatre," and "Un-American Investigators," from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes | p. 349 |
| Sterling A. Brown, "Sporting Beasley," "Glory, Glory," and "No More Worlds to Conquer," from The Collected Poems of Sterling A. Brown | p. 351 |
| Allen Tate, "Aeneas at Washington," from Collected Poems, 1919-1976 | p. 354 |
| Archibald MacLeish, "At the Lincoln Memorial," from Collected Poems, 1917-1982 | p. 356 |
| Elizabeth Bishop, "View of the Capitol from the Library of Congress" and "From Trollope's Journal," from The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 | p. 359 |
| Allen Ginsberg, "Anti-Vietnam War Peace Mobilization" and "Capitol Air," from Collected Poems, 1947-1997 | p. 360 |
| Denise Levertov, "At the Justice Department, November 15, 1969," from Poems 1968-1972; and "Psalm: People Power at the Die-in," from Candles in Babylon | p. 364 |
| May Miller, "The Washingtonian," from Dust of Uncertain Journey | p. 366 |
| Reed Whittemore, "The Destruction of Washington," from The Feel of Rock: Poems of Three Decades | p. 367 |
| E. Ethelbert Miller, "Intersections: Crossing the District Line," from Season of Hunger/Cry of Rain: Poems, 1975-1980 | p. 369 |
| Imperial Washington Power, Corruption, Crisis (1950-2010) | p. 373 |
| Allen Drury, from Advise and Consent | p. 375 |
| Gore Vidal, from Washington, D.C: A Novel; and "At Home in Washington, D.C." | p. 383 |
| Norman Mailer, "The Armies of the Dead," from The Armies of the Night | p. 391 |
| Ward Just, "The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert" | p. 396 |
| Mary McCarthy, from "Notes of a Watergate Resident," in The Mask of State: Watergate Portraits | p. 414 |
| Robert Coover, from "Idle Banter: The Fighting Quaker among Saints and Sinners," in The Public Burning | p. 419 |
| Joseph Heller, from Good as Gold | p. 425 |
| Susan Richards Shreve, from Children of Power | p. 432 |
| George P. Pelecanos, from Nick's Trip | p. 438 |
| Joan Didion, From "Vichy Washington, June 24, 1999," in Political Fictions | p. 448 |
| Appendix: Residences of Washington Authors Featured in Literary Capital | p. 453 |
| Credits | p. 455 |
| Index of Authors and Titles | p. 461 |
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