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In the early days of the American republic, upstart patriots briefly pushed for the location of a navigational meridian passing through central Washington, D.
C. This was a time before the international Prime Meridian at Greenwich was established, and many countries based their maps off prime meridians passing through their territory.Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, ever intrigued by surveying, was a key player in the push. To choose the exact location of the latitudinal line, he lined up the White House front door with the Capitol rotunda in 1793, an intersection he marked with a small wooden post, steps from…
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