The Capital District has long been important as a trading post, military objective, and governmental center. Located near the juncture of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, Albany has been the crossroads of the Northeast since colonial times. The Albany Congress of 1754 was the first major attempt to unite the thirteen original colonies. The area's strategic importance was proven by successive French and English attempts to capture it during the colonial and revolutionary wars. Since 1797, Albany has served as the governmental center of New York State. Its large population and economic wealth made New York one of the more important states, permitting its capital to exert national power. New York governors and senators were long regarded as Presidential timber, and men like Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt served their political apprenticeship here before stepping into the national arena.