A) a controversy over the assumption of state debts
James Madison first brought up the need for a Federal district in The Federalist No. 43. He argued that the national capital needed to be distinct from the states in order to provide for its own maintenance and safety. An attack on the Congress in Philadelphia by a mob of angry soldiers emphasized the need for the government to provide for its own security. Madison and Alexander Hamilton agreed upon the location of the new capital at a dinner hosted by Thomas Jefferson. In return for Madison agreeing to allow the Federal government to assume debt carried by the states, Hamilton agreed for the new capital to be located in the South.
