Quote:
Originally Posted by johndallman
The habit of US states of having their capitals somewhere other than their largest city is one of the things that foreigners find weird about the USA
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Less "habit" and more consequence of the way the US grew... it was a lot less (but just as much) organically than vastly older countries.
For instance Albany and Springfield were important cities when they were set as the capitols, mostly due to being trade hubs (inorganic choice). However, over time Chicago and New York eclipsed them as trade hubs due to their ports and manufacturing base (due to the closeness of the ports). (Also note, Springfield is very centrally located in Illinois, while Albany is closer to DC.)