State capitals in the United States are decided by the state legislature with no strict rules. They house the state government, Supreme Court, and federal agencies. There is no geographic requirement, and capitals can change. Boston and Santa Fe have been capitals for the longest time.
A state capital is the city in a state within the United States of America where the state legislature and major government offices are located. This is a necessarily vague definition because the location of a state capital is typically decided by the state legislature itself, with few hard-and-fast rules regarding the location and establishment of state capitals. Population and city size are not prerequisites for a city to serve as a capital city, and many capital cities are not the most populous or largest cities within a state.
The state capital is usually the seat of political power within that state and typically houses the state legislature and executive offices. The state Supreme Court is also frequently located in the capital, as are the offices of various major federal government agencies. There is generally no geographic requirement for a city to be a capital city, with some capital cities being along the borders of other states or countries.
Once a state capital is established, the location is also not required to remain the state capital for any length of time. Some states have had numerous capital cities throughout their history, and many capital cities have served as capitals even before the state they are in became a state in the United States. This was often due to the fact that a state was a colony before the country was established, existed as part of an independent territory, or was part of another country before becoming a state in the United States.
Boston, Massachusetts has been a capital city for the longest consecutive period of time, having been a colony or state capital since 1630. New Mexico’s state capital, Santa Fe, has been a capital city since 1610, but this was interrupted during the Pueblo Revolt in 1680 when the Pueblo people besieged the city and ousted the Spanish government. This lasted until 1692, when the Spanish successfully retook the city and re-established it as the capital of the New Mexico province of New Spain.
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