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It's so natural for an economic center to become a political center (and vice versa), and so common in the US to see the opposite, that I always assumed it was

It's so natural for an economic center to become a political center (and vice versa), and so common in the US to see the opposite, that I always assumed it was intentional. I could be wrong though: Can you elaborate on what kind of historical circumstances might account for this happening across so many states?

emodendroket 8y ago
The economic center of the state 200 years ago and the economic center of the state today being different cities (for instance, the capital of Florida presumably isn't Miami because the area was a practically uninhabitable backwater in the 19th Century)
SamReidHughes 8y ago
One is that the states are often bordered by major rivers or oceans, the economic centers are there, and they want the capital to be somewhere closer to the middle of the state, geographically. Another reason is that it's more secure, militarily.
nostrademons 8y ago
State capitals are usually established when the state is established (they can occasionally be moved afterwards, but in most cases aren't after the first decade or so of statehood). At that time, there is no economic center to most states, because economic development has not yet begun. Sacramento, for example, has been the capital of CA since 1854. At the time, the population of Sacramento was 10,000, San Francisco was 34,000, Los Angeles didn't exist yet, and most economic activity centered around gold mining, which usually happened near the Sacramento hinterlands. Similarly Nevada's capital has been Carson City since 1864. In 1864 the primary industry in Nevada was silver mining of the Comstock Lode, which is right next to Carson City. Las Vegas didn't exist until 1905. Some state capitals also have rather colorful histories, as well. The capital of Louisiana was moved from New Orleans (the economic center) to Baton Rouge because "New Orleans was too sinful". The capital of Idaho moved from Lewistown (the previous economic center, driven by a gold rush) to Boise (the new economic center, driven by mineral mining) in violation of a court order, and featured the governor fleeing the state for Portland and the state treasury being stolen from his steamboat cabin. There's a catch-22 for settlement patterns where large-scale settlement and economic development of many states didn't happen until after they gained statehood, at which point the capital is already decided.

emodendroket 8y ago

The economic center of the state 200 years ago and the economic center of the state today being different cities (for instance, the capital of Florida presumably isn't Miami because the area was a practically uninhabitable backwater in the 19th Century)

SamReidHughes 8y ago

One is that the states are often bordered by major rivers or oceans, the economic centers are there, and they want the capital to be somewhere closer to the middle of the state, geographically. Another reason is that it's more secure, militarily.

nostrademons 8y ago

State capitals are usually established when the state is established (they can occasionally be moved afterwards, but in most cases aren't after the first decade or so of statehood). At that time, there is no economic center to most states, because economic development has not yet begun. Sacramento, for example, has been the capital of CA since 1854. At the time, the population of Sacramento was 10,000, San Francisco was 34,000, Los Angeles didn't exist yet, and most economic activity centered around gold mining, which usually happened near the Sacramento hinterlands. Similarly Nevada's capital has been Carson City since 1864. In 1864 the primary industry in Nevada was silver mining of the Comstock Lode, which is right next to Carson City. Las Vegas didn't exist until 1905. Some state capitals also have rather colorful histories, as well. The capital of Louisiana was moved from New Orleans (the economic center) to Baton Rouge because "New Orleans was too sinful". The capital of Idaho moved from Lewistown (the previous economic center, driven by a gold rush) to Boise (the new economic center, driven by mineral mining) in violation of a court order, and featured the governor fleeing the state for Portland and the state treasury being stolen from his steamboat cabin. There's a catch-22 for settlement patterns where large-scale settlement and economic development of many states didn't happen until after they gained statehood, at which point the capital is already decided.