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Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states. Alabama’s capital is Montgomery<\/a>.<\/p>\n The largest city by population is Birmingham<\/a>, which has long been the most industrialized city. The oldest city is Mobile<\/a>, founded by French colonists in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana<\/a>.<\/p>\n From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many states in the southern U.S., suffered economic hardship, in part because of its continued dependence on agriculture. \u00a0Following World War II, Alabama grew as the state’s economy changed from one primarily based on agriculture to one with diversified interests. The state’s economy in the 21st century is based on management, automotive, finance, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology.<\/p>\n The European-American naming of the Alabama River<\/a> and state was derived from the Alabama people<\/a>, a Muskogean<\/a>-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of the Coosa<\/a> and Tallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the river.\u00a0 In the Alabama language, the word for a person of Alabama lineage is Albaamo.\u00a0 The first usage appears in three accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540.\u00a0 As early as 1702, the French called the tribe the Alibamon, with French maps identifying the river as Rivi\u00e8re des Alibamons.<\/p>\n Indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years before the advent of European colonization.<\/p>\n Trade with the northeastern tribes by the Ohio River began during the Burial Mound Period<\/a> (1000 BC\u2013AD 700) and continued until European contact.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> in Moundville<\/a>, Alabama.\u00a0 This is the second-largest complex of the classic Middle Mississippian era<\/a>, after Cahokia<\/a> in present-day Illinois, which was the center of the culture.<\/p>\n Among the historical tribes of Native American people living in present-day Alabama at the time of European contact were the Cherokee<\/a>, an Iroquoian language people<\/a>; and the Muskogean-speaking Alabama (Alibamu), Chickasaw<\/a>, Choctaw<\/a>, Creek<\/a>, and Koasati<\/a>.\u00a0 While part of the same large language family, the Muskogee tribes developed distinct cultures and languages.<\/p>\n With exploration in the 16th century, the Spanish were the first Europeans to reach Alabama. \u00a0The expedition of Hernando de Soto<\/a> passed through Mabila<\/a> and other parts of the state in 1540.\u00a0 More than 160 years later, the French founded the region’s first European settlement at Old Mobile in 1702.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n After the French lost to the British in the Seven Years’ Wa<\/a>r, it became part of British West Florida<\/a> from 1763 to 1783.<\/p>\n After the United States victory in the American Revolutionary War, the territory was divided between the United States and Spain. \u00a0The 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.<\/p>\n What are now the counties of Baldwin and Mobile became part of Spanish West Florida<\/a> in 1783, part of the independent Republic of West Florida<\/a> in 1810, and was finally added to the Mississippi Territory<\/a> in 1812.<\/p>\n Most of what is now the northern two-thirds of Alabama was known as the Yazoo lands<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n With the exception of the 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. \u00a0The Yazoo lands were added to the territory in 1804. \u00a0Spain kept a claim on its former Spanish West Florida territory in what would become the coastal counties until the Adams\u2013On\u00eds Treaty<\/a> officially ceded it to the United States in 1819.<\/p>\n Before Mississippi’s admission to statehood on December 10, 1817, the more sparsely settled eastern half of the territory was separated and named the Alabama Territory<\/a>. \u00a0The United States Congress created the Alabama Territory on March 3, 1817.<\/p>\n Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.<\/p>\n Alabama Fever was 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.\u00a0 Alabama had an estimated population of under 10,000 people in 1810, but it increased to more than 300,000 people by 1830.\u00a0 Most Native American tribes were completely removed from the state within a few years of the passage of the Indian Removal Act<\/a> by Congress in 1830.<\/p>\n On January 11, 1861, Alabama declared its secession from the Union. \u00a0After remaining an independent republic for a few days, it joined the Confederate States of America. \u00a0The Confederacy’s capital was initially at Montgomery.<\/p>\n Alabama was heavily involved in the American Civil War. \u00a0Although comparatively few battles were fought in the state, Alabama contributed about 120,000 soldiers to the war effort.<\/p>\n Following the war, the state remained chiefly agricultural, with an economy tied to cotton.<\/p>\n Reconstruction in Alabama ended in 1874, when the Democrats regained control of the legislature and governor’s office through an election dominated by fraud and violence. \u00a0In 1875 legislation was approved that called for racially segregated schools.\u00a0 Railroad passenger cars were segregated in 1891.\u00a0 After disfranchising most African Americans and many poor whites in the 1901 constitution, the Alabama legislature passed more Jim Crow<\/a> laws at the beginning of the 20th century to impose segregation in everyday life.<\/p>\n While the planter class had persuaded poor whites to vote for this legislative effort to suppress black voting, the new restrictions resulted in their disenfranchisement as well, due mostly to the imposition of a cumulative poll tax.\u00a0 By 1941, whites constituted a slight majority of those disenfranchised by these laws.\u00a0 Despite numerous legal challenges that succeeded in overturning certain provisions, the state legislature would create new ones to maintain disenfranchisement. The exclusion of blacks from the political system persisted until after passage of federal civil rights legislation in 1965 to enforce their constitutional rights as citizens.<\/p>\n Continued racial discrimination and lynching, agricultural depression, and the failure of the cotton crops due to boll weevil infestation led tens of thousands of African Americans from rural Alabama and other states to seek opportunities in northern and Midwestern cities during the early decades of the 20th century as part of the Great Migration out of the South<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the same time, many rural people migrated to the city of Birmingham to work in new industrial jobs. Birmingham experienced such rapid growth that it was called the “Magic City”.\u00a0 Heavy industry and mining were the basis of its economy.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 Rural workers poured into the largest cities in the state for better jobs and a higher standard of living.\u00a0 This economic trend continues into the 21st century.<\/p>\n Alabama is the thirtieth-largest state in the United States with 52,419 square miles of total area.\u00a0 About three-fifths of the land area is a gentle plain with a general descent towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. \u00a0The North Alabama region is mostly mountainous, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley and creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.<\/p>\n The state ranges in elevation from sea level at Mobile Bay to over 1,800 feet in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast.<\/p>\n The highest point is Mount Cheaha, at a height of 2,413 ft.<\/p>\n The state has invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries, including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication. \u00a0By 2006, crop and animal production in Alabama was valued at $1.5 billion. \u00a0In contrast to the primarily agricultural economy of the previous century, this was only about 1% of the state’s gross domestic product. \u00a0The 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.<\/p>\n The five employers that employed the most employees in Alabama in April 2011 were: Redstone Arsenal<\/a>, University of Alabama at Birmingham<\/a> (includes UAB Hospital), Maxwell Air Force Base<\/a>, State of Alabama<\/a>, and Mobile County Public School System.<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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. \u00a0In addition, Alabama produces aerospace and electronic products, mostly in the Huntsville area, the location of NASA’s George C. Marshall Space Flight Center<\/a> and the U.S. Army Materiel Command<\/a>, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal.<\/p>\n Mercedes-Benz U.S. International<\/a> in Tuscaloosa County<\/a> was the first automotive facility to locate within the state.<\/p>\n A great deal of Alabama’s economic growth since the 1990s has been due to the state’s expanding automotive manufacturing industry. \u00a0Located in the state are Honda Manufacturing of Alabama<\/a>, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama<\/a>, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama<\/a>, as well as their various suppliers. \u00a0Since 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.<\/p>\n Construction of an Airbus A320 family aircraft assembly plant in Mobile was formally announced by Airbus CEO Fabrice Br\u00e9gier from the Mobile Convention Center on July 2, 2012. The plans include a $600 million factory at the Brookley Aeroplex<\/a> for the assembly of the A319<\/a>, A320<\/a> and A321<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Alabama’s beaches are one of the state’s major tourist destinations.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 In 2006, 22.3 million travelers spent $8.3 billion providing an estimated 162,000 jobs in the state.\u00a0 Some of the most popular areas include the Rocket City of Huntsville<\/a>, the beaches along the Gulf, and the state’s capitol in Montgomery.<\/p>\n UAB Hospital is the only Level I trauma center in Alabama.\u00a0 UAB is the largest state government employer in Alabama, with a workforce of about 18,000.<\/p>\n Major airports with sustained commercial operations in Alabama include Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM)<\/a>, Huntsville International Airport (HSV)<\/a>, Dothan Regional Airport (DHN)<\/a>, Mobile Regional Airport (MOB)<\/a>, Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM)<\/a>, and Muscle Shoals \u2013 Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL)<\/a>.<\/p>\n For rail transport, Amtrak schedules the Crescent<\/a>, a daily passenger train, running from New York to New Orleans with station stops at Anniston, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa.<\/p>\n Alabama has six major interstate roads that cross the state: Interstate 65<\/a> (I-65) I-20<\/a>, I-59<\/a>, I-85<\/a>, I-10<\/a>, I-22<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Port of Mobile<\/a>, 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n The current flag of the state of Alabama, the second in Alabama state history, was adopted by Act 383 of the Alabama state legislature on February 16, 1895:<\/p>\n The flag of the State of Alabama shall be a crimson cross of St. Andrew<\/a> on a field of white. \u00a0The bars forming the cross shall be not less than six inches broad, and must extend diagonally across the flag from side to side.”<\/p>\n The cross of St. Andrew referred to in the law is a diagonal cross, known in vexillology<\/a> as a saltire<\/a>.<\/p>\n On January 11, 1861, the Alabama Secession Convention passed a resolution designating an official flag. Designed by several women from Montgomery, final touches were made by Francis Corra of that city.\u00a0 One side of the flag displayed the Goddess of Liberty holding an unsheathed sword in her right hand; in her left she held a small blue flag with one gold star. \u00a0Above the gold star appears the text “Alabama” in all capital letters. \u00a0In an arch above this figure were the words “Independent Now and Forever”.<\/p>\n The reverse side of the flag had a cotton plant with a coiled rattlesnake. \u00a0The text “Noli Me Tangere”, (“Touch Me Not” in Latin), was placed below the cotton plant.<\/p>\n This flag was flown until February 10, 1861, when it was removed to the Governor’s Office after it was damaged by severe weather. It was never flown again.<\/p>\n Alabama’s current flag was adopted in 1895. \u00a0The legislation was introduced by Representative John W. A. Sanford Jr.\u00a0 Sanford’s father, John W. A. Sanford, had commanded the 60th Alabama Infantry Regiment during the U.S. Civil War and he modeled his design on the battle flag used by that regiment.\u00a0 The design of that regimental flag was a white saltire over a blue field with a circle of white stars surrounding the crossing.<\/p>\n The saltire of Alabama’s flag most closely resembles the saltire of the flag of Florida, which has its heritage in the Spanish Cross of Burgundy.<\/p>\n Southern Alabama was originally part of Spanish Florida and subsequently West Florida.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/State-Capitol-Montgomery-300x174.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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Origins of the State Name:<\/h2>\n
History:<\/h2>\n
Pre-European Contact:<\/h3>\n
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European settlement:<\/h3>\n
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Early 19th Century:<\/h3>\n
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Civil War and Reconstruction:<\/h3>\n
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20th Century:<\/h3>\n
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Geography:<\/h3>\n
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Economy:<\/h2>\n
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Agriculture:<\/h3>\n
Industry:<\/h3>\n
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Tourism:<\/h3>\n
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Healthcare:<\/h3>\n
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Transportation:<\/h2>\n
Aviation:<\/h3>\n
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Rail:<\/h3>\n
Roads:<\/h3>\n
Ports:<\/h3>\n
Flag of Alabama:<\/h2>\n
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Origins of the State Nickname:<\/h2>\n
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