Capitals: a new light on American cities and territorial processes -- Capitals as places of memory -- Geographical patterns in the migration of capitals -- In search of explanatory models -- Capital choice and the balance of power -- Evolution of state capitals to the 1950s: the "purgatory years" -- State capitals since the 1950s: the renaissance of forgotten cities -- Validating models through a chronological and concrete analysis: three case studies -- Losing status: the place of former capitals in today's America -- State capitals today: symbols of American democracy