U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for April 2

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

FIRST FEDERAL BUILDING

Profile America — Thursday, April 2nd. Critics of federal spending initiatives often allude with some disdain to the government's ability to create money. It's pure coincidence, though, that the first federal building commissioned under the country's new constitution was intended to do just that. On this date in 1792, President George Washington and Congress established the National Mint in the then capital city of Philadelphia. The mint issued the gold, silver and copper coinage as the legal tender of the young republic. Since building the mint at 7th and Arch Streets, the government moved to Washington and raised many more buildings; a process that continues. In December of last year alone, federal office construction was valued at nearly $3.3 billion out of total federal construction worth more than $24 billion. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 2115Philadelphia Mint: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/mint_facilities/?action=pa_facilities Federal construction:http://www.census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/fedsa.pdf

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau