List of capitals in the United States
This is a list of American capital cities, including those that are or have been federal, state, insular region, territorial, colonial, and Native American capitals. Since 1800, Washington, D.C. has served as the federal capital of the United States. Every state in the United States, as well as several of its outlying districts, has its own capital city. Since their inception, the majority of states have not changed their capital city.
National capitals
The cities listed below either functioned as formal capitals of the United States under the United States Constitution or as meeting places for the Second Continental Congress or the Congress of the Confederation prior to its passage. (Under the Articles of Confederation, the United States did not have a permanent capital.) The current Constitution, which was approved in 1787, granted Congress the right to enact legislation.
| City | Building | Start date | End date | Duration | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second Continental Congress | |||||
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Independence Hall | July 4, 1776 (convened May 10, 1775, prior to independence) | December 12, 1776 | 5 months and 8 days | |
| Baltimore, Maryland | Henry Fite House | December 20, 1776 | February 27, 1777 | 2 months and 7 days | |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Independence Hall | March 5, 1777 | September 18, 1777 | 6 months and 13 days | |
| Lancaster, Pennsylvania | Court House | September 27, 1777 | September 27, 1777 | 1 day | |
| York | Court House (now Colonial Court House) | September 30, 1777 | June 27, 1778 | 8 months and 28 days | |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | College Hall citation needed | July 2, 1778 | March 1, 1781 | 2 years, 7 months and 27 days | |
| Congress of the Confederation | |||||
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Independence Hall | March 2, 1781 | June 21, 1783 | 2 years, 3 months and 19 days | |
| Princeton, New Jersey | Nassau Hall | June 30, 1783 | November 4, 1783 | 4 months and 5 days | |
| Annapolis, Maryland | Maryland State House | November 26, 1783 | August 19, 1784 | 8 months and 24 days | |
| Trenton, New Jersey | French Arms Tavern | November 1, 1784 | December 24, 1784 | 1 month and 23 days | |
| New York, New York | City Hall | January 11, 1785 | October 6, 1788 | 3 years, 11 months and 5 days | |
| United States Congress | |||||
| New York, New York | Federal Hall | March 4, 1789 | December 5, 1790 | 1 year, 9 months and 1 day | |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Congress Hall | December 6, 1790 | May 14, 1800 | 9 years, 5 months and 8 days | |
| District of Columbia | United States Capitol | November 17, 1800 | August 24, 1814 | 13 years, 9 months and 7 days | |
| Washington, D.C. | Blodgett’s Hotel | September 19, 1814 | December 7, 1815 | 1 year, 2 months and 18 days | |
| Washington, D.C. | Old Brick Capitol | December 4, 1815 | March 3, 1819 | 3 years, 2 months and 27 days | |
| Washington, D.C | United States Capitol | March 4, 1819 | Present | 202 years, 5 months and 14 days |
State capitals
Every state has a capital that acts as the government’s seat. Ten of the thirteen original states, as well as 15 other states, have changed their capital cities at least once; Oklahoma was the last to do so in 1910. The “Since” column in the following table indicates the year the city became the state capital. The population of t is displayed in the MSA/SA and CSA columns.
Insular area capitals
A United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor the nation’s federal district, the District of Columbia, is known as an insular area. The following is a list of insular areas with territorial capitals.
Capitals of United States Insular Areas|Insular area|Abr.|Date|Capital|Pop. (2010)|Notes|
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
|Northern Mariana Islands |MP|1947|Saipan |48,220|
|U.S. Virgin Islands |VI|1917|Charlotte Amalie |18,481|
|Guam |GU|1898| Hagåtña |1,051|Dededo is the area’s largest village .|
|American Samoa |AS|1899|Pago Pago |3,656|Pago Pago refers to both a village and a group of villages, one of which is ■■■■■■■■ the official seat of government stated in the territory’s constitution.|
|Puerto Rico |PR|1898|San Juan |395,326|The oldest continuously inhabited U.S. state or territorial capital, San Juan was originally called Puerto Rico while the island was called San Juan Bautista.|
Native American capitals
Some Native American tribes, particularly the Five Civilized Tribes, established governments with Western-style constitutions and capitals. Others, such as the Iroquois, had long-standing pre-Columbian traditions of having a ‘capitol’ longhouse where wampum and council fires were kept in high regard. These capitals can be considered office since they done commerce with the United States government.
Cherokee National
New Echota 1825–1832
New Echota, located near Calhoun, Georgia, was founded in 1825, fulfilling Cherokee Chief Major Ridge’s goal and aspirations. The site was chosen by Major Ridge because of its central location within the traditional Cherokee Nation, which included sections of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama, as well as its proximity to the Conasauga and Coosawattee rivers. Ri influenced the layout of the town in some ways.
Red Clay1832–1838
To avoid the Georgia state militia, the Cherokee National Council grounds were relocated to Red Clay, Tennessee, near the Georgia state boundary. Until the Cherokee Nation was transported to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) on the Trail of Tears, Red Clay’s log huts, limestone springs, and park-like forests served as the capital.
Tahlequah 1839–1907, 1938–present
Following Removal, Tahlequah, in present-day Oklahoma, served as the Cherokee Nation’s capital. The Cherokee Nation built a new National Capitol at Tahlequah out of brick after the Civil War, a turbulent period for the Nation, which was immersed in its own civil war resulting from prevalent anger and disagreements over removal from Georgia. The structure was used as the state capitol until 1907, when it was demolished.
*** Cherokee 20th century–present Eastern Band of Cherokee**
Approximately 400 to 800 Cherokees were spared relocation since they lived on a different parcel along the Oconaluftee River in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, which they obtained subsequently with the help of Confederate Colonel William Holland Thomas. Some Cherokees who were fleeing the “round up” by the Federal Army went to remote communities separated from the rest of the Cherokee Territory.
Muscogee Creek Nation
Hot Springs, Arkansas c. 1837–1866
The Creek national government gathered near Hot Springs, which was then part of their new area as mandated by the Treaty of Cusseta, after being removed from their Alabama-Georgia homeland. After some Creeks fought with the Confederacy in the American Civil War, the Union forced the Creeks to yield over 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 hectares) of what is now Arkansas (half of their land).
Okmulgee 1867–1906
After the American Civil War, it served as the nation’s capital. It was most likely called after Ocmulgee, a major Coosa and later Creek town on the Ocmulgee River in Macon, which was built with mounds and served as part of the Southeastern ceremonial complex. Before removal, however, there were additional historic Creek “mother-towns.” The Treaty of India unjustly ceded the Ocmulgee mounds in 1821.
State of Muskogee
The State of Muskogee was a Native American state in Spanish Florida founded by William Augustus Bowles, an Englishman who served as its “Director General,” author of its Constitution, and designer of its flag. It was made up of many Creek and Seminole tribes. It existed between 1799 and 1803. There was just one capital.
Republic of West Florida
The Republic of West Florida was a short-lived country that broke away from Spanish West Florida territory in 1810. It included the Florida Parishes of modern-day Louisiana, as well as the Mobile District of modern-day Mississippi and Alabama. (There was no part of the modern state of Florida in the Republic of West Florida.) The area’s ownership had been a point of contention between two parties.
FAQ’S
What are the 29 states and capitals?
| Name of the State | Capital City | Official Languages |
|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad (Present till – 2 June 2024) Amaravati (proposed) | Telugu | |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar | English |
| Assam | Dispur | Assamese |
| Bihar | Patna | Hindi |
What are the 50 states and capitals?
- Alabama (AL) - Montgomery.
- Alaska (AK) - Juneau.
- Arizona (AZ) - Phoenix.
- Arkansas (AR) - Little Rock.
- California (CA) - Sacramento.
- Colorado (CO) - Denver.
- Connecticut (CT) - Hartford.
- Delaware (DE) - Dover.
What are the 28 states and capitals?
| S.NO | State | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | Amaravati |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| 3 | Assam | Dispur |
| 4 | Bihar | Patna |
What is the 29th state of India?
In 1956, Andhra Pradesh was formed by merging Andhra Pradesh and the Telugu-speaking areas of Hyderabad State.
Conclusion
Stream from the Republic of India within the current state of New Hampshire, the Republic of Indian Stream was an unrecognized independent republic. 1832–1835, the area that would become Pittsburg, New Hampshire A small part of north-central California declared itself the California Republic before being seized by the United States in 1848 (after the Mexican–American War).