In 33 of the 50 U.S. states, the state capital is not the state's most populous city. Only two of the state capitals — Trenton, New Jersey, and Carson City, Nevada — border another state, while Juneau, Alaska, shares a border with the Canadian province of British Columbia.[a] The dates listed in the following table indicate the year in which the city started to continuously serve as the state's sole capital. Most states have changed their capital city at least once; see Historical state capitals for details.
Annapolis is the third-longest serving capital in the United States after Santa Fe and Boston. Its capitol building is the oldest still in use. It is also the smallest capital by land area. Baltimore is the state's largest city.
Lansing is the smallest state capital with population above 100,000 (on this list). Lansing is the only state capital that is not also the county seat of the county in which it is situated. Detroit is the state's largest city.
Santa Fe is the longest serving capital in the United States. El Paso del Norte served as the capital of the Santa Fe de Nuevo México colony-in-exile during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680–1692. Santa Fe has the highest elevation of any state capital. Albuquerque is the state's largest city.
Houston is the state's largest city and the previous capital, and Dallas–Fort Worth is the largest metro area. It is the largest state capital that is not also the state's largest city.
An insular area is a United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nation's federal district. Those insular areas with territorial capitals are listed below.
The city of San Juan was originally called Puerto Rico while the island was called San Juan Bautista. When Ponce de Leon landed here it was originally named Borinquen.
Before joining the United States as the fourteenth state, Vermont was an independent republic known as the Vermont Republic. Two cities served as the capital of the Republic:
Served as the capital of the Republic of Hawaii when it was established on July 4, 1894 until the Republic was annexed by the United States on July 7, 1898 under the Newlands Resolution to become the Territory of Hawaii. On becoming a state in 1959, Honolulu became the capital of the State of Hawaii.
Before joining the United States under the Texas Annexation in 1845, Texas was an independent nation known as the Republic of Texas. Seven cities served as its capital:
There have been a handful of nations within the current borders of the United States which were never officially recognized as legally independent sovereign entities; however these nations did have de facto control over their respective regions during their existence. It must be emphasized that exercising de facto military control over a defined geographic area is not equal to being a nation. The term "nation" as used here is best understood as being used loosely, i.e., as if within quotation marks.
The Confederate constitutional convention was held in Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1860 because it was the largest and most influential city in the geographic center of the original seven Confederate states (South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas) that planned to secede from the Union. The first Confederate capital was established on February 4, 1861 in Montgomery and remained there until it was moved to Richmond after Virginia joined the Confederacy on May 23, 1861. As the Army of Northern Virginia was pushed farther south and Richmond fell under the Federal guns in early 1865, the Confederate government fled using the only viable railroad line available on April 2, 1865 to Danville, Virginia.
The CSA state capitals remained the same as when each state seceded from the Union. Some of the capitals were moved temporarily in an effort to stay ahead of the advancing Federals. As Confederate areas were occupied, the U.S. Army established military districts to govern each area.
There is some disagreement over whether this recognition by Congress is what determines the status of "statehood". The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Texas v. White raises questions on this point where the court ruled that Texas never left the Union, and essentially that once a territory is admitted and recognized as a state, it is in perpetuity a state in the Union. The court did allow some possibility of divisibility of the union "through revolution, or through consent of the States."[2][3]
The State of Franklin was an autonomous, secessionist United States territory created, not long after the end of the American Revolution, from territory that later was ceded by North Carolina to the federal government. Franklin's territory later became part of the state of Tennessee. Franklin was never officially admitted into the Union of the United States and existed for only four years.
Before being annexed by the United States in 1848 (following the Mexican–American War), a small portion of north-central California declared itself the California Republic, in an act of independence from Mexico, in 1846 (see Bear Flag Revolt). The republic only existed a month before it disbanded itself, to join the advancing American army and therefore became part of the United States.
The very short-lived California Republic was never recognized by the United States, Mexico or any other nation. There was one de facto capital of the California Republic:
Twenty-two state capitals have been a capital longer than their state has been a state, since they served as the capital of a predecessor territory, colony, or republic. Boston, Massachusetts, has been a capital city continuously since 1630, making it the longest-running U.S. capital. Santa Fe, New Mexico, has been a capital city the longest having become capital in 1610 and interrupted only by the Pueblo Revolt of 1680–1692.
The table below includes the following information:
The state, the year in which statehood was granted, and the state's capital (as of 2010) are shown in bold.
The year listed for each capital is the starting date; the ending date is the starting date for the successor unless otherwise indicated.
In many cases, former capital cities of states are outside the current state borders. These cities are indicated with the abbreviated name of the state in which the city is located (as of 2010).
Historical State Capitals of the United States of America
East Jersey and West Jersey were re-united as the EnglishProvince of New Jersey in 1702. Perth Amboy and Burlington served jointly as the capital until 1784.
^[a] Even though the urbanized area of Carson City is about 15 miles (24 km) from the California border, the larger Consolidated Municipality of Carson City does form part of the Nevada state border. Similarly, the City and Borough of Juneau extends eastward to British Columbia, although the urbanized area of Juneau is about 35 miles (56 km) from the Canadian border. See:[1] ^[b] Congress was forced to move from Philadelphia due to a riot of angry soldiers. See: Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 ^[c] President James Madison fled to the home of Caleb Bentley in Brookeville, Maryland following the burning of Washington on August 24–25, 1814. As such, the town claims to have been the "U.S. Capital for a Day" despite the fact that Congress never met there. See: "A Brief History". Town of Brookeville, Maryland. 2006. http://townofbrookevillemd.org/history.html. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
^The Nine Capitals of the United States. United States Senate Historical Office. Accessed June 9, 2005. Based on Fortenbaugh, Robert, The Nine Capitals of the United States, York, PA: Maple Press, 1948.
^Frequently Asked Questions About Alaska. Statewide Library Electronic Doorway. Updated September 21, 2004. Accessed June 9, 2005; based on Alaska Blue Book 1993–94, 11th ed., Juneau, Department of Education, Division of State Libraries, Archives & Museums. ExploreNorth: The History of Sitka. Department of Community and Economic Development, Alaska Community Database Online. Accessed June 9, 2005.
^ abcThe name Arkansas has been pronounced and spelled in a variety of fashions. The region was organized as the Territory of Arkansaw on July 4, 1819, but the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas on June 15, 1836. The name was historically pronounced /ˈɑrkənsɔː/, /ɑrˈkænzəs/, and several other variants. In 1881, the Arkansas General Assembly passed the following concurrent resolution (Arkansas Statutes, Title 1, Chapter 4, Section 105):
Whereas, confusion of practice has arisen in the pronunciation of the name of our state and it is deemed important that the true pronunciation should be determined for use in oral official proceedings.
And, whereas, the matter has been thoroughly investigated by the State Historical Society and the Eclectic Society of Little Rock, which have agreed upon the correct pronunciation as derived from history, and the early usage of the American immigrants.
Be it therefore resolved by both houses of the General Assembly, that the only true pronunciation of the name of the state, in the opinion of this body, is that received by the French from the native Indians and committed to writing in the French word representing the sound. It should be pronounced in three (3) syllables, with the final "s" silent, the "a" in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first and last syllables. The pronunciation with the accent on the second syllable with the sound of "a" in "man" and the sounding of the terminal "s" is an innovation to be discouraged.
^Ebbert (Chief Editor), Brian S.; E. Dotson Wilson, Chief Clerk of the Assembly (2006). California's Legislature. Sacramento, California: State of California, 157–165. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
^ abcClarke, S.A. (1905). Pioneer Days of Oregon History. J.K. Gill Company.
^Past Capitols; based on Illinois Bluebook, 1975–1976. Created March 5, 2005. Accessed June 10, 2005.
^Sabin, Henry. Making of Iowa, chapter 24: Locating a Capital. Originally published 1900 by A. Flanagan Co. of Chicago and New York; published online by Iowa History Project, posted August 25, 2004. Accessed June 10, 2005.
^Capital Cities. Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. 2002. Accessed March 12, 2006.
^Early History of Montpelier, Vermont. Vermont Historical Society. Accessed June 9, 2005; adapted from Esther Munroe Swift, Vermont Place-Names: Footprints of History, 1977, 1996, and Montpelier Heritage Group, Three Walking Tours of Montpelier, Vt., 1991.