WI: a "rotating capital" in the United States?

What if Washington D.C never gets built, and the precident of Moving the US capital, say every four years or so becomes fixed?
 
What if Washington D.C never gets built, and the precident of Moving the US capital, say every four years or so becomes fixed?

Is there any historical basis for this in other nations, especially for this period?

Seems like it would be a waste of resources, especially given transportation tech in the 18th century.
 
Last edited:
If DC isen't built. then Philadelphia becomes the capital of the United States.

Assuming the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 didn't happen, Maybe.

Assuming it still does, then they're going to have to find some solution. Probably somewhere that would satisfy both the North and South.

A moving capital doesn't sound like something the northerns or southerns would agree on.
 
Is there any historical preference for this?

Seems like it would be a waste of resources, especially given transportation tech in the 18th century.

Well the ancient Empires of the East had several capitals. For instance, Susa and Ecbatana were the Summer and Winter capitals of the Persian Empire.
 
I recall reading a proposal like this before; the logistical difficulties and expenses of maintaining multiple capitals make it a non-starter.
 
Well the ancient Empires of the East had several capitals. For instance, Susa and Ecbatana were the Summer and Winter capitals of the Persian Empire.

That's a good example if it was done like this, but randomly selecting a city every couple of years doesn't.

Some khans on the Central Asian steppe.

The Atlantic states are far from a comparable environment to the nomadic cultures of the Asian Steppes. Though with plenty of coastlines, something like this could be accomplished in the early US.
 
If DC was never built the capital would've likely been placed in Cincinnati, which was planned as an alternate capital anyhow. It's a middle site, on the Ohio River and could've been suitably neutral.
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
The Atlantic states are far from a comparable environment to the nomadic cultures of the Asian Steppes. Though with plenty of coastlines, something like this could be accomplished in the early US.
I was being facetious, darling.

But there is the European tradition of the monarch changing residences with the seasons. Perhaps the president could summer in New York and winter in Norfolk.
 
Is there any historical basis for this in other nations, especially for this period?

The Founding Fathers were interested in Native American government and social organization, right? There are plenty of examples of Native American confederacies in North America that had no set capital but convened in different meeting places for diplomatic purposes - The Council of Three Fires Confederacy, and the Seven Council Fires of the Sioux.
 
Top