Real History: The Dinner Party and Deal That Made DC Our Capital

Even before today's politics that many view to be the most corrupt and or toxic in years, backdoor deals were a mainstay and essential to some of the biggest legislative feats in American history. On Friday's weekly Real History segment on 'Real News' we look at one of America's earliest and most influential backdoor deals, the juxtaposing of interests at a dinner party with our founding fathers that determined the location of America's capital city.

Alexander Hamilton wanted to consolidate the country’s debt into a centralized financial system, something states with limited debt were reluctant to sign on for. Thomas Jefferson wanted a capital city, one that wouldn’t be in the North. They threw a dinner party with a few influential friends, and the rest is history. Watch the Real History segment below with Fergus Bordewich, author of "Washington: The Making of the American Capital:"