121-645: Northwest Georgia is a region of the state of Georgia in the United States. It includes 12 counties (listed in the section below), which at the 2010 census had a combined population of 753,032. Northwest Georgia includes some of the southernmost portions of the Appalachian Mountains , as opposed to Northeast Georgia , which holds the southernmost Blue Ridge , known locally as the North Georgia Mountains . Largest cities in
242-491: A poll tax and literacy test . The 1901 constitution required racial segregation of public schools. By 1903 only 2,980 African Americans were registered in Alabama, although at least 74,000 were literate . This compared to more than 181,000 African Americans eligible to vote in 1900. The numbers dropped even more in later decades. The state legislature passed additional racial segregation laws related to public facilities into
363-546: A primary language , while 7.82% (795,646) spoke Spanish, and 6.55% (666,849) spoke languages other than English or Spanish at home, with the most common of which were Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean. In total, 14.38% (1,462,495) of Georgia's population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English. According to the Pew Research Center , the composition of religious affiliation in Georgia
484-522: A AAA rating. If Georgia were a stand-alone country, it would be the 28th-largest economy in the world, based on data from 2005. Alabama Alabama ( / ˌ æ l ə ˈ b æ m ə / AL -ə- BAM -ə ) is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to
605-627: A British royal colony , making it the last and southernmost of the original Thirteen Colonies . Named in honor of King George II of Great Britain , the Georgia Colony extended from South Carolina down to Spanish Florida and westward to French Louisiana along the Mississippi River . On January 2, 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution . Between 1802 and 1804,
726-531: A coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, Georgia is also vulnerable to hurricanes , although direct hurricane strikes were rare during the 20th century. Georgia often is affected by hurricanes that strike the Florida Panhandle , weaken over land, and bring strong tropical storm winds and heavy rain to the interior, a recent example being Hurricane Michael , as well as hurricanes that come close to
847-708: A diversity of landscapes, flora, and fauna. The northern part of the state features the Blue Ridge Mountains , which are part of the broader Appalachian Mountain range. Moving south, the Piedmont plateau stretches from the foothills of the Blue Ridge to the Fall Line , an escarpment that marks the transition to the Coastal Plain in the southern region of the state. The highest elevation in
968-450: A few cash crops being the main driver of the state's economy. Similar to other former slave states, Alabamian legislators employed Jim Crow laws from the late 19th century up until the 1960s. High-profile events such as the Selma to Montgomery marches made the state a major focal point of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. During and after World War II , Alabama grew as
1089-672: A few days, it joined the Confederate States of America . The Confederacy's capital was initially 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
1210-649: A governor appointed by the king of Great Britain . The Province of Georgia was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence . The State of Georgia's first constitution was ratified in February 1777. Georgia was the 10th state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on July 24, 1778, and was
1331-517: A hideout of Jesse James ; Stephens Gap Cave, in Jackson County , which has a 143-foot pit and two waterfalls and is one of the most photographed wild cave scenes in America; Little River Canyon, near Fort Payne, one of the nation's longest mountaintop rivers; Rickwood Caverns , near Warrior , which has an underground pool, blind cave-fish, and 260-million-year-old limestone formations; and
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#17327824018921452-565: A lawsuit and court order. Beginning in the 1940s, when the courts started taking the first steps to recognize the voting rights of black voters, the Alabama legislature took several counter-steps designed to disfranchise black voters. The legislature passed, and the voters ratified [as these were mostly white voters], a state constitutional amendment that gave local registrars greater latitude to disqualify voter registration applicants. Black citizens in Mobile successfully challenged this amendment as
1573-835: A national leader in the civil rights movement . King joined with others to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Atlanta in 1957 to provide political leadership for the Civil Rights Movement across the South. The civil rights riots of the 1956 Sugar Bowl would also take place in Atlanta after a clash between Georgia Tech 's president Blake R. Van Leer and Governor Marvin Griffin . On February 5, 1958, during
1694-442: A population of more than 6.3 million people in 2023, is the sixth most populous metropolitan area in the United States and contains about 57% of Georgia's entire population. Other major metropolitan areas in the state include Augusta , Savannah , Columbus , and Macon . The Province of Georgia was established in 1732, with its first settlement occurring in 1733 when Savannah was founded. By 1752, Georgia had transitioned into
1815-592: A portion of western Georgia was carved out to create the Mississippi Territory , which eventually became the U.S. states of Alabama and Mississippi . Georgia declared its secession from the Union on January 19, 1861, joining the ranks of the original seven Confederate States . After the Civil War , it was the last state to be readmitted to the Union on July 15, 1870. In the late 19th century, during
1936-591: A significant minority in the state, they had been unable to elect any representatives in most of the at-large jurisdictions. As part of settlement of this case, five Alabama cities and counties, including Chilton County , adopted a system of cumulative voting for election of representatives in multi-seat jurisdictions. This has resulted in more proportional representation for voters. In another form of proportional representation, 23 jurisdictions use limited voting , as in Conecuh County . In 1982, limited voting
2057-582: A slight majority of those disenfranchised by these laws: 600,000 whites vs. 520,000 African Americans. Nearly all Blacks had lost the ability to vote. Despite numerous legal challenges which 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. The rural-dominated Alabama legislature consistently underfunded schools and services for
2178-531: A state-wide office. Julian Bond , a noted civil rights leader, was elected to the state House in 1965, and served multiple terms there and in the state senate. Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. testified before Congress in support of the Civil Rights Act, and Governor Carl Sanders worked with the Kennedy administration to ensure the state's compliance. Ralph McGill , editor and syndicated columnist at
2299-690: A training mission flown by a B-47 , a Mark 15 nuclear bomb , also known as the Tybee Bomb , was lost off the coast of Tybee Island near Savannah. The bomb was thought by the Department of Energy to lie buried in silt at the bottom of Wassaw Sound . By the 1960s, the proportion of African Americans in Georgia had declined to 28% of the state's population, after waves of migration to the North and some immigration by whites. With their voting power diminished, it took some years for African Americans to win
2420-404: A transportation hub, in 1991 UPS established its headquarters in the suburb of Sandy Springs . In 1992, construction finished on Bank of America Plaza , the tallest building in the U.S. outside of New York or Chicago. On February 19th, 2003, Georgia adopted its current state flag , resembling the state's first official flag. In 2024, it was announced that Atlanta would host multiple games during
2541-506: A variety of pines, oaks, hollies, cypress , sweetgum , scaly-bark and white hickories , and sabal palmetto . East Georgia is in the subtropical coniferous forest biome and conifer species as other broadleaf evergreen flora make up the majority of the southern and coastal regions. Yellow jasmine and mountain laurel make up just a few of the flowering shrubs in the state. White-tailed deer are found in nearly all counties of Georgia. The northern mockingbird and brown thrasher are among
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#17327824018922662-600: A violation of the Fifteenth Amendment . The legislature also changed the boundaries of Tuskegee to a 28-sided figure designed to fence out blacks from the city limits. The Supreme Court unanimously held that this racial " gerrymandering " violated the Constitution. In 1961, ... the Alabama legislature also intentionally diluted the effect of the black vote by instituting numbered place requirements for local elections. Industrial development related to
2783-463: Is Montgomery , and its largest city by population and area is Huntsville . Its oldest city is Mobile , founded by French colonists ( Alabama Creoles ) in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana . Greater Birmingham is Alabama's largest metropolitan area and its economic center. Politically, as part of the Deep South , or " Bible Belt ", Alabama is a predominantly conservative state, and
2904-495: Is 112 °F (44 °C) in Louisville on July 24, 1952, while the lowest is −17 °F (−27 °C) in northern Floyd County on January 27, 1940. Georgia is one of the leading states in frequency of tornadoes , though they are rarely stronger than EF1 . Although tornadoes striking the city are very rare, an EF2 tornado hit downtown Atlanta on March 14, 2008, causing moderate to severe damage to various buildings. With
3025-578: Is common in the U.S.; an estimated 26 states have names of Native American origin. Sources disagree on the word's meaning. Some scholars suggest 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 . An 1842 article in
3146-499: Is felt chiefly in the mountainous areas of the northern part of the state, which are farther away from the ocean and can be 4,500 feet (1,400 m) above sea level. The USDA plant hardiness zones for Georgia range from zone 6b (no colder than −5 °F (−21 °C)) in the Blue Ridge Mountains to zone 8b (no colder than 15 °F (−9 °C) ) along the Atlantic coast and Florida border. The highest temperature ever recorded
3267-649: Is known for its Southern culture . Within Alabama, American football , particularly at the college level, plays a major part of the state's culture. Originally home to many native tribes, present-day Alabama was a Spanish territory beginning in the sixteenth century until the French acquired it in the early eighteenth century. The British won the territory in 1763 until losing it in the American Revolutionary War . Spain held Mobile as part of Spanish West Florida until 1813. In December 1819, Alabama
3388-581: 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 more than 2,000 feet (610 m) in
3509-417: Is now named Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The busiest and most efficient airport in the world, it accommodates more than a hundred million passengers annually. Employing more than 60,000 people, the airport became a major engine for economic growth. With the advantages of cheap real estate, low taxes, right-to-work laws and a regulatory environment limiting government interference,
3630-462: Is today southern Clarke County , northernmost Mobile County , and most of Washington County . What are now Baldwin and Mobile counties became part of Spanish West Florida in 1783, part of the independent Republic of West Florida in 1810, and finally part of the Mississippi Territory in 1812. Most of what is now the northern two-thirds of Alabama was known as the Yazoo lands beginning during
3751-549: The Atlanta Constitution , earned admiration by writing in support of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1970, newly elected Governor Jimmy Carter declared in his inaugural address that the era of racial segregation had ended. In 1972, Georgians elected Andrew Young to Congress as the first African American Congressman since the Reconstruction era . In 1980, construction was completed on an expansion of what
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3872-421: The 1980 census , 1,584,303 people from Georgia claimed English ancestry out of a total state population of 3,994,817, making them 40% of the state, and the largest ethnic group at the time. Today, many of these same people claiming they are of "American" ancestry are actually of English descent, and some are of Scots-Irish descent; however, their families have lived in the state for so long, in many cases since
3993-773: The 2020 United States census . This was an increase of 1,024,255, or 10.57% over the 2010 figure of 9,687,653 residents. As of 2010 , the number of illegal immigrants living in Georgia more than doubled to 480,000 from January 2000 to January 2009, according to a federal report. That gave Georgia the greatest percentage increase among the 10 states with the biggest undocumented immigrant populations during those years. Georgia has banned sanctuary cities . In 2018, The top countries of origin for Georgia's immigrants were Mexico , India , Jamaica , Korea , and Guatemala . There were 743,000 veterans in 2009. According to HUD 's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report , there were an estimated 10,689 homeless people in Georgia. In
4114-692: The 2026 FIFA World Cup , which further substantiated the economic investment and growth in the city and state. Beginning from the Atlantic Ocean, the state's eastern border with South Carolina runs up the Savannah River , northwest to its origin at the confluence of the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers . It then continues up the Tugaloo (originally Tugalo) and into the Chattooga River , its most significant tributary . These bounds were decided in
4235-686: The Alabama River and state is derived 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 a person of Alabama lineage is Albaamo (or variously Albaama or Albàamo in different dialects; the plural form is Albaamaha ). The word's spelling varies significantly among historical sources. The first usage appears in three accounts of
4356-545: The American Civil War , were almost exclusively enslaved. The Great Migration of hundreds of thousands of blacks from the rural South to the industrial North from 1914 to 1970 reduced the African American population. Georgia had the second-fastest-growing Asian population growth in the U.S. from 1990 to 2000, more than doubling in size during the ten-year period. Indian people and Chinese people are
4477-990: The Apalachicola , the Chatot , the Yuchi , the Chiaha, the Chickasaw , the Okmulgee, the Shawnee and the Timucua . Today there are no federally recognized tribes in Georgia, but there are three state-recognized tribes. Many inhabitants of Georgia identify as being Native American alone (32,151 people in 2010 census and 50,618 in 2020) or Native American in combination with one or more other races (51,873 people in 2010 census and 163,423 in 2020). Many Georgians also reported belonging to various Native American tribes in 2010 census,
4598-629: 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. The new 1901 Constitution of Alabama included provisions for voter registration that effectively disenfranchised large portions of the population, including nearly all African Americans and Native Americans, and tens of thousands of poor European Americans, through making voter registration difficult, requiring
4719-579: The Chattahoochee River near West Point . It continues downriver to the point where it joins the Flint River (the confluence of the two forming Florida's Apalachicola River ); the southern border goes almost due east and very slightly south, in a straight line to the St. Mary's River , which then forms the remainder of the boundary back to the ocean. The water boundaries are still set to be
4840-578: The Chattanooga, Tennessee metropolitan area . Much of the region is included in Georgia's 14th congressional district and is represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene . The following 12 counties are part of Northwest Georgia. Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders Tennessee to the northwest, North Carolina to
4961-563: The Confederacy (with secessionists having a slight majority of delegates) and became a major theater of the Civil War . Major battles took place at Chickamauga , Kennesaw Mountain , and Atlanta . In December 1864, a large swath of the state from Atlanta to Savannah was destroyed during General William Tecumseh Sherman 's March to the Sea . 18,253 Georgian soldiers died in service, roughly one of every five who served. In 1870, following
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5082-615: The Eastern Continental Divide , has been Georgia's capital city since 1868. It is the most populous city in Georgia, with a 2020 U.S. census population of just over 498,000. The state has seventeen cities with populations over 50,000, based on official 2020 U.S. census data. Along with the rest of the Southeast, Georgia's population continues to grow rapidly, with primary gains concentrated in urban areas. The U.S. Census Bureau lists fourteen metropolitan areas in
5203-709: The Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540: Garcilaso de la Vega used Alibamo , while the Knight of Elvas and Rodrigo Ranjel wrote Alibamu and Limamu , respectively, in transliterations of 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 name have included Alibamu , Alabamo , Albama , Alebamon , Alibama , Alibamou , Alabamu , and Allibamou . The use of state names derived from Native American languages
5324-551: The Jacksonville Republican proposed 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 not found any evidence to support such a translation. Indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years before the advent of European colonization. Trade with the northeastern tribes by
5445-658: The Montgomery bus boycott (1955–1956), Freedom Rides in 1961, and 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. These contributed to Congressional passage and enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 by the U.S. Congress. Legal segregation ended in the states in 1964, but Jim Crow customs often continued until specifically challenged in court. According to The New York Times , by 2017, many of Alabama's African Americans were living in Alabama's cities such as Birmingham and Montgomery. Also,
5566-455: The Muskogee tribes developed distinct cultures and languages. The Spanish were the first Europeans to reach Alabama during their exploration of North America in the 16th century. 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 region's first European settlement at Old Mobile in 1702. The city
5687-751: The Natchez Trace Parkway , the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail , and the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail . Natural wonders include the "Natural Bridge" rock, the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies , just south of Haleyville ; Cathedral Caverns , in Marshall County , named for its cathedral-like appearance, which features one of the largest cave entrances and one of
5808-479: The North Georgia mountains , receives moderate to heavy precipitation, which varies from 45 inches (1,100 mm) in central Georgia to approximately 75 inches (1,900 mm) around the northeast part of the state. The degree to which the weather of a certain region of Georgia is subtropical depends on the latitude, its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico , and the elevation. The latter factor
5929-742: The Ohio River began during the Burial Mound Period (1000 BCE – 700 CE) and continued until European contact . The agrarian Mississippian culture covered most of the state from 1000 to 1600 CE, with one of its major centers built at what is now the Moundville Archaeological Site in Moundville, Alabama . This is the second-largest complex of the classic Middle Mississippian era, after Cahokia in present-day Illinois , which
6050-420: The Reconstruction era , Georgia became the last Confederate state to be restored to the Union . With white Democrats having regained power in the state legislature, they passed a poll tax in 1877, which disenfranchised many poor black (and some white) people, preventing them from registering. In 1908, the state established a white primary ; with the only competitive contests within the Democratic Party, it
6171-407: The Southern Baptist Convention with 1,759,317; the United Methodist Church with 619,394; and the Roman Catholic Church with 596,384. Non-denominational Evangelical Protestant had 566,782 members, the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) has 175,184 members, and the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. has 172,982 members. The Presbyterian Church (USA) is the largest Presbyterian body in
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#17327824018926292-628: The Tennessee River . Georgia consists of five principal physiographic regions : The Cumberland Plateau , Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , Blue Ridge Mountains , Piedmont , and the Atlantic coastal plain . Each region has its own distinctive characteristics. For instance, the region, which lies in the northwest corner of the state, includes limestone, sandstone, shale, and other sedimentary rocks, which have yielded construction-grade limestone, barite, ocher, and small amounts of coal. The state of Georgia has approximately 250 tree species and 58 protected plants. Georgia's native trees include red cedar ,
6413-536: 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 mainly from slave labor. The area also drew many poor, disenfranchised people who became subsistence farmers . Alabama had an estimated population of under 10,000 people in 1810, but it increased to more than 300,000 people by 1830. Most Native American tribes were completely removed from
6534-411: The Walls of Jericho canyon, on the Alabama–Tennessee border. 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
6655-407: The civil rights movement . Atlanta was chosen to host the 1996 Summer Olympics , celebrating the centennial of the modern Olympic Games . Since 1945, Georgia has experienced significant population and economic expansion, aligning with the larger Sun Belt trend. Between 2007 and 2008, 14 of Georgia's counties were listed among the 100 fastest-growing in the United States. Georgia is defined by
6776-803: The northeast , to Mount Cheaha at 2,413 ft (735 m). Alabama's land consists of 22 million acres (89,000 km ) of forest or 67% of the state's 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
6897-405: The "Magic City". By 1920, Birmingham was the 36th-largest city in the United States. 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 after each decennial census according to population changes, as it was required by the state constitution. This did not change until the late 1960s following
7018-571: The 160 bird species that live in the state. Reptiles include the eastern diamondback , copperhead , and cottonmouth snakes as well as alligators; amphibians include salamanders , frogs and toads . There are about 79 species of reptile and 63 amphibians known to live in Georgia. The Argentine black and white tegu is currently an invasive species in Georgia. It poses a problem to local wildlife by chasing down and killing many native species and dominating habitats. The most popular freshwater game fish are trout , bream , bass , and catfish , all but
7139-420: The 1797 Treaty of Beaufort , and tested in the U.S. Supreme Court in the two Georgia v. South Carolina cases in 1923 and 1989. The border then takes a sharp turn around the tip of Rabun County , at latitude 35°N , though from this point it diverges slightly south (due to inaccuracies in the original survey, conducted in 1818). This northern border was originally the Georgia and North Carolina border all
7260-502: The 18th century from rice-growing regions of West Africa led to the development of Gullah -Geechee language and culture in the Low Country among African Americans. They share a unique heritage in which many African traditions of food, religion and culture were retained. In the creolization of Southern culture, their foodways became an integral part of Low Country cooking. Sephardic Jews, French-speaking Swiss people, Moravians, Irish convicts, Piedmont Italians and Russian people immigrated to
7381-404: The 1950s: jails were segregated in 1911; hospitals in 1915; toilets, hotels, and restaurants in 1928; and bus stop waiting rooms in 1945. 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. By 1941, whites constituted
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#17327824018927502-410: The 4th state to ratify the United States Constitution on January 2, 1788. After the Creek War (1813–1814) , General Andrew Jackson forced the Muscogee (Creek) tribes to surrender land to the state of Georgia, including in the Treaty of Fort Jackson (1814) , surrendering 21 million acres in what is now southern Georgia and central Alabama, and the Treaty of Indian Springs (1825) . In 1829, gold
7623-433: The Alabama Territory on March 3, 1817. St. Stephens , now abandoned, served as the territorial capital from 1817 to 1819. Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819, with Congress selecting Huntsville as the site for the first Constitutional Convention . From July 5 to August 2, 1819, delegates met to prepare the new state constitution. Huntsville served as temporary capital from 1819 to 1820, when
7744-449: The Alabama legislature." In the United States Supreme Court cases of Baker v. Carr (1962) and Reynolds v. Sims (1964), the court ruled that the principle of " one man, one vote " needed to be the basis of both houses of state legislatures, and that their districts had to be based on population rather than geographic counties. African Americans continued to press in the 1950s and 1960s to end disenfranchisement and segregation in
7865-426: The Atlanta metropolitan area became a national center of finance, insurance, technology, manufacturing, real estate, logistics, and transportation companies, as well as the film, convention, and trade show businesses. As a testament to the city's growing international profile, in 1990 the International Olympic Committee selected Atlanta as the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics . Taking advantage of Atlanta's status as
7986-583: The Black Belt region across central Alabama "is home to largely poor counties that are predominantly African-American. These counties include Dallas, Lowndes , Marengo and Perry ." In 1972, for the first time since 1901, the legislature completed the congressional redistricting based on the decennial census. This benefited the urban areas that had developed, as well as all in the population who had been underrepresented for more than sixty years. Other changes were made to implement representative state house and senate districts. Alabama has made some changes since
8107-399: 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. With the exception of the area around Mobile and the Yazoo lands, what is now the lower one-third of Alabama was made part of the Mississippi Territory when it was organized in 1798. The Yazoo lands were added to
8228-492: The Georgia coastline, brushing the coast on their way north without ever making landfall. Hurricane Matthew of 2016 and Hurricane Dorian of 2019 did just that. Due to anthropogenic climate change , the climate of Georgia is warming. This is already causing major disruption, for example, from sea level rise (Georgia is more vulnerable to it than many other states because its land is sinking) and further warming will increase it. Atlanta , located in north-central Georgia at
8349-411: 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 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,
8470-465: The Supreme Court's ruling in Worcester v. Georgia (1832) that U.S. states were not permitted to redraw Indian boundaries, President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the ruling. In 1838, his successor, Martin Van Buren , dispatched federal troops to gather the tribes and deport them west of the Mississippi . This forced relocation, known as the Trail of Tears , led to the death of more than four thousand Cherokees. In early 1861, Georgia joined
8591-429: The United States with 52,419 square miles (135,760 km ) 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 United States. About three-fifths of the land area is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain , a gentle plain with a general descent towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The North Alabama region
8712-615: The United States, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta , located in the suburb city of Lilburn . Georgia is home to large Sikh religion population with 4 gurudwaras (Sikh religious worship places). Georgia is home to several historic synagogues including The Temple (Atlanta) , Congregation Beth Jacob (Atlanta) , and Congregation Mickve Israel (Savannah) . Chabad and the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute are also active in
8833-619: The area, such as Georgia and Florida. In 2001, Alabama Supreme Court chief justice Roy Moore installed a statue of the Ten Commandments in the capitol in Montgomery. In 2002, the 11th US Circuit Court ordered the statue removed, but Moore refused to follow the court order, which led to protests around the capitol in favor of keeping the monument. The monument was removed in August 2003. A few natural disasters have occurred in
8954-423: The colonial period, that they choose to identify simply as having "American" ancestry or do not in fact know their own ancestry. Their ancestry primarily goes back to the original thirteen colonies and for this reason many of them today simply claim "American" ancestry, though they are of predominantly English ancestry. Historically, about half of Georgia's population was composed of African Americans who, before
9075-622: The colony's settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan , which envisioned an agrarian society of yeoman farmers and prohibited slavery. The colony was invaded by the Spanish in 1742, during the War of Jenkins' Ear . In 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown . Georgia became a crown colony , with
9196-530: The construction costs. The fund required the local community and state to raise 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. They often donated land and labor as well. Beginning in 1913, the first 80 Rosenwald Schools were built in Alabama for African American children. A total of 387 schools, seven teachers' houses, and several vocational buildings were completed by 1937 in
9317-438: 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 occurred in Mobile. Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people moved into the city to work for war-related industries. Cotton and other cash crops faded in importance as
9438-472: The disenfranchised 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
9559-466: The early decades of the 20th century as part of the Great Migration out of the South. 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 migrated to the city of Birmingham to work in new industrial jobs. Birmingham experienced such rapid growth it was called
9680-641: The freedmen and Republicans. These groups included The Ku Klux Klan , the Pale Faces, Knights of the White Camellia , Red Shirts , and the White League . 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. They wrote another constitution in 1875, and the legislature passed
9801-400: The largest Asian groups in Georgia. In addition, according to census estimates, Georgia ranks third among the states in terms of the percent of the total population that is African American (after Mississippi and Louisiana ) and third in numeric Black population after New York and Florida. Georgia also has a sizeable Latino population. Many are of Mexican descent. Georgia is the state with
9922-636: The largest of which was the Cherokee (21,525 people). Other tribes reported in Georgia in 2010 included for example the Muscogee (2,370 people), the Choctaw (1,419), the Sioux (1,027), the Seminole (664) and more. Georgia's 2018 total gross state product was $ 602 billion. For years Georgia as a state has had the highest credit rating by Standard & Poor's (AAA) and is one of only 15 states with
10043-570: The largest stalagmites in the world; Ecor Rouge, in Fairhope , the highest coastline point between Maine and Mexico; DeSoto Caverns , in Childersburg , the first officially recorded cave in the United States; Noccalula Falls , in Gadsden , which has a 90-foot waterfall; Dismals Canyon , near Phil Campbell , which is home to two waterfalls and six natural bridges and is said to have been
10164-441: The last of which are produced in state hatcheries for restocking. Popular saltwater game fish include red drum , spotted seatrout , flounder , and tarpon . Porpoises , whales, shrimp , oysters , and blue crabs are found inshore and offshore of the Georgia coast. The majority of the state is primarily a humid subtropical climate . Hot and humid summers are typical, except at the highest elevations. The entire state, including
10285-430: The late 20th century and has used new types of voting to increase representation. In the 1980s, an omnibus redistricting case, Dillard v. Crenshaw County , challenged the at-large voting for representative seats of 180 Alabama jurisdictions, including counties and school boards. At-large voting had diluted the votes of any minority in a county, as the majority tended to take all seats. Despite African Americans making up
10406-495: The north, South Carolina to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Of the 50 United States , Georgia is the 24th-largest by area and eighth most populous . According to the U.S. Census Bureau , its 2023 estimated population was 11,029,227. Atlanta , a global city , is both the state's capital and its largest city. The Atlanta metropolitan area , with
10527-548: The original thalweg of the rivers. Since then, several have been inundated by lakes created by dams, including the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint point now under Lake Seminole . An 1818 survey erroneously placed Georgia's border with Tennessee one mile (1.6 km) south of the intended location of the 35th parallel north. State legislators still dispute this placement , as correction of this inaccuracy would allow Georgia access to water from
10648-476: The post- Reconstruction period, Georgia's economy underwent significant changes, driven by a coalition of influential politicians, business leaders, and journalists, notably Henry W. Grady , who promoted the " New South " ideology focused on reconciliation and industrialization . In the mid-20th century, several notable figures from Georgia, including Martin Luther King Jr. , emerged as key leaders in
10769-414: The region: Rome (pop. 37,687), Dalton (pop. 34,404), Cartersville (pop. 23,241), Calhoun (pop. 17,038), Dallas (pop. 14,139), Fort Oglethorpe (pop. 10,351), Cedartown (pop. 10,192), Bremen (pop. 7,234), LaFayette (pop. 6,933). Bartow, Floyd, Haralson, Paulding, and Polk Counties are located on the outer northern fringe of the Atlanta metropolitan area , while the other counties are part of
10890-576: The seat of government moved to Cahaba in Dallas County . Cahaba , now a ghost town , was the first permanent state capital from 1820 to 1825. The Alabama Fever land rush 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. Part of the frontier in the 1820s and 1830s, its constitution provided for universal suffrage for white men. Southeastern planters and traders from
11011-503: The second-highest total of these extralegal executions of any state in the South. The overwhelming number of victims were black and male. Political disfranchisement persisted through the mid-1960s, until after Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . An Atlanta-born Baptist minister who was part of the educated middle class that had developed in Atlanta's African-American community, Martin Luther King Jr. , emerged as
11132-621: The sleeves, collar and coattails. This led to them being greeted with "Yellowhammer", and the name later was applied to all Alabama troops in the Confederate Army. 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 and freedmen enfranchised, many African Americans emerged as political leaders in
11253-414: The state developed a manufacturing and service base. 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, as required by the state constitution to follow the results of decennial censuses. They held on to old representation to maintain political and economic power in agricultural areas. One result
11374-489: The state during the colonial era. As of 2011 , 58.8% of Georgia's population younger than 1 were minorities (meaning they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white) compared to other states like California with 75.1%, Texas with 69.8%, and New York with 55.6%. The largest European ancestry groups as of 2011 were: English 8.1%, Irish 8.1%, and German 7.2%. As of 2021 , 85.62% (8,711,102) of Georgia residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as
11495-458: The state in the twenty-first century. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan , a category 3 storm upon landfall, struck the state and caused over $ 18 billion of damage. It was among the most destructive storms to strike the state in its modern history. A super outbreak of 62 tornadoes hit the state in April 2011 and killed 238 people, devastating many communities. Alabama is the thirtieth-largest state in
11616-489: The state is Brasstown Bald , reaching 4,784 feet (1,458 m) above sea level, while the lowest point is at the Atlantic Ocean . Except for some elevated areas in the Blue Ridge, Georgia predominantly experiences a humid subtropical climate . Among the states located entirely east of the Mississippi River, Georgia ranks as the largest in terms of land area . Before settlement by European colonists , Georgia
11737-461: The state through the civil rights movement, including legal challenges. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that public schools had to be desegregated , but Alabama was slow to comply. During the 1960s, under Governor George Wallace , Alabama resisted compliance with federal demands for desegregation. The civil rights movement had notable events in Alabama, including
11858-623: The state within a few years of the passage of the Indian Removal Act by Congress in 1830. From 1826 to 1846, Tuscaloosa served as Alabama's capital. On January 30, 1846, the Alabama legislature announced 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
11979-468: The state's economy diversified with new industries. In 1960, the establishment of NASA 's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville helped boost Alabama's economic growth by developing a local aerospace industry. Alabama's economy in the 21st century is based on automotive, finance, tourism, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology. The name of
12100-521: The state, particularly Huntsville, benefited from the opening of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in 1960, a major facility in the development of the Saturn rocket program and the space shuttle. Technology and manufacturing industries, such as automobile assembly, replaced some the state's older industries in the late twentieth century, but the state's economy and growth lagged behind other states in
12221-540: The state, with 300 congregations and 100,000 members. The other large body, Presbyterian Church in America , had at its founding date 14 congregations and 2,800 members; in 2010 it counted 139 congregations and 32,000 members. The Roman Catholic Church is noteworthy in Georgia's urban areas, and includes the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Savannah . Georgia is home to the second-largest Hindu temple in
12342-423: The state. By the 2022 Public Religion Research Institute 's study, 71% of the population were Christian; throughout its Christian population, 60% were Protestant and 8% were Catholic. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons collectively made up 3% of other Christians according to the study. Judaism , Islam , Buddhism , and Hinduism collectively formed 4% of the state's non-Christian population; New Age spirituality
12463-689: 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 which 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
12584-484: The state. Several of the surviving school buildings in the state are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Continued racial discrimination and lynchings , 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
12705-561: The state. The population of the Atlanta metropolitan area added 1.23 million people (24%) between 2000 and 2010, and Atlanta rose in rank from the eleventh-largest metropolitan area in the United States to the ninth-largest . The Atlanta metropolitan area is the cultural and economic center of the Southeast ; its official population in 2020 was over 6 million, or 57% of Georgia's total population. The United States Census Bureau reported Georgia's official population to be 10,711,908 as of
12826-684: The surrender of the Spanish garrison at Mobile to U.S. forces on April 13, 1813. 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 district's boundaries were roughly limited to the area within a few miles of the Tombigbee River and included portions of what
12947-576: 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 U.S. in 1819. 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 . The United States Congress created
13068-462: The third-lowest percentage of older people (65 or older), at 12.8 percent (as of 2015 ). The colonial settlement of large numbers of Scottish American , English American and Scotch-Irish Americans in the mountains and Piedmont, and coastal settlement by some English Americans and African Americans, have strongly influenced the state's culture in food, language and music. The concentration of African slaves repeatedly "imported" to coastal areas in
13189-470: The way to the Mississippi River , until Tennessee was divided from North Carolina , and the Yazoo companies induced the legislature of Georgia to pass an act, approved by the governor in 1795, to sell the greater part of Georgia's territory presently comprising Alabama and Mississippi . The state's western border runs in a straight line south-southeastward from a point southwest of Chattanooga , to meet
13310-495: The west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the 50 U.S. states . Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State , after the state bird . Alabama is also known as the "Heart of Dixie " and the "Cotton State". The state has diverse geography, with the north dominated by the mountainous Tennessee Valley and the south by Mobile Bay , a historically significant port. Alabama's capital
13431-819: Was 2% of the religious population. Approximately 23% of the state was irreligious . Population percentage of Georgia in the United States 2010: 3.14% 2020: 3.23% Tribes which historically lived in what is now Georgia include the Muscogee (including the Hitchiti subgroup), the Cherokee , the Oconi , the Guale , the Yamasee and the Apalachee . Other tribes which at various times lived in or migrated through Georgia include
13552-533: Was 70% Protestant, 9% Catholic, 1% Mormon, 1% Jewish, 0.5% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, and 0.5% Hindu. Atheists , deists , agnostics, and other unaffiliated people make up 13% of the population. Overall, Christianity was the dominant religion in the state, as part of the Bible Belt . According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2010, the largest Christian denominations by number of adherents were
13673-497: Was another way to exclude black people from politics. They constituted 46.7% of the state's population in 1900, but the proportion of Georgia's population that was African American dropped thereafter to 28%, primarily due to tens of thousands leaving the state during the Great Migration . According to the Equal Justice Initiative 's 2015 report on lynching in the United States (1877–1950), Georgia had 531 deaths,
13794-695: Was discovered in the North Georgia mountains leading to the Georgia Gold Rush and establishment of a federal mint in Dahlonega , which continued in operation until 1861. The resulting influx of American settlers put pressure on the federal U.S. government to take land from the Cherokee Nation . In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act , sending many eastern Indian nations to reservations in present-day Oklahoma, including all of Georgia's tribes. Despite
13915-535: Was first tested in Conecuh County. Together use of these systems has increased the number of African Americans and women being elected to local offices, resulting in governments that are more representative of their citizens. Beginning in the 1960s, the state's economy shifted away from its traditional lumber, steel, and textile industries because of increased foreign competition. Steel jobs, for instance, declined from 46,314 in 1950 to 14,185 in 2011. However,
14036-581: Was inhabited by the mound building cultures. The Province of Georgia was founded by British General James Oglethorpe at Savannah on February 12, 1733, a year after its creation as a new British colony. It was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by (and named for) King George II . The Trustees implemented an elaborate plan for
14157-563: 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 U.S. 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
14278-494: 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 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
14399-448: Was recognized as a state. During the antebellum period, Alabama was a major producer of cotton , and widely used African American slave labor . In 1861, the state seceded from the United States to become part of the Confederate States of America , with Montgomery acting as its first capital, and rejoined the Union in 1868. Following the American Civil War , Alabama would suffer decades of economic hardship, in part due to agriculture and
14520-413: 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% of the total state population is in majority control of
14641-544: Was the center of the culture. Analysis of artifacts 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
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