Excerpt from the Diary of Col. Wm. Fairfax Gray:

Sunday, February 14, 1836
"A clear and cold morning. Rose early, took a wretched breakfast of the same coarse and dirty materials that we had last night…
…Left Washington at 10 o’clock. Glad to get out of so disgusting a place. It is laid out in the woods; about a dozen disgusting cabins or shanties constitute the city; not one decent house in it, and only one well defined street, which consists of an opening cut out of the woods. The stumps still standing. A rare place to hold a national convention in. They will have to leave it promptly to avoid starvation…."

ACTIVITY:
Read the description of the town of Washington given by William F. Gray. Write a short paragraph (8-10 sentences) telling why you think an important convention like the Convention of 1836 would be held in such a place as described by Mr. Gray.