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User:Rorschach/List of capitals in the United States

< User:Rorschach

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.

Stadt Huys, the original city hall of Albany, New York, and the meeting place of the Albany Congress in 1754.
View of the south façade of Independence Hall. The Second Continental Congress and the Congress of the Confederation met here at various times between 1775 and 1782.
A 1798 watercolor of Federal Hall, where the United Stated Congress convened for the first time under the United States Constitution in 1789.
The west front of the United States Capitol, where the United States Congress has met since 1800.

Federal capitals edit

The 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 209 years, 7 months and 25 days [18]

State capitals edit

Each 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.

 
States (highlighted in purple) whose capital city is also its most populous.
 
States (highlighted in blue) that have changed their capital city at least once.
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]


  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Article 1 Section 8 Clause 17 | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress". constitution.congress.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  3. ^ "U.S. Senate: Farewell to New York". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  4. ^ Drexler, Ken. "Research Guides: Residence Act: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction". guides.loc.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ "Ceremonial Meeting of Congress in Philadelphia for Bicentennial of Constitution | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  8. ^ "A Special Session at Federal Hall in New York City | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  9. ^ "Albany Congress | United States history [1754]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  10. ^ 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)
  11. ^ "Buildings of the Department of State - Buildings - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Buildings of the Department of State - Buildings - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  14. ^ a b c Klein, Christopher. "8 Forgotten Capitals of the United States". HISTORY. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "U.S. Senate: The Senate Convenes in Emergency Quarters". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  17. ^ "U.S. Senate: On This Day: December 4, 1815". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  18. ^ "U.S. Senate: Meeting Places and Quarters". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  19. ^ Bureau, US Census. "City and Town Population Totals: 2010-2019". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
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