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Philadelphia was the largest city and the commercial and cultural hub of the colonies until New York took that away from it after the revolution. My guess is that with no New York, Philly would have held on to its' primacy. It would have become what New York is.
Philadelphia was the largest city and the commercial and cultural hub of the colonies until New York took that away from it after the revolution. My guess is that with no New York, Philly would have held on to its' primacy. It would have become what New York is.
You are presenting that as if it were a zero sum game, but it really isn't. New York didn't actually "take it away from Philly".
The Erie Canal, which connected the NY Harbor/eastern seaboard to the great lakes and western inland, was built in the early part of the 19th century. That, plus the (partly related) later great waves of immigration are really what triggered New York's economic and population growth that propelled it past all other cities of the era, and the rest was history.
If the Erie Canal had NOT been built in New York, an equivalent would most likely NOT have been built in Philly, because the Delaware River is not so easily navigable, nor does it have such an easy connection route to points west. Not to mention that the New York Harbor is 100 miles closer to the open ocean than Philadelphia's, which was already a disavantage.
If NY's port was never connected to the interior (or if it magically never existed), it's certainly likely that another port would have taken it's place...but probably not Philadelphia's. It's much more likely that such a connection would have been made on the Potomac, as a similar project was actually attempted (but not completed) there by George Washington. As such, it's much more likely that Washington D.C., and not Philadelphia would have seen the greatest benefit from New York's non-existence.
That is...unless the entire country's development was set back for decades, long enough for the waterways to be leapfrogged by railroads as the most important commercial network...and then who knows what city would have taken the crown?
edit:
Maybe it actually would have been Baltimore, which is very close to Washington/the Potomac route, and was actually neck-and-neck with Philly population-wise in the country's early history - basically up until Philadelphia annexed it's county in 1854 and gained a lot of population. Also, like Philly, Baltimore also served as the nation's capital for a short time.
Last edited by rotodome; 08-05-2013 at 04:40 PM..
Reason: added stuff
Is it just me or does it feel like the country is stacking the deck / putting all its chips on SF & DC (and maybe Boston to a lesser extent, although I know far less about DC & Boston) being the places of the future, outside of NYC? With DC's future growth in importance being more manufactured and SF more organic.
I'm probably just brainwashed from local publications but it seems like SF's niche industries and economic versatility has the area primed for huge upward trends in importance. Presently I'm not entirely sure where SF & DC stand vs LA & CHI, but I see the possibility of more equality or even role reversals in importance amongst the areas in the future. I admit future prophecies can be a fickle thing to play with though.
I would love to hear otherwise though via civil discourse as I mean no disrespect and readily admit my bias / potential brainwashing. I'm looking at this as a learning experience. And just so I'm clear, I'm not talking about the cities on a superficial level (amenities, skyline, public transit, food, weather, downtown vibrancy, density, cityscape, diversity, etc etc). More along the lines of the happenings of the areas in regards to the [future] importance of their industries and economics.
LA. It has the GDP, diversity and population size to pull it off. Plus, people always wanna move here anyway for the attractions, weather, beaches and scenery, and it is laid back.
He wasn't referring to that..
Chicago *was* the 2nd biggest city for half a century but got passed up by LA 30 years ago.
Thank you. Logically, if New York was gone for some reason, it would be the second largest city that would take the lead. I don't think that the demise of New York would catapult Chicago or San Francisco to the number one status.... DC would most likely stay the way it is, the administrative center of the nation. I believe that the us without new York would become much more decentralized.
Is it just me or does it feel like the country is stacking the deck / putting all its chips on SF & DC (and maybe Boston to a lesser extent, although I know far less about DC & Boston) being the places of the future, outside of NYC? With DC's future growth in importance being more manufactured and SF more organic.
I'm probably just brainwashed from local publications but it seems like SF's niche industries and economic versatility has the area primed for huge upward trends in importance. Presently I'm not entirely sure where SF & DC stand vs LA & CHI, but I see the possibility of more equality or even role reversals in importance amongst the areas in the future. I admit future prophecies can be a fickle thing to play with though.
I would love to hear otherwise though via civil discourse as I mean no disrespect and readily admit my bias / potential brainwashing. I'm looking at this as a learning experience. And just so I'm clear, I'm not talking about the cities on a superficial level (amenities, skyline, public transit, food, weather, downtown vibrancy, density, cityscape, diversity, etc etc). More along the lines of the happenings of the areas in regards to the [future] importance of their industries and economics.
The "Country" isn't putting it's chips or stacking the deck anywhere. This thread is "PRETEND"...of no relevancy in the real world.
Houston did not make the list. Which is understandable - as a cultural or economic capitol it is often overlooked and under-performs, and is a rather late in the game in terms of growth, joining the top 10 largest American cities in 1960. It is however the fourth largest city, and the fifth largest metropolitan area. Boston is 21st, Washington, DC is 24th. Baltimore, which gets a number of informal mentions as contender (for its early prominence in the historical tangent), is 26th. Atlanta, which had a few supporting claimants for its cable industry, is 40th. If size were the sole indicator of what should be a nation's "first city", Jacksonville has a much stronger claim than DC or Boston or most any other American city. Jacksonville. *shudders*
There is a bit of a city 'ranking' system if you will, on a global scale in regards to city statuses, and it clearly favors Chicago from the possible American cities as the premier city after New York in the United States. Even if you do not subscribe to the study's findings, it is perception. Here's a link to the city rankings by category: Global city - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In it, New York is considered an Alpha ++ city, the only in the world other than London. Chicago achieves a status of Alpha +, alongside Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Paris, Singapore, Sydney and Dubai. Dubai seems rather inflated if you ask me, but people making lists seldom do.
Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC are classified as Alpha cities, while Boston and Philadelphia are classified as Alpha - cities (along with Atlanta and Miami).
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