[dreadnought]

[QUOTE=jd3189;8721748 I read an article last night discussing how New York was able to maintain its dominance of the most populous city since the colonial era.[/QUOTE]

I don't know what article you read, but New York didn't become the most populous city until the opening of the Erie canal in the early 1800s. Philadelphia was the colonial-era largest city, and the second largest English-speaking city in the world (behind London, obviously.)