In the 1850s, America was heading toward a deadly confrontation between free and slave states. To promote unity between the North and the South, this area in Southeast DC. was initially named Uniontown. It was a White suburban community at the time. After the Uncivil War, new towns called Uniontown started cropping up all over, creating confusion for services like mail delivery. To ease the confusion, Congress enacted legislation to change the name to Anacostia on April 22, 1886, making Anacostia the only community whose name was affixed by Congress. The name Anacostia was derived from a Native American word meaning "village trading center."