Why is Albany the capital of New York State?
The situation with Albany is not unique. Why is Springfield the capital of Illinois instead of Chicago? Why is Tallahassee the capital of Florida instead of Tampa, Miami, Orlando or Jacksonville? Why is Sacramento the capital of California instead of Los Angeles or San Francisco? In all of these cases, I suspect the answer is a combination of reasons – some historically significant (during the Revolution, New York Ciety fell to the British, but because Washington was smart enough to build fortifications on the Hudson close to what is now West Point, he able to retain control of the upstate area.), some political compromise (the nation’s capital was in both Philadelphia and New York. Washington DC was eventually accepted as a political compromise), and just plain quirkiness. By the way – Albany was not the original capital of New York – that was in Kingston up to 1777. Although I haven’t studied the history, I have a suspicion that a major consideration in the move may have been to get
