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Meh. Everywhere has been pretty much the same since the 90’s. These discussions tend to be pretty grasping.
And there are probably a few folks of legal age lurking about that were born in this century and definitely more who were teething while Newt Gingrich was on a mission to get Clinton impeached while preparing to dump yet another wife in sickness for the side piece.
In addition to being less southern historically (as mentioned before, Central Texas voted against secession), Austin has vastly outgrown Richmond over the last 50 years and is filled with transplants from other regions, including more foreign born people than Richmond's total city population...
It looks like in 1970 Austin and Richmond actually had the same population in the city limits. Since then Austin grew 4x and Richmond shrunk.
Like the comment about Richmond being the confederate capital, what else is there to say?
There's a lot more to say but just consider this: if the capital of the Confederacy moved from Montgomery to Richmond shortly after the war, then it's safe to say that a city's degree of cultural Southernness had very little to do with being the capital. After all, Charleston wasn't in the running at all and there's where the war started.
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DC was the US capital during the civil war yet some here still like to say it's the south. Funny.
But both cities are only 100 miles apart. And let's not forget that the US capital moved from Philadelphia to DC to appease Southern slaveowners, and slavery was legal in both cities before and during the Civil War.
In addition to being less southern historically (as mentioned before, Central Texas voted against secession), Austin has vastly outgrown Richmond over the last 50 years and is filled with transplants from other regions, including more foreign born people than Richmond's total city population...
It looks like in 1970 Austin and Richmond actually had the same population in the city limits. Since then Austin grew 4x and Richmond shrunk.
Although Austin has obviously grown more in real terms throughout its metropolitan area, the municipality of Austin has also added four times as much square mileage since then, going from about 81 square miles in 1970 to a bit over 320 square miles today. However, 1970 was the last time Richmond actually annexed any adjoining territory (23 sq mi, 50K people). It has been an independent city composed of the same 60 square miles of land in the 50 years that have gone by since then.
Although Austin has obviously grown more in real terms throughout its metropolitan area, the municipality of Austin has also added four times as much square mileage since then, going from about 81 square miles in 1970 to a bit over 320 square miles today. However, 1970 was the last time Richmond actually annexed any adjoining territory (23 sq mi, 50K people). It has been an independent city composed of the same 60 square miles of land in the 50 years that have gone by since then.
Okay, lets look at the greater region then. In 1970 Greater Austin had 400,000 people. It now has 2,300,000 people. (Almost 575% growth). In 1970 Greater Richmond 518,000 people, whereas it now has has 1,300,000 people (about 250% growth). Greater Austin is 16% foreign born compared to Richmond which is 8%.
The point is, Austin is much more of a transplant-heavy melting pot than is Richmond.
There's a lot more to say but just consider this: if the capital of the Confederacy moved from Montgomery to Richmond shortly after the war, then it's safe to say that a city's degree of cultural Southernness had very little to do with being the capital. After all, Charleston wasn't in the running at all and there's where the war started.
But both cities are only 100 miles apart. And let's not forget that the US capital moved from Philadelphia to DC to appease Southern slaveowners, and slavery was legal in both cities before and during the Civil War.
Slavery was also legal in the north at some point? Maryland was a union state as well. I’m beating a certain sectors here to the punch.Buffalo is 99 miles from Toronto. That does not make it a Canadian city
Who, Richmond???? It's never been nicknamed "the capital of the South." It was the capital of the Confederacy, but that was a totally political decision and not a cultural one; otherwise, Montgomery probably would have never lost that status, at least not to Richmond which was chosen as the new capital to shore up Virginia's commitment to the Confederacy and because of its important role in American history and the fact that it made a great showpiece as a new national capital--ironically for its qualities (urbane, cosmopolitan, cultured, industrial, developed, socially dynamic, etc.) which Southerners and the planter class didn't much care for before the War.
Oh ok. Capital of the confederacy makes it a northern city? Got it. Could’ve sworn one side fought for slavery.
Oh ok. Capital of the confederacy makes it a northern city? Got it. Could’ve sworn one side fought for slavery.
I have to admit that it’s irritating to me when people reduce the cultural barometer of Richmond to, “well it was capital of the confederacy,” because really that had little do with how or whether the city was southern. For most of the south, it wasn’t “southern” enough and it it was chosen because it was least like the rest of the south at the time, e.g., industrial, established, reasonably cosmopolitan and in proximity to Washington. Virginia voted against secession until the last minute and it literally tore the state apart. So, if you’re going to point to something, try something else, like demographics, cuisine, etc. I would also emphasize that the Civil War itself isn’t celebrated in the city as perhaps in the past. This is kind of funny, if not insulting since I have ancestors who were enslaved on TX plantations. As if TX is immune from history when it was the last place to experience freedom, cough, cough Juneteenth.
I have to admit that it’s irritating to me when people reduce the cultural barometer of Richmond to, “well it was capital of the confederacy,” because really that had little do with how or whether the city was southern. For most of the south, it wasn’t “southern” enough and it it was chosen because it was least like the rest of the south at the time, e.g., industrial, established, reasonably cosmopolitan and in proximity to Washington. Virginia voted against secession until the last minute and it literally tore the state apart. So, if you’re going to point to something, try something else, like demographics, cuisine, etc. I would also emphasize that the Civil War itself isn’t celebrated in the city as perhaps in the past. This is kind of funny, if not insulting since I have ancestors who were enslaved on TX plantations. As if TX is immune from history when it was the last place to experience freedom, cough, cough Juneteenth.
This is a bit of an understatement. Showing any pro-Confederate leanings in Richmond city is a good way to get negative attention, from black or white.
I have to admit that it’s irritating to me when people reduce the cultural barometer of Richmond to, “well it was capital of the confederacy,” because really that had little do with how or whether the city was southern. For most of the south, it wasn’t “southern” enough and it it was chosen because it was least like the rest of the south at the time, e.g., industrial, established, reasonably cosmopolitan and in proximity to Washington. Virginia voted against secession until the last minute and it literally tore the state apart. So, if you’re going to point to something, try something else, like demographics, cuisine, etc. I would also emphasize that the Civil War itself isn’t celebrated in the city as perhaps in the past. This is kind of funny, if not insulting since I have ancestors who were enslaved on TX plantations. As if TX is immune from history when it was the last place to experience freedom, cough, cough Juneteenth.
Richmond was the capitol of the confederacy. DC was the capitol of the union. Yet some on this forum think dc and the dmv area southern and Richmond is northern. Just odd.
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