I could find info about why not every noun is capitalized anymore, but nothing about why we have capitalization at the beginning of sentences.

So, sorry I can't provide the history, but in my opinion the capitalization at the beginning of a sentence is still pretty useful to the eye. If we just had a period separating sentences it'd be kind of hard to follow as easily...my eye is just trained to look for the capitalization to signal a new sentence...
Source(s):
http://ask.metafilter.com/29691/What-is-the-History-of-English-Capitalizati...

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The use of punctuation to finish a sentence is necessary for several reasons, regardless of whether a capital letter may signify a new sentence and the end of the previous:

What if your sentence had names, such as Abraham Lincoln in the middle? Obviously, I didn't end that sentence at "such as" and start another single-word sentence.

Say you were reading a paragraph and it ended just like this at the bottom of the page, without a period, but there was white space following it

Would you wonder if there was more written, but it somehow got deleted? If there was some form of punctuation signifying the end of the sentence, you would at least know the writer completed that particular thought.

Any writer will tell you sentence structure, proper or otherwise, is a critical component of effective communication. With the written word, we have no audible cues, tonal inflections, body language to convey meaning, and so must rely on a well formed sentence to convey anything beyond superficial meaning.

Skipping punctuation and capitals is fine for instant messaging and informal emails, but it won't get you a job, nor will it help you get a loan on your first car/home/whatever. Learn it, live it, even if you don't love it!
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