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| Flag of the State of Alabama |
Alabama (Arabic: ألاباما), (Urdu: الاباما) and (Persian: آلاباما)
is a state located in the south-eastern region of the United States. It
is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and
the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama
is the 30th-most extensive and the 23rd-most populous of the 50 United
States. At 1,300 miles (2,100 km), Alabama has one of the longest
navigable inland waterways in the nation.
From the American Civil War until World War II,
Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship, in part
because of continued dependence on agriculture. Despite the growth of
major industries and urban centers, White rural interests dominated the
state legislature until the 1960s, while urban interests and African
Americans were under-represented. African Americans and poor whites were
essentially disfranchised in 1901, a status that continued into the
1960s.
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| The Great Seal of the State of Alabama |
Following World War
II, Alabama experienced growth as the economy of the state transitioned
from one primarily based on agriculture to one with diversified
interests. The establishment or expansion of multiple United States
Armed Forces installations added to the state economy and helped bridge
the gap between an agricultural and industrial economy during the
mid-20th century. The state economy in the 21st century is dependent on
management, automotive, finance, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral
extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology.
Alabama is unofficially nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird. Alabama is also known as the "Heart of Dixie" and the Cotton State.
The state tree is the Long leaf Pine, and the state flower is the
Camellia. The capital of Alabama is Montgomery. The largest city by
population is Birmingham, and largest city by total land area is
Huntsville. The oldest city is Mobile, founded by French colonists.
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| The Alabama River |
Etymology:
The
European-American naming of the Alabama River and state originates from
the Alabama people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just
below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers on the upper
reaches of the river. In the Alabama language, the word for an Alabama
person is Albaamo (or variously Albaama or Albàamo in different
dialects; the plural form is Albaamaha).
The word
Alabama is believed to have come from the related Choctaw language and
was adopted by the Alabama tribe as their name. The spelling of the word
varies significantly among historical sources. The first usage appears
in three accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540 with
Garcilaso de la Vega using Alibamo, while the Knight of Elvas and
Rodrigo Ranjel wrote Alibamu and Limamu, respectively, in efforts to
transliterate the term. As early as 1702, the French called the tribe
the Alibamon, with French maps identifying the river as Rivière des
Alibamons. Other spellings of the appellation have included Alibamu,
Alabamo, Albama, Alebamon, Alibama, Alibamou, Alabamu, and Allibamou.
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| Alexander Beaufort Meek |
Sources disagree on
the meaning of the word. An 1842 article in the Jacksonville Republican
proposed that it meant "Here We Rest." This notion was popularized in
the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek. Experts in
the Muskogean languages have been unable to find any evidence to support
such a translation.
Scholars believe the word comes
from the Choctaw alba (meaning "plants" or "weeds") and amo (meaning "to
cut", "to trim", or "to gather"). The meaning may have been "clearers
of the thicket" or "herb gatherers", referring to clearing land for
cultivation or collecting medicinal plants. The state has numerous place
names of Native American origin.
History:
Pre-European Settlement
Indigenous
peoples of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years
before European colonization. Trade with the northeastern tribes via the
Ohio River began during the Burial Mound Period (1000 BC–AD 700) and
continued until European contact.
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| The Maundville Site was occupied by Mississippian Culture |
The agrarian
Mississippian culture covered most of the state from 1000 to 1600 AD,
with one of its major centers built at what is now the Moundville
Archaeological Site in Moundville, Alabama. Analysis of artifacts
recovered from archaeological excavations at Moundville were the basis
of scholars' formulating the characteristics of the Southeastern
Ceremonial Complex (SECC). Contrary to popular belief, the SECC appears
to have no direct links to Mesoamerican culture, but developed
independently. The Ceremonial Complex represents a major component of
the religion of the Mississippian peoples; it is one of the primary
means by which their religion is understood.
Among the
historical tribes of Native American people living in the area of
present-day Alabama at the time of European contact were the Cherokee,
an Iroquoian language people; and the Muskogean-speaking Alabama
(Alibamu), Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Koasati. While part of the
same large language family, the Muskogee tribes developed distinct
cultures and languages.
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| Hernando de Soto passed through Alabama in 1540 |
European Settlement
With
exploration in the 16th century, the Spanish were the first Europeans
to reach Alabama. The expedition of Hernando de Soto passed through
Mabila and other parts of the state in 1540. More than 160 years later,
the French founded the first European settlement in the region at Old
Mobile in 1702. The city was moved to the current site of Mobile in
1711. This area was claimed by the French from 1702 to 1763 as part of
La Louisiane.
After the French lost to the British in
the Seven Years' War, it became part of British West Florida from 1763
to 1783. After the United States victory in the American Revolutionary
War, the territory was divided between the United States and Spain. The
latter retained control of this western territory from 1783 until the
surrender of the Spanish garrison at Mobile to U.S. forces on April 13,
1813.
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| Alabama was known as Yazoo Land during British colonial era |
Thomas Bassett, a
loyalist to the British monarchy during the Revolutionary era, was one
of the earliest White settlers in the state outside Mobile. He settled
in the Tombigbee District during the early 1770s. The boundaries of the
district were roughly limited to the area within a few miles of the
Tombigbee River and included portions of what is today southern Clarke
County, northernmost Mobile County, and most of Washington County.
What
is now the counties of Baldwin and Mobile became part of Spanish West
Florida in 1783, part of the independent Republic of West Florida in
1810, and was finally added to the Mississippi Territory in 1812. Most
of what is now the northern two-thirds of Alabama was known as the Yazoo
lands beginning during the British colonial period. It was claimed by
the Province of Georgia from 1767 onwards. Following the Revolutionary
War, it remained a part of Georgia, although heavily disputed.
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| St. Stephens was capital from 1817-19 |
With the exception
of the immediate area around Mobile and the Yazoo lands, what is now the
lower one-third Alabama was made part of the Mississippi Territory when
it was organized in 1798.
The Yazoo lands were added
to the territory in 1804, following the Yazoo land scandal. Spain kept a
claim on its former Spanish West Florida territory in what would become
the coastal counties until the Adams–Onís Treaty officially ceded it to
the United States in 1819.
19th Century
Prior
to the admission of Mississippi as a state on December 10, 1817, the
more sparsely settled eastern half of the territory was separated and
named the Alabama Territory.
The Alabama Territory was
created by the United States Congress on March 3, 1817. St. Stephens,
now abandoned, served as the territorial capital from 1817 to 1819.
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| Cahaba was 1st permanent capital of Alabama |
The U.S. Congress
selected Huntsville as the site for the first Constitutional Convention
of Alabama after it was approved to become the 22nd state. From July 5
to August 2, 1819, delegates met to prepare the new state constitution.
Huntsville served as the temporary capital of Alabama from 1819 to 1820,
when the seat of state government was moved to Cahaba in Dallas County.
Cahaba,
now a ghost town, was the first permanent state capital from 1820 to
1825. Alabama Fever was already underway when the state was admitted to
the Union, with settlers and land speculators pouring into the state to
take advantage of fertile land suitable for cotton cultivation. Part of
the frontier in the 1820s and 1830s, its constitution provided for
universal suffrage for White men.
Southeastern planters
and traders from the Upper South brought slaves with them as the cotton
plantations in Alabama expanded. The economy of the central Black Belt
(named for its dark, productive soil) was built around large cotton
plantations whose owners' wealth grew largely from slave labor. The area
also drew many poor, disfranchised people who became subsistence
farmers. Alabama had a population estimated at fewer than 10,000 people
in 1810, but it had increased to more than 300,000 people by 1830. Most
Native American tribes were completely removed from the state within a
few years of the passage of the Indian Removal Act by Congress in 1830.
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| Tuscaloosa served as the capital of Alabama from 1926-46 |
From 1826 to 1846,
Tuscaloosa served as the capital of Alabama. On January 30, 1846, the
Alabama legislature announced that it had voted to move the capital city
from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery. The first legislative session in the new
capital met in December 1847. A new capitol building was erected under
the direction of Stephen Decatur Button of Philadelphia. The first
structure burned down in 1849, but was rebuilt on the same site in 1851.
This second capitol building in Montgomery remains to the present day.
It was designed by Barachias Holt of Exeter, Maine. By 1860, the
population had increased to a total of 964,201 people, of which nearly
half, 435,080 were enslaved African Americans, and 2,690 were free
people of color. On January 11, 1861, Alabama declared its secession
from the Union. After remaining an independent republic for a few days,
it joined the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy's capital
was initially located at Montgomery. Alabama was heavily involved in the
American Civil War. Although comparatively few battles were fought in
the state, Alabama contributed about 120,000 soldiers to the war
effort.A company of cavalry soldiers from Huntsville, Alabama joined
Nathan Bedford Forrest's battalion in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The
company wore new uniforms with yellow trim on the sleeves, collar and
coat tails. This led to them being greeted with "Yellowhammer", and the
name later was applied to all Alabama troops in the Confederate Army.
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| Benjamin Starling Turner |
Alabama's slaves
were freed by the 13th Amendment in 1865. Alabama was under military
rule from the end of the war in May 1865 until its official restoration
to the Union in 1868. From 1867 to 1874, with most White citizens barred
temporarily from voting, many African Americans emerged as political
leaders in the state. Alabama was represented in Congress during this
period by three African-American congressmen: Jeremiah Haralson,
Benjamin S. Turner, and James T. Rapier.
Following the
war, the state remained chiefly agricultural, with an economy tied to
cotton. During Reconstruction, state legislators ratified a new state
constitution in 1868 that created the state's first public school system
and expanded women's rights. Legislators funded numerous public road
and railroad projects, although these were plagued with allegations of
fraud and misappropriation. Organized insurgent, resistance groups tried
to suppress the freedmen and Republicans. Besides the short-lived
original Ku Klux Klan, these included the Pale Faces, Knights of the
White Camellia, Red Shirts, and the White League.
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| The developing skyline of Birmingham in 1915 |
Reconstruction in
Alabama ended in 1874, when the Democrats regained control of the
legislature and governor's office. They wrote another constitution in
1875, and the legislature passed the Blaine Amendment, prohibiting
public money from being used to finance religious-affiliated schools.
The same year, legislation was approved that called for racially
segregated schools. Railroad passenger cars were segregated in 1891.
Alabama passed more Jim Crow laws at the beginning of the 20th century
to further encourage segregation in everyday life.
20th Century
The
new 1901 Constitution of Alabama included electoral laws that
effectively disfranchised African Americans, Native Americans, and most
poor Whites through voting restrictions, including poll taxes and
literacy test requirements. While the planter class had persuaded poor
Whites to support these legislative efforts, the new restrictions
resulted in their disfranchisement as well, due mostly to the imposition
of a cumulative poll tax.
In 1900, Alabama had more
than 181,000 African Americans eligible to vote. By 1903, only 2,980
were qualified to register, although at least 74,000 African-American
voters were literate. By 1941, more White Alabamians than
African-American residents had been disfranchised: a total of 600,000
Whites to 520,000 African Americans. Nearly all African Americans had
lost the ability to vote, a situation that persisted until after passage
of federal civil rights legislation in the 1965 to enforce their
constitutional rights as citizens.
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| Tankersley Rosenwarld School in Hope Hull, Alabama |
The 1901
constitution reiterated that schools be racially segregated. It also
restated that interracial marriage was illegal, although such marriages
had been made illegal in 1867. Further racial segregation laws were
passed related to public facilities into the 1950s: jails were
segregated in 1911; hospitals in 1915; toilets, hotels, and restaurants
in 1928; and bus stop waiting rooms in 1945.
The
rural-dominated Alabama legislature consistently underfunded schools and
services for the disfranchised African Americans, but it did not
relieve them of paying taxes. Partially as a response to chronic
underfunding of education for African Americans in the South, the
Rosenwald Fund began funding the construction of what came to be known
as Rosenwald Schools. In Alabama these schools were designed and the
construction partially financed with Rosenwald funds, which paid
one-third of the construction costs. The local community and state
raised matching funds to pay the rest. Black residents effectively taxed
themselves twice, by raising additional monies to supply matching funds
for such schools, which were built in many rural areas.
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| Mount Sinai School, a Rosenwarld School listed on NRHP |
Beginning in 1913,
the first 80 Rosenwald Schools were built in Alabama for
African-American children. A total of 387 schools, seven teacher's
houses, and several vocational buildings had been completed in the state
by 1937. Several of the surviving school buildings in the state are now
listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Continued
racial discrimination, agricultural depression, and the failure of the
cotton crops due to boll weevil infestation led tens of thousands of
African Americans to seek opportunities in northern cities. They left
Alabama in the early 20th century as part of the Great Migration to
industrial jobs and better futures in northern and midwestern industrial
cities. Reflecting this emigration, the population growth rate in
Alabama (see "Historical Populations" table below) dropped by nearly
half from 1910 to 1920.
At the same time, many rural
people, both White and African American, moved to the city of Birmingham
to work in new industrial jobs. Birmingham experienced such rapid
growth that it was called "The Magic City". By the 1920s, Birmingham was
the 19th-largest city in the United States and had more than 30% of the
Alabama's population. Heavy industry and mining were the basis of its
economy. Its residents were under-represented for decades in the state
legislature, which refused to redistrict to recognize demographic
changes, such as urbanization.
Industrial development
related to the demands of World War II brought a level of prosperity to
the state not seen since before the Civil War. Rural workers poured into
the largest cities in the state for better jobs and a higher standard
of living. One example of this massive influx of workers can be shown by
what happened in Mobile. Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people
moved into the city to work for war effort industries. Cotton and other
cash crops faded in importance as the state developed a manufacturing
and service base.
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| Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama |
Despite massive
population changes in the state from 1901 to 1961, the rural-dominated
legislature refused to reapportion House and Senate seats based on
population. They held on to old representation to maintain political and
economic power in agricultural areas. In addition, the state
legislature gerrymandered the few Birmingham legislative seats to ensure
election by persons living outside Birmingham.
One
result was that Jefferson County, containing Birmingham's industrial and
economic powerhouse, contributed more than one-third of all tax revenue
to the state, but did not receive a proportional amount in services.
Urban interests were consistently underrepresented in the legislature. A
1960 study noted that because of rural domination, "a minority of about
25 per cent of the total state population is in majority control of the
Alabama legislature."
African Americans were presumed
partial to Republicans for historical reasons, but they were
disfranchised. White Alabamans felt bitter towards the Republican Party
in the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction. These factors
created a longstanding tradition that any candidate who wanted to be
viable with White voters had to run as a Democrat regardless of
political beliefs.
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| A March during the civil rights movement in Alabama |
Although efforts
had already started decades earlier, African Americans began to press to
end disfranchisement and segregation in the state during the 1950s and
1960s with the Civil Rights Movement. In 1954, the US Supreme Court
ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that public schools had to be
desegregated, but Alabama was slow to comply. The civil rights movement
raised national awareness of the issues, leading to the enactment of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 by the U.S.
Congress. During the 1960s, under Governor George Wallace, Alabama
attempted, but failed to resist compliance with federal demands for
desegregation.
During the Civil Rights Movement,
African Americans achieved enforcement of voting and other civil
constitutional rights through the passage of the national Civil Rights
Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Legal segregation ended
in the states as Jim Crow laws were invalidated or repealed.
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| A General Map of Alabama |
Under the Voting
Rights Act of 1965, cases were filed in Federal courts to force Alabama
to redistrict by population both the House and Senate of the state
legislature. In 1972, for the first time since 1901, the legislature
implemented the Alabama constitution's provision for periodic
redistricting based on population. This benefited the urban areas that
had developed, as well as all in the population who had been
underrepresented for more than 60 years.
Geography:
Alabama
is the thirtieth-largest state in the United States with 52,419 square
miles (135,760 km2) of total area: 3.2% of the area is water, making
Alabama 23rd in the amount of surface water, also giving it the
second-largest inland waterway system in the U.S. About three-fifths of
the land area is a gentle plain with a general descent towards the
Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The North Alabama region is
mostly mountainous, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley and
creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.
Alabama
is bordered by the states of Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the
east, Florida to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama has
coastline at the Gulf of Mexico, in the extreme southern edge of the
state. The state ranges in elevation from sea level at Mobile Bay to
over 1,800 feet (550 m) in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast.
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| Mount Cheaha is the highest natural point of Alabama |
The highest point
is Mount Cheaha, at a height of 2,413 ft (735 m). Alabama's land
consists of 22 million acres (89,000 km2) of forest or 67% of total land
area. Suburban Baldwin County, along the Gulf Coast, is the largest
county in the state in both land area and water area.
Areas
in Alabama administered by the National Park Service include Horseshoe
Bend National Military Park near Alexander City; Little River Canyon
National Preserve near Fort Payne; Russell Cave National Monument in
Bridgeport; Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee; and
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site near Tuskegee.
Additionally,
Alabama has four National Forests: Conecuh, Talladega, Tuskegee, and
William B. Bankhead. Alabama also contains the Natchez Trace Parkway,
the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail, and the Trail Of Tears
National Historic Trail. A notable natural wonder in Alabama is "Natural
Bridge" rock, the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies, located
just south of Haleyville.
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| The Baldwin County Courthouse in Bay Minette, Alabama |
A 5-mile (8
km)-wide meteorite impact crater is located in Elmore County, just north
of Montgomery. This is the Wetumpka crater, the site of "Alabama's
greatest natural disaster." A 1,000-foot (300 m)-wide meteorite hit the
area about 80 million years ago. The hills just east of downtown
Wetumpka showcase the eroded remains of the impact crater that was
blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka crater or
astrobleme ("star-wound") because of the concentric rings of fractures
and zones of shattered rock that can be found beneath the surface. In
2002, Christian Koeberl with the Institute of Geochemistry University of
Vienna published evidence and established the site as the 157th
recognized impact crater on Earth.
Climate:
The
state is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa) under the Koppen Climate
Classification. The average annual temperature is 64 °F (18 °C).
Temperatures tend to be warmer in the southern part of the state with
its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, while the northern parts of the
state, especially in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast, tend to
be slightly cooler. Generally, Alabama has very hot summers and mild
winters with copious precipitation throughout the year. Alabama receives
an average of 56 inches (1,400 mm) of rainfall annually and enjoys a
lengthy growing season of up to 300 days in the southern part of the
state.
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| Damage in Phil Campbell, Alabama during the 2011 tornado |
Summers in Alabama
are among the hottest in the U.S., with high temperatures averaging over
90 °F (32 °C) throughout the summer in some parts of the state. Alabama
is also prone to tropical storms and even hurricanes. Areas of the
state far away from the Gulf are not immune to the effects of the
storms, which often dump tremendous amounts of rain as they move inland
and weaken.
South Alabama reports many thunderstorms.
The Gulf Coast, around Mobile Bay, averages between 70 and 80 days per
year with thunder reported. This activity decreases somewhat further
north in the state, but even the far north of the state reports thunder
on about 60 days per year. Occasionally, thunderstorms are severe with
frequent lightning and large hail; the central and northern parts of the
state are most vulnerable to this type of storm. Alabama ranks ninth in
the number of deaths from lightning and tenth in the number of deaths
from lightning strikes per capita.
Alabama, along with
Oklahoma, has the most reported EF5 tornadoes of any state, according to
statistics from the National Climatic Data Center for the period
January 1, 1950, to June, 2013. Several long-tracked F5 tornadoes have
contributed to Alabama reporting more tornado fatalities than any other
state, even surpassing Texas which has a much larger area within Tornado
Alley. The state suffered tremendous damage in the Super Outbreak of
April 1974, and the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak. The outbreak in
April 2011 produced a record amount of tornadoes in the state. The tally
reached 62.
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| Snowfall at Birmingham City Hall, Alabama |
The peak season for
tornadoes varies from the northern to southern parts of the state.
Alabama is one of the few places in the world that has a secondary
tornado season in November and December, along with the spring severe
weather season. The northern part of the state—along the Tennessee
Valley—is one of the areas in the U.S. most vulnerable to violent
tornadoes. The area of Alabama and Mississippi most affected by
tornadoes is sometimes referred to as Dixie Alley, as distinct from the
Tornado Alley of the Southern Plains.
Winters are
generally mild in Alabama, as they are throughout most of the
southeastern U.S., with average January low temperatures around 40 °F (4
°C) in Mobile and around 32 °F (0 °C) in Birmingham. Although snow is a
rare event in much of Alabama, areas of the state north of Montgomery
may receive a dusting of snow a few times every winter, with an
occasional moderately heavy snowfall every few years. Historic snowfall
events include New Year's Eve 1963 snowstorm and the 1993 Storm of the
Century. The annual average snowfall for the Birmingham area is 2 inches
(51 mm) per year. In the southern Gulf coast, snowfall is less
frequent, sometimes going several years without any snowfall.
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| New Market witnessed the lowest temperature in Alabama |
Alabama's highest
temperature of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded on September 5, 1925 in the
unincorporated community of Centerville. The record low of −27 °F (−33
°C) occurred on January 30, 1966 in New Market.
Flora and Fauna
Alabama
is home to a diverse array of flora and fauna, due largely to a variety
of habitats that range from the Tennessee Valley, Appalachian Plateau,
and Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the north to the Piedmont,
Canebrake and Black Belt of the central region to the Gulf Coastal Plain
and beaches along the Gulf of Mexico in the south. The state is usually
ranked among the top in nation for its range of overall biodiversity.
Alabama
once boasted huge expanses of pine forest, which still form the largest
proportion of forests in the state. It currently ranks fifth in the
nation for the diversity of its flora. It is home to nearly 4,000
pteridophyte and spermatophyte plant species.
%2Bin%2Bthe%2BCahaba%2BRiver%2C%2Bwithin%2Bthe%2BCahaba%2BRiver%2BNational%2BWildlife%2BRefuge..jpg) |
| A Stand of Cahaba Lilies in the Cahaba River, Alabama |
Indigenous animal
species in the state include 62 mammal species, 93 reptile species, 73
amphibian species, roughly 307 native freshwater fish species, and 420
bird species that spend at least part of their year within the state.
Invertebrates include 83 crayfish species and 383 mollusk species. 113
of these mollusk species have never been collected outside the state.
Demographics:
The
United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Alabama
was 4,833,722 on July 1, 2013, which represents an increase of 53,986,
or 1.1%, since the 2010 Census. This includes a natural increase since
the last census of 121,054 people (that is 502,457 births minus 381,403
deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 104,991 people into the
state.
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| Chilton County courthouse- the mean center of Alabama |
Immigration from
outside the U.S. resulted in a net increase of 31,180 people, and
migration within the country produced a net gain of 73,811 people. The
state had 108,000 foreign-born (2.4% of the state population), of which
an estimated 22.2% were illegal immigrants (24,000).
The center of population of Alabama is located in Chilton County, outside the town of Jemison.
Race and Ancestry
According
to the 2010 Census, Alabama had a population of 4,779,736. The racial
composition of the state was 68.5% White (67.0% Non-Hispanic White
Alone), 26.2% Black or African American, 3.9% Hispanics or Latinos of
any race, 1.1% Asian, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 2.0% from Some Other Race,
and 1.5% from Two or More Races. In 2011, 46.6% of Alabama's population
younger than age 1 were minorities.
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| The Population Density in Alabama |
The largest
reported ancestry groups in Alabama are: African American (26.2%),
English (23.6%), Irish (7.7%), German (5.7%), and Scots-Irish (2.0%).
Those citing "American" ancestry in Alabama are generally of English or
British ancestry; many Anglo-Americans identify as having American
ancestry because their roots have been in North America for so long, in
some cases since the 1600s. Demographers estimate that a minimum of
20–23% of people in Alabama are of predominantly English ancestry and
that the figure is likely higher. In the 1980 census, 41% of the people
in Alabama identified as being of English ancestry, making them the
largest ethnic group at the time.
Based on historic
migration and settlement patterns in the southern colonies and states,
demographers estimated there are more people in Alabama of Scots-Irish
origins than self-reported. Many people in Alabama claim Irish ancestry
because of the term Scots-Irish but, based on historic immigration and
settlement, their ancestors were more likely Protestant Scots-Irish
coming from northern Ireland, where they had been for a few generations
as part of the English colonization. The Scots-Irish were the largest
non-English immigrant group from the British Isles before the American
Revolution, and many settled in the South, later moving into the Deep
South as it was developed.
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| Gallery of the Five Civilized Tribes |
In 1984, under the
Davis–Strong Act, the state legislature established the Alabama Indian
Affairs Commission. Native American groups within the state had
increasingly been demanding recognition as ethnic groups and seeking an
end to discrimination. Given the long history of slavery and associated
racial segregation, the Native American peoples, who have sometimes been
of mixed race, have insisted on having their cultural identification
respected. In the past, their self-identification was often overlooked
as the state tried to impose a binary breakdown of society into white
and black.
The state has officially recognized nine
American Indian tribes in the state, descended mostly from the Five
Civilized Tribes of the American Southeast. These are:
- Poarch Band of Creek Indians (who also have federal recognition),
- MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians,
- Star Clan of Muscogee Creeks,
- Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama,
- Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama,
- Cher-O-Creek Intra Tribal Indians,
- Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe,
- Piqua Shawnee Tribe, and
- Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation.
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| First Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama |
The state
government has promoted recognition of Native American contributions to
the state, including the designation in 2000 for Columbus Day to be
jointly celebrated as American Indian Heritage Day.
Religion
In
the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, 80% of Alabama
respondents reported their religion as Christian, 6% as Catholic, and
11% as having no religion. The composition of other traditions is 0.5%
Mormon, 0.5% Jewish, 0.5% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, and 0.5% Hindu.
Christianity
Alabama
is located in the middle of the Bible Belt, a region of numerous
Protestant Christians. Alabama has been identified as one of the most
religious states in the US, with about 58% of the population attending
church regularly. A majority of people in the state identify as
Evangelical Protestant. As of 2010, the three largest denominational
groups in Alabama are the Southern Baptist Convention, The United
Methodist Church, and non-denominational Evangelical Protestant.
 |
| Brairwood Presbyterian Church in Alabama |
In Alabama, the
Southern Baptist Convention has the highest number of adherents with
1,380,121; this is followed by the United Methodist Church with 327,734
adherents, non-denominational Evangelical Protestant with 220,938
adherents, and the Catholic Church with 150,647 adherents. Many Baptist
and Methodist congregations became established in the Great Awakening of
the early 19th century, when preachers proselytized across the South.
The Assemblies of God had almost 60,000 members, the Churches of Christ
had nearly 120,000 members. The Presbyterian churches, strongly
associated with Scots-Irish immigrants of the 18th century and their
descendants, had a combined membership around 75,000 (PCA-28,009 members
in 108 congregations, PC(USA)-26,247 members in 147 congregations, the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church-6,000 members in 59 congregations, the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America-5,000 members and 50
congreagtions plus the EPC and Associate Reformed Presbyterians with 230
members and 9 congregations).
 |
| Temple B'Nai Sholom Synagogue in Alabama |
In a 2007 survey,
nearly 70% of respondents could name all four of the Christian Gospels.
Of those who indicated a religious preference, 59% said they possessed a
"full understanding" of their faith and needed no further learning. In a
2007 poll, 92% of Alabamians reported having at least some confidence
in churches in the state.
Other Faiths
Although
in much smaller numbers, many other religious faiths are represented in
the state as well, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,
Sikhism, the Bahá'í Faith, and Unitarian Universalism.
Jews
have been present in what is now Alabama since 1763, during the
colonial era of Mobile, when Sephardic Jews emigrated from London. The
oldest Jewish congregation in the state is Congregation Sha'arai
Shomayim in Mobile. It was formally recognized by the state legislature
on January 25, 1844. Later immigrants in the nineteenth and twentieth
century tended to be Ashkenazy Jews from Eastern Europe. Jewish
denominations in the state include two Orthodox, four Conservative, ten
Reform, and one Humanistic synagogue.
 |
| BIS Hoover Crescent Islamic Center in Hoover, Alabama |
Muslims have been
increasing in Alabama, with 31 mosques built by 2011, many by
African-American converts. Islam was a traditional religion in West
Africa, from where many slaves were brought to the colonies and the
United States during the centuries of the slave trade.
Several
Hindu temples and cultural centers in the state have been founded by
Indian immigrants and their descendants, the most well-known being the
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Birmingham, the Hindu Temple and Cultural
Center of Birmingham in Pelham, the Hindu Cultural Center of North
Alabama in Capshaw, and the Hindu Mandir and Cultural Center in
Tuscaloosa.
There are six Dharma centers and
organizations for Theravada Buddhists. Most monastic Buddhist temples
are concentrated in southern Mobile County, near Bayou La Batre. This
area has attracted an influx of refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and South
Vietnam during the 1970s and thereafter. The four temples within a
ten-mile radius of Bayou La Batre, include Chua Chanh Giac, Wat
Buddharaksa, and Wat Lao Phoutthavihan.
 |
| Huntsville Hospital, Huntsville, Alabama |
Health:
A
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study in 2008 showed that
obesity in Alabama was a problem, with most counties having over 29% of
adults obese, except for ten which had a rate between 26% and 29%.
Residents of the state, along with those in five other states, were
least likely in the nation to be physically active during leisure time.
Alabama, and the southeastern U.S. in general, has one of the highest
incidences of adult onset diabetes in the country, exceeding 10% of
adults.
Economy:
The
state has invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and
various heavy industries, including automobile manufacturing, mineral
extraction, steel production and fabrication. By 2006, crop and animal
production in Alabama was valued at $1.5 billion. In contrast to the
primarily agricultural economy of the previous century, this was only
about 1% of the state's gross domestic product. The number of private
farms has declined at a steady rate since the 1960s, as land has been
sold to developers, timber companies, and large farming conglomerates.
 |
| Fishing provides a huge employment in Alabama |
Non-agricultural
employment in 2008 was 121,800 in management occupations; 71,750 in
business and financial operations; 36,790 in computer-related and
mathematical occupation; 44,200 in architecture and engineering; 12,410
in life, physical, and social sciences; 32,260 in community and social
services; 12,770 in legal occupations; 116,250 in education, training,
and library services; 27,840 in art, design and media occupations;
121,110 in healthcare; 44,750 in fire fighting, law enforcement, and
security; 154,040 in food preparation and serving; 76,650 in building
and grounds cleaning and maintenance; 53,230 in personal care and
services; 244,510 in sales; 338,760 in office and administration
support; 20,510 in farming, fishing, and forestry; 120,155 in
construction and mining, gas, and oil extraction; 106,280 in
installation, maintenance, and repair; 224,110 in production; and
167,160 in transportation and material moving.
According
to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2008 total gross state
product was $170 billion or $29,411 per capita. Alabama's 2012 GDP
increased 1.2% from the previous year. The single largest increase came
in the area of information. In 2010, per capita income for the state was
$22,984.
The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment
rate was 6.4% in February 2014. This compared to a nationwide seasonally
adjusted rate of 6.7%.
 |
| George Marshal Space Flight Center in Alabama |
Agriculture
Alabama's
agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs, cattle, fish, plant
nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains such as corn and sorghum,
vegetables, milk, soybeans, and peaches. Although known as "The Cotton
State", Alabama ranks between eighth and tenth in national cotton
production, according to various reports, with Texas, Georgia and
Mississippi comprising the top three.
Industry
Alabama's
industrial outputs include iron and steel products (including cast-iron
and steel pipe); paper, lumber, and wood products; mining (mostly
coal); plastic products; cars and trucks; and apparel. In addition,
Alabama produces aerospace and electronic products, mostly in the
Huntsville area, the location of NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight
Center and the U.S. Army Materiel Command, headquartered at Redstone
Arsenal.
 |
| Mercedes-Benz U.S International Plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
A great deal of
Alabama's economic growth since the 1990s has been due to the state's
expanding automotive manufacturing industry. Located in the state are
Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama,
Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing
Alabama, as well as their various suppliers. Since 1993, the automobile
industry has generated more than 67,800 new jobs in the state. Alabama
currently ranks 4th in the nation for vehicle exports.
Automakers
accounted for approximately a third of the industrial expansion in the
state in 2012. The eight models produced at the state's auto factories
totaled combined sales of 74,335 vehicles for 2012. The strongest model
sales during this period were the Hyundai Elantra compact car, the
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class sport utility vehicle and the Honda Ridgeline
sport utility truck.
 |
| Hyundai Motor Manufacturing in Montgomery, Alabama |
Steel producers
Outokumpu, Nucor, SSAB, ThyssenKrupp, and U.S. Steel have facilities in
Alabama and employ over 10,000 people. In May 2007, German steelmaker
ThyssenKrupp selected Calvert in Mobile County for a 4.65 billion
combined stainless and carbon steel processing facility. ThyssenKrupp's
stainless steel division, Inoxum, including the stainless portion of the
Calvert plant, was sold to Finnish stainless steel company Outokumpu in
2012. The remaining portion of the ThyssenKrupp plant had final bids
submitted by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel for $1.6 billion in March
2013. Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional submitted a combined bid for the
mill at Calvert, plus a majority stake in the ThyssenKrupp mill in
Brazil, for $3.8 billion. In July 2013, the plant was sold to
ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel.
The Hunt Refining
Company, a subsidiary of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., is based in Tuscaloosa
and operates a refinery there. The company also operates terminals in
Mobile, Melvin, and Moundville. JVC America, Inc. operates an optical
disc replication and packaging plant in Tuscaloosa.
 |
| Airbus Mobile Engineering Center in Mobile, Alabama |
Construction of an
Airbus A320 family aircraft assembly plant in Mobile was formally
announced by Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier from the Mobile Convention
Center on July 2, 2012. The plans include a $600 million factory at the
Brookley Aeroplex for the assembly of the A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.
Construction began in 2013, with plans for it to become operable by 2015
and produce up to 50 aircraft per year by 2017. The assembly plant is
the company's first factory to be built within the United States. It was
announced on February 1, 2013 that Airbus had hired Alabama-based Hoar
Construction to oversee construction of the facility.
Tourism
An
estimated 20 million tourists visit the state each year. Over 100,000
of these are from other countries, including from Canada, the United
Kingdom, Germany and Japan. In 2006, 22.3 million tourists spent $8.3
billion providing an estimated 162,000 jobs in the state.
 |
| UAB Hospital in Alabama |
Healthcare
UAB
Hospital is the only Level I trauma center in Alabama. UAB is the
largest state government employer in Alabama, with a workforce of about
18,000.
Banking
Alabama
has the headquarters of Regions Financial Corporation, BBVA Compass,
Superior Bancorp and the former Colonial Bancgroup. Birmingham-based
Compass Banchshares was acquired by Spanish-based BBVA in September
2007, although the headquarters of BBVA Compass remains in Birmingham.
In November 2006, Regions Financial completed its merger with AmSouth
Bancorporation, which was also headquartered in Birmingham. SouthTrust
Corporation, another large bank headquartered in Birmingham, was
acquired by Wachovia in 2004 for $14.3 billion.
 |
| Commercial District of Birmingham, Alabama |
The city still has
major operations for Wachovia and its now post-operating bank Wells
Fargo, which includes a regional headquarters, an operations center
campus and a $400 million data center. Nearly a dozen smaller banks are
also headquartered in the Birmingham, such as Superior Bancorp,
ServisFirst and New South Federal Savings Bank. Birmingham also serves
as the headquarters for several large investment management companies,
including Harbert Management Corporation.
Electronics
Telecommunications
provider AT&T, formerly BellSouth, has a major presence in Alabama
with several large offices in Birmingham. The company has over 6,000
employees and more than 1,200 contract employees.
Many
commercial technology companies are headquartered in Huntsville, such as
the network access company ADTRAN, computer graphics company
Intergraph, design and manufacturer of IT infrastructure Avocent, and
telecommunications provider Deltacom. Cinram manufactures and
distributes 20th Century Fox DVDs and Blu-ray Discs out of their
Huntsville plant.
 |
| The State Capitol Building in Montgomery, Alabama |
Construction
Rust
International has grown to include Brasfield & Gorrie, BE&K,
Hoar Construction and B.L. Harbert International, which all routinely
are included in the Engineering News-Record lists of top design,
international construction, and engineering firms. (Rust International
was acquired in 2000 by Washington Group International, which was in
turn acquired by San-Francisco based URS Corporation in 2007.)
Law and Government:
State Government
The
foundational document for Alabama's government is the Alabama
Constitution, which was ratified in 1901. At almost 800 amendments and
310,000 words, it is the world's longest constitution and is roughly
forty times the length of the U.S. Constitution. There has been a
significant movement to rewrite and modernize Alabama's constitution.
Critics
suggest that Alabama's constitution highly centralizes power in
Montgomery and leaves practically no power in local hands. Any policy
changes proposed around the state must be approved by the entire Alabama
legislature and, frequently, by state referendum. One criticism of the
current constitution claims that its complexity and length intentionally
codify segregation and racism.
 |
| The Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery |
Alabama's
government is divided into three equal branches: The legislative branch
is the Alabama Legislature, a bicameral assembly composed of the Alabama
House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama Senate,
with 35 members. The Legislature is responsible for writing, debating,
passing, or defeating state legislation. The Republican Party currently
holds a majority in both houses of the Legislature. The Legislature has
the power to override a gubernatorial veto by a simple majority (most
state Legislatures require a two-thirds majority to override a veto).
The
executive branch is responsible for the execution and oversight of
laws. It is headed by the Governor of Alabama. Other members of
executive branch include the cabinet, the Attorney General of Alabama,
the Alabama Secretary of State, the Alabama State Treasurer, and the
State Auditor of Alabama. The current governor of the state is
Republican Robert Bentley. The lieutenant governor is Republican Kay
Ivey.
The judicial branch is responsible for
interpreting the Constitution and applying the law in state criminal and
civil cases. The highest court is the Supreme Court of Alabama. The
Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is Republican Roy Moore. All
sitting justices on the Alabama Supreme Court are members of the
Republican Party.
 |
| General John Pope |
The members of the
Legislature take office immediately after the November elections. The
statewide officials, such as the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney
General, and other constitutional offices take office in the following
January.
Politics:
During
Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied
by federal troops of the Third Military District under General John
Pope. In 1874, the political coalition known as the Redeemers took
control of the state government from the Republicans, in part by
suppressing the African American vote.
After 1890, a
coalition of White politicians passed laws to segregate and
disenfranchise African American residents, a process completed in
provisions of the 1901 constitution. Provisions which disfranchised
African Americans also disfranchised poor Whites, however. By 1941 more
Whites than African Americans had been disfranchised: 600,000 to
520,000, although the impact was greater on the African-American
community, as almost all of its citizens were disfranchised and
relegated to separate and unequal treatment under the law.
 |
| George Wallace, Ex-Governor of Alabama |
From 1901 through
the 1960s, the state did not redraw election districts as population
grew and shifted within the state. The result was a rural minority that
dominated state politics until a series of court cases required
redistricting in 1972.
Alabama state politics gained
nationwide and international attention in the 1950s and 1960s during the
American Civil Rights Movement, when racist Whites bureaucratically,
and at times, violently resisted protests for electoral and social
reform. Democrat George Wallace, the state's only four-term governor,
was a controversial figure. Only with the passage of the Federal Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 did African Americans
regain suffrage, among other civil rights.
In 2007, the
Alabama Legislature passed, and Republican Governor Bob Riley signed a
resolution expressing "profound regret" over slavery and its lingering
impact. In a symbolic ceremony, the bill was signed in the Alabama State
Capitol, which housed Congress of the Confederate States of America.
 |
| Vestavia Hills High School in Birmingham, Alabama |
In 2010, Republicans won control of both houses of the legislature for the first time in 136 years.
Education:
Primary and Secondary Education
Public
primary and secondary education in Alabama is under the purview of the
Alabama State Board of Education as well as local oversight by 67 county
school boards and 60 city boards of education. Together, 1,496
individual schools provide education for 744,637 elementary and
secondary students.
Public school funding is
appropriated through the Alabama Legislature through the Education Trust
Fund. In FY 2006–2007, Alabama appropriated $3,775,163,578 for primary
and secondary education. That represented an increase of $444,736,387
over the previous fiscal year. In 2007, over 82 percent of schools made
adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward student proficiency under the
National No Child Left Behind law, using measures determined by the
state of Alabama.
 |
| Fraternity Row at the University of Alabama |
While Alabama's
public education system has improved in recent decades, it lags behind
in achievement compared to other states. According to U.S. Census data,
Alabama's high school graduation rate—75%—is the fourth lowest in the
U.S. (after Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi). The largest
educational gains were among people with some college education but
without degrees.
Colleges and Universities
Alabama's
programs of higher education include 14 four-year public universities,
two-year community colleges, and 17 private, undergraduate and graduate
universities. In the state are three medical schools (University of
Alabama School of Medicine, University of South Alabama and Alabama
College of Osteopathic Medicine), two veterinary colleges (Auburn
University and Tuskegee University), a dental school (University of
Alabama School of Dentistry), an optometry college (University of
Alabama at Birmingham), two pharmacy schools (Auburn University and
Samford University), and five law schools (University of Alabama School
of Law, Birmingham School of Law, Cumberland School of Law, Miles Law
School, and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law). Public,
post-secondary education in Alabama is overseen by the Alabama
Commission on Higher Education and the Alabama Department of
Postsecondary Education. Colleges and universities in Alabama offer
degree programs from two-year associate degrees to a multitude of
doctoral level programs.
 |
| William S. Samford Hall, Auburn University, Alabama |
The largest single
campus is the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, with 33,602
enrolled for fall 2012. Troy University was the largest institution in
the state in 2010, with an enrollment of 29,689 students across four
Alabama campuses (Troy, Dothan, Montgomery, and Phenix City), as well as
sixty learning sites in seventeen other states and eleven other
countries. The oldest institutions are the public University of North
Alabama in Florence and the Catholic Church-affiliated Spring Hill
College in Mobile, both founded in 1830.
Accreditation
of academic programs is through the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools (SACS) as well as other subject-focused national and
international accreditation agencies such as the Association for
Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), the Council on Occupational Education
(COE), and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
(ACICS).
According to the 2011 U.S. News & World
Report, Alabama had three universities ranked in the top 100 Public
Schools in America (University of Alabama at 31, Auburn University at
36, and University of Alabama at Birmingham at 73).
 |
| The Shelby Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville |
According to the
2012 U.S. News & World Report, Alabama had four tier 1 universities
(University of Alabama, Auburn University, University of Alabama at
Birmingham and University of Alabama in Huntsville).
Sports:
College
College
football is popular in Alabama, particularly the University of Alabama
and Auburn University. In the 2013 season, Alabama averaged over 100,000
fans per game and Auburn averaged over 80,000 fans, both numbers among
the top 20 in the nation in average attendance. Bryant-Denny Stadium
serves as the home of the University of Alabama football team. It has a
seating capacity of 101,821, and is the fifth largest stadium in
America. Jordan-Hare Stadium is the home field of the Auburn University
football team and has a seating capacity of 87,451.
 |
| Bryant-Denny Stadium- the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa |
Legion Field is
home for the UAB Blazers football program and the Papajohns.com Bowl. It
seats 80,601. Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile is the home of the
University of South Alabama football team, and serves as the home of the
NCAA Senior Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl, and Alabama-Mississippi All Star
Classic; the stadium seats 40,646. In 2009, Bryant-Denny Stadium and
Jordan-Hare Stadium became the homes of the Alabama High School Athletic
Association state football championship games, after previously being
held at Legion Field in Birmingham.
Professional
Alabama has several professional and semi-professional sports teams, including four minor league baseball teams.
The
Talladega Superspeedway motorsports complex hosts a series of NASCAR
events. It has a seating capacity of 143,000 and is the thirteenth
largest stadium in the world and sixth largest stadium in America.
 |
| Montgomery Regional Airport in Montgomery, Alabama |
Transportation:
Aviation
Major
airports with sustained commercial operations in Alabama include
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Huntsville
International Airport (HSV), Dothan Regional Airport (DHN), Mobile
Regional Airport (MOB), Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), and Muscle
Shoals – Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL).
Rail
For rail transport, Amtrak schedules the Crescent, a daily passenger
train, running from New York to New Orleans with stops at Anniston,
Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa.
%2Bapproaching%2BInterstate%2B65%2Bin%2Bdowntown%2BBirmingham..JPG) |
| I-20 and I-59 in Birmingham, Alabama |
Roads
Alabama
has five major interstate roads that cross the state: Interstate 65
(I-65) travels north–south roughly through the middle of the state;
I-20/I-59 travel from the central west Mississippi state line to
Birmingham, where I-59 continues to the north-east corner of the state
and I-20 continues east towards Atlanta; I-85 originates in Montgomery
and travels east-northeast to the Georgia state line, providing a main
thoroughfare to Atlanta; and I-10 traverses the southernmost portion of
the state, traveling from west to east through Mobile. Another
interstate, I-22, is currently under construction. When completed, it
will connect Birmingham with Memphis, Tennessee. In addition, there are
currently five auxiliary interstate routes in the state: I-165 in
Mobile, I-359 in Tuscaloosa, I-459 around Birmingham, I-565 in Decatur
and Huntsville, and I-759 in Gadsden. A sixth route, I-685, will be
formed when I-85 is rerouted along a new southern bypass of Montgomery. A
proposed northern bypass of Birmingham will be designated as I-422.
Since a direct connection from I-22 to I-422 will not be possible, I-222
has been proposed, as well.
 |
| Aerial view of the port of Mobile, Alabama |
Several U.S.
Highways also pass through the state, such as U.S. Route 11 (US-11),
US-29, US-31, US-43, US-45, US-72, US-78, US-80, US-82, US-84, US-90,
US-98, US-231, US-278, US-280, US-331, US-411, and US-431.
There
are four toll roads in the state: Montgomery Expressway in Montgomery;
Tuscaloosa Bypass in Tuscaloosa; Emerald Mountain Expressway in
Wetumpka; and Beach Express in Orange Beach.
Ports
The
Port of Mobile, Alabama's only saltwater port, is a large seaport on
the Gulf of Mexico with inland waterway access to the Midwest by way of
the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The Port of Mobile was ranked 12th by
tons of traffic in the United States during 2009. The newly expanded
container terminal at the Port of Mobile was ranked as the 25th busiest
for container traffic in the nation during 2011. The state's other ports
are on rivers with access to the Gulf of Mexico.
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