Is it true that 'Washington, D.C. was designed and built to intimidate foreign leaders'?

by Quantum_Telegraph

Michael Douglas' character, the US President, says this in Aaron Sorkin's film, 'The American President' (1995).

Is it true?

UshankaCzar

Probably not, state visits were very rare when Washington DC was built. Especially so for the United States, given that until Latin American independence, all the countries that US had diplomatic relations with were across the Atlantic Ocean. The first foreign leader to visit the United States wasn't until 1874 when King Kalakaua visited from Hawaii. It is true that many landmarks of DC's urban landscape, such as the National Mall, wouldn't be complete until the early 1900s. The Mall had little to do with foreign relations, however, and a lot to do with the "City Beautiful Movement". The City Beautiful movement was a progressive urban renewal initiative that championed the construction of parklands in cities with the intent of promoting healthy orderly urban life.