This is a list of federal, state, insular area, territorial, colonial, and Native American capital cities in the United States. Washington, D.C. has been the capital of the United States since 1800.[1] Each state has its own capital, and most have not changed since the colonial era. Before the United States was founded, the capital cities of the Thirteen Colonies changed frequently. Additionally, some Native American tribes have established capital cities.
Federal capitals
editThe cities below served either as the meeting place for colonial American congresses or as official capitals of the United States under the United States Constitution. The United States did not have a permanent capital under the Articles of Confederation; the cities listed below under the Congress of the Confederation are those where the Congress met.
The current Constitution was ratified in 1787 and gave the Congress the power to exercise "exclusive legislation" over a district that "may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States."[2] The 1st Congress met at Federal Hall in New York.[3] In 1790, it passed the Residence Act, which established the national capital at a site along the Potomac River that would become Washington, D.C.[4] For the next ten years, Philadelphia served as the temporary capital.[5] There, Congress met at Congress Hall.[6] On November 17, 1800, the 6th United States Congress formally convened in Washington, D.C.[1] Congress has met outside of Washington only twice since: on July 16, 1987, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of ratification of the Constitution[7]; and at Federal Hall in New York on September 11, 2002, to mark the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks.[8] Both meetings were ceremonial.
City | Building | Start Date | End Date | Duration | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albany Congress | |||||
Albany, New York | Stadt Huys | June 19, 1754 | July 11, 1754 | 22 days | [9] |
Stamp Act Congress | |||||
New York, New York | City Hall | October 7, 1765 | October 25, 1765 | 23 days | [10] |
First Continental Congress | |||||
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Carpenters' Hall | September 5, 1774 | October 26, 1774 | 1 month and 21 days | [11] |
Second Continental Congress | |||||
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Independence Hall | May 10, 1775 | December 12, 1776 | 1 year, 7 months and 2 days | [12] |
Baltimore, Maryland | Henry Fite House | December 20, 1776 | February 27, 1777 | 2 months and 7 days | [13] |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Independence Hall | March 5, 1777 | September 18, 1777 | 6 months and 13 days | [14] |
Lancaster, Pennsylvania | Court House | September 27, 1777 | September 27, 1777 | 1 day | [14] |
York, Pennsylvania | Court House | September 30, 1777 | June 27, 1778 | 8 months and 28 days | [14] |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | College Hall | July 2, 1778 | March 1, 1781 | 2 years, 7 months and 27 days | [15] |
Congress of the Confederation | |||||
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Independence Hall | March 2, 1781 | June 21, 1783 | 2 years, 3 months and 19 days | [15] |
Princeton, New Jersey | Nassau Hall | June 30, 1783 | November 4, 1783 | 4 months and 5 days | [15] |
Annapolis, Maryland | Maryland State House | November 26, 1783 | August 19, 1784 | 8 months and 24 days | [15] |
Trenton, New Jersey | French Arms Tavern | November 1, 1784 | December 24, 1784 | 1 month and 23 days | [15] |
New York, New York | City Hall | January 11, 1785 | October 6, 1788 | 3 years, 11 months and 5 days | [15] |
United States Congress | |||||
New York, New York | Federal Hall | March 4, 1789 | December 5, 1790 | 1 year, 9 months and 1 day | [15] |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Congress Hall | December 6, 1790 | May 14, 1800 | 9 years, 5 months and 8 days | [15] |
District of Columbia | United States Capitol | November 17, 1800 | August 24, 1814 | 13 years, 9 months and 7 days | [15] |
Washington, D.C. | Blodgett's Hotel | September 19, 1814 | December 7, 1815 | 1 year, 2 months and 18 days | [16] |
Washington, D.C. | Old Brick Capitol | December 4, 1815 | March 3, 1819 | 3 years, 2 months and 27 days | [17] |
Washington, D.C. | United States Capitol | March 4, 1819 | present | 210 years and 27 days | [18] |
State capitals
editEach state has a capital that serves as the seat of its government. Ten of the thirteen original states and 15 other states have changed their capital city at least once; the last state to move its capital city was Oklahoma in 1910.
In the following table, the years listed in the "Capital Since" column represent that year that the city began serving as the state's current capital.
State | Capital | Capital Since | Area (mi2) | Population (2019 est.) | Rank in State |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Montgomery | 1846 | 159.8 | 198,525 | 2 |
Alaska | Juneau | 1906 | 2716.7 | 32,113 | 3 |
Arizona | Phoenix | 1912 | 517.6 | 1,680,992 | 1 |
Arkansas | Little Rock | 1821 | 116.2 | 197,312 | 1 |
California | Sacramento | 1854 | 97.9 | 513,624 | 6 |
Colorado | Denver | 1867 | 153.3 | 727,211 | 1 |
Connecticut | Hartford | 1875 | 17.3 | 122,105 | 3 |
Delaware | Dover | 1777 | 22.4 | 38,079 | 2 |
Florida | Tallahassee | 1824 | 95.7 | 194,500 | 7 |
Georgia | Atlanta | 1868 | 133.5 | 506,811 | 1 |
Hawaii | Honolulu | 1845 | 68.4 | 345,064 | 1 |
Idaho | Boise | 1865 | 63.8 | 228,959 | 1 |
Illinois | Springfield | 1837 | 54.0 | 114,230 | 6 |
Indiana | Indianapolis | 1825 | 361.5 | 876,384 | 1 |
Iowa | Des Moines | 1857 | 75.8 | 214,237 | 1 |
Kansas | Topeka | 1856 | 56.0 | 125,310 | 4 |
Kentucky | Frankfort | 1792 | 14.7 | 27,679 | 14 |
Louisiana | Baton Rouge | 1880 | 76.8 | 220,236 | 2 |
Maine | Augusta | 1832 | 55.4 | 18,681 | 8 |
Maryland | Annapolis | 1694 | 6.73 | 39,174 | 7 |
Massachusetts | Boston | 1630 | 89.6 | 692,600 | 1 |
Michigan | Lansing | 1847 | 35.0 | 118,210 | 5 |
Minnesota | Saint Paul | 1849 | 52.8 | 308,096 | 2 |
Mississippi | Jackson | 1821 | 104.9 | 160,628 | 1 |
Missouri | Jefferson City | 1826 | 27.3 | 42,838 | 15 |
Montana | Helena | 1875 | 14.0 | 32,315 | 6 |
Nebraska | Lincoln | 1867 | 74.6 | 289,102 | 2 |
Nevada | Carson City | 1861 | 143.4 | 55,916 | 6 |
New Hampshire | Concord | 1808 | 64.3 | 43,412 | 3 |
New Jersey | Trenton | 1784 | 7.66 | 83,203 | 10 |
New Mexico | Santa Fe | 1610 | 37.3 | 84,683 | 4 |
New York | Albany | 1797 | 21.4 | 96,460 | 6 |
North Carolina | Raleigh | 1792 | 114.6 | 474,069 | 2 |
North Dakota | Bismarck | 1883 | 26.9 | 73,529 | 2 |
Ohio | Columbus | 1816 | 210.3 | 898,553 | 1 |
Oklahoma | Oklahoma City | 1910 | 620.3 | 655,057 | 1 |
Oregon | Salem | 1855 | 45.7 | 174,365 | 3 |
Pennsylvania | Harrisburg | 1812 | 8.11 | 49,528 | 9 |
Rhode Island | Providence | 1900 | 18.5 | 179,883 | 1 |
South Carolina | Columbia | 1786 | 125.2 | 131,674 | 2 |
South Dakota | Pierre | 1889 | 13.0 | 13,646 | 8 |
Tennessee | Nashville | 1826 | 525.9 | 670,820 | 1 |
Texas | Austin | 1839 | 305.1 | 978,908 | 4 |
Utah | Salt Lake City | 1858 | 109.1 | 200,567 | 1 |
Vermont | Montpelier | 1805 | 10.2 | 7,855 | 6 |
Virginia | Richmond | 1780 | 60.1 | 230,436 | 4 |
Washington | Olympia | 1853 | 16.7 | 46,478 | 24 |
West Virginia | Charleston | 1885 | 31.6 | 46,536 | 1 |
Wisconsin | Madison | 1838 | 68.7 | 259,680 | 2 |
Wyoming | Cheyenne | 1869 | 21.1 | 64,235 | 1 |
[19] |
- ^ a b González, Jennifer (2015-11-17). "On This Day: Congress Moves to Washington, D.C. | In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress". blogs.loc.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "Article 1 Section 8 Clause 17 | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress". constitution.congress.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: Farewell to New York". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ Drexler, Ken. "Research Guides: Residence Act: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction". guides.loc.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ González, Jennifer (2015-11-17). "On This Day: Congress Moves to Washington, D.C. | In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress". blogs.loc.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ Philadelphia, Mailing Address: 143 S. 3rd Street; Us, PA 19106 Phone:965-2305 Contact. "Congress Hall - Independence National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Ceremonial Meeting of Congress in Philadelphia for Bicentennial of Constitution | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "A Special Session at Federal Hall in New York City | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "Albany Congress | United States history [1754]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ York, Mailing Address: 26 Wall Street New; Us, NY 10005 Phone:825-6990 Contact. "History & Culture - Federal Hall National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Buildings of the Department of State - Buildings - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ Riley, Edward M. (1953). "The Independence Hall Group". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 43 (1): 7–42. doi:10.2307/1005661. ISSN 0065-9746.
- ^ "Buildings of the Department of State - Buildings - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ a b c Klein, Christopher. "8 Forgotten Capitals of the United States". HISTORY. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "U.S. Senate: The Nine Capitals of the United States". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: The Senate Convenes in Emergency Quarters". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: On This Day: December 4, 1815". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: Meeting Places and Quarters". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
- ^ Bureau, US Census. "City and Town Population Totals: 2010-2019". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
{{cite web}}
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