The portion west of the Potomac, ceded by Virginia, consisted of 31 sqmi in two parts: the city of Alexandria, Virginia, at the extreme southern shore, and its rural hinterland, short-lived Alexandria County, D.C. After decades of debate about the disenfranchisement that came with District citizenship, and tensions related to Alexandria's lucrative slave trade, this portion of the District was returned to Virginia in 1846–47.