Can anyone explain to me why Tallahasee is the capitol of Florida?

[The Backlash Cometh]

Tallahasee is like a laid back beach community compared to the rest of Florida. Driving through Bithlo you see more commercial activity on the side of the road than you do one mile outside of the capitol building in Tallahassee.

I'm really worried. Is Tallahassee some kind of weird capitol where horsetraders fly in to lobby their causes and seal deals with a smile and a handshake? Is that why the rest of us in Florida feel like we're continually victimized?

I think we should be told.

Is it like that in everybody else's capitol?

[steve2470]

1. Back in 1845, it was one of the larger towns in North Florida

Central and southern Florida were still 99.999 % forests and swamps.

on edit:

Tallahassee was created as the capital of Florida during the second legislative session. It was chosen as it was roughly equidistant from St. Augustine and Pensacola, which had been the capitals of the Spanish and British colonies of East Florida and West Florida, respectively. The first session of Florida's Legislative Council - as a territory of the United States - met on July 22, 1822 at Pensacola and members from St. Augustine traveled fifty-nine days by water to attend. The second session was in St. Augustine and required western delegates to travel perilously around the peninsula on a twenty-eight day trek. During this session, it was decided that future meetings should be held at a half-way point to reduce the distance. Two appointed commissioners selected Tallahassee, at that point an abandoned Apalachee settlement, as a halfway point. In 1824, the third legislative session met there in a crude log capitol.<9>

From 1821 through 1845, the rough-hewn frontier capital gradually grew into a town during Florida's territorial period. The Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution, returned for a grand tour of the United States in 1824. The US Congress voted to give him $200,000 (the same amount he had given the colonies in 1778), US citizenship, and the Lafayette Land Grant, 36 square miles (93 km2) of land that today includes large portions of Tallahassee. In 1845, a Greek revival masonry structure was erected as the Capitol building in time for statehood. Now known as the "old Capitol," it stands in front of the Capitol high rise building, which was constructed in the 1970s.<10>

Tallahassee was the center of the slave trade in Florida as the city was the capital of the Cotton Belt.<11> During the American Civil War, Tallahassee was the only Confederate state capital east of the Mississippi not captured by Union forces. A small engagement, the Battle of Natural Bridge, was fought south of the city on March 6, 1865.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallahassee,_Florida#History

[arbusto_baboso]

2. Why is Juneau the capitol of Alaska?

I mean, after all, you can't reach it by road, and it's iosolated from the nmain population areas of the rest of the state.

When state capitols are chosen, there are a lot of reasons for the choice made that might no longer be relevant today. I mean, Sacramento as capitol of Cali? That's a laugher too...

[DrDan]

5. or Jeff City as the capitol of Missouri

There are a lot of capitols that probably make less sense today than when chosen.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. Could this be the source of the disconnect that we tend to feel

with government? The old system isn't keeping up with everything else that's going on in the State?

[End Of The Road]

58. I doubt that it's the source of disconnect...

I live in Austin, Capital of Texas. Austin used to be a sleepy college hippie town until the high-tech biz moved in, but that's another story. But until that time, it was Houston & Dallas with all the movers and shakers.

Now, I used to work for a lobbyist here. And believe me, I still felt disconnected with all the Rabid Republicans running the statehouse. You wouldn't believe some of the bills that got introduced. Luckily the worst of them never saw the light of day. But plenty of ordinary bad ones did.

[BillStein]

27. Isn't Jeff city one of those that are mid-state?

Like Harrisburg, or Springfield, or Carson City? I'm probably forgetting some...

[DrDan]

39. wouldn't exactly call Carson City "mid-state" - only 15 miles or so to the Californa border

just a guess

[BillStein]

65. I stand corrected

[Billy Burnett]

3. It mutated from being the slave trade capitol to the state capitol. n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. I still think they're buying and selling people.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

6. CapitAAAAAAAAAAL

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. One of us is going to feel foolish in a few minutes,

and I don't think it's going to be me.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. ...I mean, more than usual.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

12. Oh. There's some kind of in-joke running here?

Please enlighten.

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. Definition of capitol

Main Entry: cap·i·tol
Pronunciation: \ˈka-pə-təl, ˈkap-təl\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin Capitolium, temple of Jupiter at Rome on the Capitoline hill
Date: 1679

1 a : a building in which a state legislative body meets b : a group of buildings in which the functions of state government are carried out
2 capitalized : the building in which the United States Congress meets at Washington

[Obamanaut]

18. That was good. Look up capital and discover that the capitol is in

the capital.

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. Duly noted.

Thanks for the correction. This would have really hampered my political ambitions if I hadn't straightened it out.

[Warpy]

13. -al is the place and -ol is the building in that place

except that -al is also the ornate top of the column in the front of the -ol building.

English sucks.

[The Backlash Cometh]

16. It's the building. One mile from the capitol building is not as built-up

as you would find everywhere else.

[Hannah Bell]

15. The "capitol" is the building. The "capital" is the city.

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=capitol


"Washington, D.C., has been the capital of the United States since 1800. Eight other cities have served as the meeting place for Congress and are therefore considered to have once been the capital of the United States. In addition, each of the 50 U.S. states and the five principal territories of the United States maintains its own capital."

"Dome of the United States Capitol building."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Gotcha.

I started referring to the building, but should have adjusted when I was talking about the city.

[Billy Burnett]

25. HAVE YOU TRIED YOUR CAPS KEY?

IT WORKS FOR ME.
PROBLEM SOLVED. :)

[Common Sense Party]

21. I think it is...

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. You rulz!

[Common Sense Party]

26. I duz?

[damntexdem]

46. Oh, sure it's the capital -- but it has the capitol.

So, it could be called the capitol's city as well as the capital city. ;-)

So why is Olympia the capital of Washington?

[zipplewrath]

9. Locale lore

The local story is that it was the demographic center of Florida at the time. Could be true, I've always suspect it had more to do with trade routes that ran along the coast to New Orleans from
Jacksonville.

[Obamanaut]

49. Central meeting point in the early days, between P'cola and St Augustine,

which was at one time more populous than Jacksonville (at that time, Cow Ford, or Cow's Ford.)

This is much the same way that D.C. became the nation's capital, being pretty much the central point of the original 13.

[Warpy]

11. Most state capitals are smaller than the larger cities

but were, at some point in the past, easier to get to so that out of state people could conduct the bidness of permits and the like.

It was a lot easier to do business in Tallahassee than it was to traverse miles and miles of swamp to get to, say, Orlando.

Likewise, here in NM, Santa Fe was on the major trails both north-south and east-west. Only railroad bribery caused the railroad to go 60 miles south of the capital and create large cities where none previously existed.

It made a great deal of sense to have the state capital of Florida, especially, accessible by both land and sea and without an arduous trek through malarial swamps.

[old mark]

20. Somebody paid somebody else a lot of money? nt

[Fla_Democrat]

22. Cause we rock

:evilgrin: :headbang: :evilgrin: :headbang: :evilgrin:

[The Backlash Cometh]

29. Now, I'm not saying it wasn't a charming place.

I'm just saying that it's a stark difference to the chaos that the rest of us live with every day.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. Speaking of the locations of state capitals...

can anybody explain why most capitals are not the largest city in the state, but somewhere near (maybe an hour or two drive)?

[Davis_X_Machina]

28. Fear of domination of state politics....

...by the politics of the single biggest city.

Sometimes the move was deliberate.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. I guess that makes some sense.

I always thought it was a defense issue. If some invading army takes the commercial/industrial capital, the government capital is still in place, and vice versa.

[Davis_X_Machina]

47. One of the demands of the rebels...

...in Shay's Rebellion was to move the capital out of Boston, for example.

[The Backlash Cometh]

32. That almost makes sense.

If it weren't for the fact that in Florida the system favors a shadow government operated by good ole boys.

[Davis_X_Machina]

48. Talahassee at the time Florida became a state...

...was one of the largest, if not the largest cities. The capital being located there is an artifact of history, not the result of a conspiracy of rednecks.

[The Backlash Cometh]

30. Why capitals are near the largest city in the state?

Tallahassee is on the furthest end of the state than the most populated city.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. I said most, not Tallahassee.

Futhermore, Tallahassee is much closer to St. Augustine and Pensacola, which were much more important in Florida got statehood.

It's like Sacramento. When California got statehood San Francisco was still the largest city.

[The Backlash Cometh]

35. I don't disagree that at one time is made sense.

I don't even disagree that it looks like a nice place for civil discourse.

What I'm saying is, that it's so far away that it explains the disconnect. If all they're doing is listening to our "representatives," they lost touch with the rest of the State a long time ago.

[steve2470]

38. There was discussion years ago about moving the capital to Orlando

Orlando is centrally located in Florida, more or less. That move never came to fruition, probably for political and financial reasons. It's really no big deal. Tally is a nice town, very much a government/college/north Florida/southern kind of town. I like it. It is a long drive though.

[The Backlash Cometh]

41. Orlando has a lot of growing up to do.

The leaders have not shown the responsibility required to take on that kind of obligation. When they're still censoring the newspapers, that's when you know they're not ready for primetime.

[Spike89]

34. Two reasons immediately come to mind

Geographic centering and an attempt to balance the power of the big cities. Obviously the centering concern isn't as big a deal as it was when horse-drawn transportation was the norm. Large metro areas (especially in relatively rural states) tend to have different politics than the rest of the state and also the most power--placing the capital outside those areas is a compromise to ensure the entire state population feels represented.

BTW - Washington DC is no where near the largest city in the country and at the time it became our capital, it fit both criteria I mentioned (central and a balance to NY/Philadelphia)

[The Backlash Cometh]

37. The idea behind it makes sense,

The reality is different. Something has happened to change the political arena, and I'm guessing that something is access. We have a community leaders-elected officials mentality now. That inside circle drives everything in the state. The people have been pushed out of the formula.

[HughBeaumont]

66. Columbus is the largest city in my state . . .

. . . mostly due to the fact that people have been abandoning freezing, dying Cleveland since the early 90s. That's sort of the result of industry leaving for cheaper pastures.

[Jennicut]

36. Some are in the middle of a state and some are all over the place.

I was just in our Capitol today, in Hartford, CT. Pretty easy to get to.

[pipi_k]

40. Just a wild guess, but...

maybe it's the only large city that would be left if the ocean suddenly rose and swallowed up the entire rest of the state?


;)

[The Backlash Cometh]

43. That's the only advantage I see.

[Vickers]

42. Holy shit, I can't believe Bithlo was mentioned on DU!

:crazy:

[The Backlash Cometh]

44. I still love that tattoo I saw on a biker.

"Bithlo Bitch."

Hey, don't knock it. You probably couldn't afford to live there.

[steve2470]

56. I know, incredible !

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bithlo

[The Backlash Cometh]

57. LOL!

You know the scary part, that's probably the most sincere culture we have in Central Florida.

[Vickers]

63. Ever hear of a band from there called Dick Whiskey? They had an album

called Bithlo Radio (which I have a copy of).

Not sure if they are still around, this was in 1999 or so.

[provis99]

45. why is Albany the capital of New York? why is Springfield the capital of Illinois?

heck, why is Pierre the capital of South Dakota?

[Davis_X_Machina]

51. Springfield was a.) more centrally located...

...and that influenced capital choice in a pre-rail age, and b.) bigger than Chicago was when the capital was moved there from Vandalia in 1836. Chicago's growth was explosive, but too late.

Albany's capital is where it is deliberately, to prevent corruption of government by and for noble yeoman farmers by the wealth and maritime interests of New York. That plus the pull of the Patroons of the Valley, and the success of the Canal.

[Dappleganger]

50. Because the Pork Chop Gang hated South FL.

Most of their holdings were through St. Joe's in the Panhandle and North FL areas. Think of it as a way to keep southern control (good old boy network) out of the hands of the more liberal SoFL influence. They continue to victimize the rest of FL to this day with their South-GA "values".

[The Backlash Cometh]

52. I'm feeling the love.

You know, your explanation would make the most sense because there definitely is a feeling of carpet-bagging going on around here. I'm guessing that they feel it's okay to break everybody else's constitutional rights as long as they're the ones benefiting from the pilfering.

[Dappleganger]

54. Here's some links with more clarification re: The Pork Chop Gang

http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/barm/rediscovery/default.asp?IDCFile=/fsa/DETAILSS.IDC,SPECIFIC=483881,DATABASE=SERIES,

" Between 1945 and 1965, a group of rural North Florida legislators, known as the "Pork Chop Gang" banded together to oppose civil rights and reapportionment legislation. Up to that time, most of Florida's political power rested in rural, segregated North Florida. Often, as little as 13% of Florida's electorate elected the majority of the state legislatures. By the 1960s, however, the Pork Chop Gang lost influence as South Florida grew in financial and population superiority, and as social attitudes shifted away from traditional segregationist views. The term "Pork Chop Gang" was coined by Tampa Tribune columnist James Clendinen in 1955."

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=9331.0
The link above is to a forum I frequent but the OP pulled together some great resources while studying the Pork Chop Gang and their influences, specifically into how and why Jacksonville is the way it is today.

[The Backlash Cometh]

55. Thanks for the information!

[Davis_X_Machina]

53. There wasn't a 'more liberal SoFl influence'...

...until the 20's at the earliest, more like the 40's. Florida has its capital where it is because in 1830's, that was Florida.

[Nay]

59. Tallahassee is not a beach community. It's at least 30 miles from the Gulf.

[The Backlash Cometh]

60. I was painting a picture.

It was slow and casual like a beach community.

[steve2470]

61. I think even if the capital was in Miami, there would still be a disconnect

Lots of R's in Florida, the ignorant conservative ones.

BTW, I think this really hurt Florida:

Constitution of 1885:

http://www.law.fsu.edu/crc/conhist/1924amen.html

Amendments, Election of 11-4-24:

Section 11. No tax upon inheritances or upon the income of residents or citizens of this state shall be levied by the State of Florida, or under its authority, and there shall be exempt from taxation to the head of a family residing in this State, household goods and personal effects to the value of Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars.

and:

http://www.law.fsu.edu/crc/conhist/1968con.html

CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

As Revised in 1968.

Section 5. Estate, Inheritance and Income Taxes. No tax upon estates or inheritances or upon the income of residents or citizens of the state shall be levied by the state, or under its authority, in excess of the aggregate of amount s which may be allowed to be credited upon or deducted from any similar tax levied by the United States or any state.

The tax situation is wonderful if you oppose governmental services and libruls, but not so good if the private sector cannot accomplish something or will not accomplish something.

[Swede]

62. It rhymes with lassie?

:shrug:

[MellowDem]

64. No, but I can name all the state capitals...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNUDDaEOvuY