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94-529: Nashville is located in the northwestern portion of the Central Basin. The basin extends for approximately forty-five to sixty miles to the east of Nashville and about eighty miles to the south, near the Tennessee– Alabama state line. Travelers leaving Nashville in a northerly or easterly direction will soon begin the climb up the escarpment that marks the bordering geographic / geologic province ,

188-713: A Louisiana French group native to the region around Mobile, Alabama . They are the descendants of colonial French and Spanish settlers who arrived in Mobile in the 18th century. They are sometimes known as Cajans or Cajuns ( French : Cadjins ) although they are distinct from the Cajuns of southern Louisiana , and most do not trace their roots to the French settlers of Acadia . Adventurers led by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville moved from Fort Maurepas in Biloxi , Mississippi to

282-491: 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

376-715: A company of Creoles in Confederate service, the Native Guards, formed from a Creole firefighting battalion. After Federal forces defeated the Confederates in Mobile, the Creole Native Guards disappeared from service. The Civil War completely destroyed Mobile as it once was. Prior to the Civil War, Mobile was Alabama's most vital urban area, and it was the undisputed economic and social center of

470-578: A corruption of Acadian , matching the Cajuns of Louisiana. Creoles at this time used the term Cajun/Cajan ( French : Cadjin [ka.dʒɛ̃] ) interchangeably with the social designation petit habitant (Creole peasant), and the Cajans of Alabama adopted the Cajan name to distinguish themselves from the urban Creoles of Mobile. Alabama Cajans inhabited a region called the Cajan Country , which

564-672: 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

658-517: 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

752-512: 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

846-470: A mainstay of life in the city. Gradually Mobile evolved into the third most important port city in the American Union behind New York City and New Orleans, Louisiana . In 1844, a Northern visitor described the diversity and beauty of Mobile: "Clerks of all shapes and sizes, white and red haired men, staid thinking men and brainless flops. Here goes a staid, demeure-faced priest and behind him

940-760: A mixed group of approximately 400 civilians which included merchants, laborers, fur traders, artisans, and slaves. This mixed diverse group and its descendants are called Creoles. In 1763, after the French and Indian War where France relinquished all of its continental colonial territory to Britain and ceded half of Louisiana to Spain, Britain merged the Southern Louisiana territories into British West Florida . Some Creoles of New Orleans at this time moved to Mobile, as they preferred British to Spanish rule. Life changed very little for Alabama Creoles under British rule. The fur trade continued and British adopted

1034-564: A serious challenge. Anglo-American Southerners generally defended slavery as a positive institution for the benefit of the slaves. The large Creole community in Mobile posed serious practical and ideological problems for the proponents of slavery. How could slavery be a positive good for both whites and blacks when the Creole population not only existed, but prospered? Creoles maintained their own schools, churches, fire companies, and social institutions; urban slaves had access to money, as well as

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1128-591: 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

1222-437: A similar but smaller area surrounding Lexington , Kentucky referred to as the " Kentucky Bluegrass " area, are the two primary areas of this sort in the world. The Inner Basin of the flattest terrain and most limestone-derived soil chemistry is located to the south and east of Nashville, primarily in the counties of Marshall , Rutherford , Wilson , and Bedford . Here also are seen the horse farms somewhat reminiscent of

1316-582: 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

1410-600: 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

1504-781: A wooded bluff on the west bank of the Mobile River in early 1702, where they founded Mobile , which they named after the Maubilian Indians. The outpost was populated by French soldiers, French-Canadian trappers and fur traders, and a few merchants and artisans accompanied by their families. The French had easy access to the Indian fur trade, and furs were the primary economic resource of Mobile. Along with fur, some settlers also raised cattle as well as produced ships' timbers and naval stores. Indian nations gathered annually at Mobile to be wined, dined, and showered with presents by

1598-449: Is a dashing gambler   ... Here is a sailor just on shore with a pocket full of rocks ready for devilment of any kind and there is a beggar in rags. Pretty Creoles, pale-faced sewing girls, painted vice, big-headed and little-headed men, tall anatomies and short Falstaffs   ... a great country this is and make no mistake." Mobile contained approximately 40% of all of Alabama's free black population. Mobile's free people of color were

1692-438: Is a predominantly conservative state, and 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

1786-578: 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

1880-581: 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

1974-534: 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

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2068-686: 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

2162-577: The American Revolutionary War . Spain held Mobile as part of Spanish West Florida until 1813. In December 1819, Alabama 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

2256-629: 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

2350-709: 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

2444-748: The Highland Rim and further eastwards, the Cumberland Plateau . The southern edge of the Highland Rim is more distant and somewhat less pronounced. The only downhill routes leaving the area follow the course of the Cumberland River as it flows northwest toward Ashland City and Clarksville, Tennessee . The Central Basin is underlain primarily by limestone from the Ordovician Period . The Nashville Basin and

2538-551: 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

2632-516: The Louisiana Native Guard in 1861, although Confederate States Army forces ultimately dissolved the unit in 1862. Creoles in Mobile also continuously petitioned to join the war effort. In November 1862, Alabama's General Assembly passed legislation allowing Creoles to enroll in the state militia, and a unit of Alabama Creole Guards was raised. In November 1863, the general in command of Mobile, Dabney H. Maury , requested that

2726-520: The Louisiana Territory that had not yet developed a thriving mercantile community. As Mobile grew, it attracted medical and legal professionals as well as printers. Mobile experienced a dramatic growth as cotton flowed through its ports from plantations and farms in the Alabama interior. Mobile also received a reputation for being quite unrefined, as young men and transients poured into the city, and made saloons, drinking, and prostitution

2820-658: 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,

2914-455: 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

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3008-751: 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

3102-742: 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

3196-595: 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

3290-639: 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

3384-1101: 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

3478-405: 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

3572-404: 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

3666-501: 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

3760-530: 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

3854-642: 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

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3948-702: 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

4042-638: The Catholic community began the 15-year construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception . For most of the antebellum era, friction between Protestants and Catholics was practically non-existent. The Creoles of Mobile built a Catholic school run by and for Creoles. Mobilians supported several literary societies, numerous book stores, and number of book and music publishers. The institution of slavery presented white Alabamians with

4136-512: The Confederate War Department immediately accept Creole state militia into Confederate service, with the idea of making them heavy artillerists to man Mobile's shore batteries. Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon denied Maury's request and stated that blacks could never be enlisted as Confederate soldiers. Nevertheless, in 1864, as Mobile needed defenders for the city, Creoles joined Confederate cavalry units, and

4230-408: The Creole practice of holding Indian congresses and inviting Indian guests. The new colonial government enacted a harsher slave code that gave slaves very few legal rights and made emancipation much more difficult to obtain. Slaves became expensive, each one costing around 300 Spanish dollars. To counteract expensive slave labor, white indentured servants were imported and they began to supply much of

4324-654: The Creoles. A people of diverse origins, the Creoles formed an elite with their own schools, churches, fire company, and social organizations. Many Creoles were the descendants of free blacks at the time of Mobile's capture by American forces, and who retained their freedoms by treaty and treated by the American government as a unique people. Other Creoles were blood relatives of white Mobilians including those of prominent families. The Catholic community of primarily French Creole descent remained numerous and influential. In 1825,

4418-691: The French. About 2,000 Indians descended on Mobile for as long as two weeks. Because of the close and friendly relationship between colonial French and Indian peoples, French colonists learned the Indian Lingua franca of the area, the Mobilian Jargon , and intermarried with Indian women. Mobile was a melting pot of different peoples, and included continental Frenchmen, French-Canadians, and various Indians mingled together in Mobile. The differences between continental Frenchmen and French-Canadians were so great that serious disputes occurred between

4512-548: The Kentucky Bluegrass region. Supposedly the underlying rock weathers to a soil particularly suited to the growing of the sorts of grasses most favored by horses. Limestone glades (or cedar glades ), located to the east of Nashville, primarily in Wilson and Rutherford Counties, are open areas where the flat limestone rock is denuded of overlying soil or nearly so, provide an environment for flora unlike any other in

4606-608: 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,

4700-636: The Spanish Empire. In Spanish colonies, all citizens were required to become Catholic, but the Spanish government in the Floridas allowed its inhabitants to worship as they pleased. The government also offered liberal land grants to potential settlers. In 1785, Spanish Mobile had 746 inhabitants. By 1788, Mobile had a population of over 1,400. As time went on, however, the Americans began desiring

4794-419: The Spanish commander surrendered his 60 men and Fort Charlotte . In 1815, the Americans defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans and held on to the territory that they had won. Mobile was thereafter administered by the United States. The first Americans to arrive in Mobile after the War of 1812 were merchants from New England , and they recognized a unique opportunity compared to New Orleans in

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4888-451: The Spanish lands. In 1803 the Americans bought French Louisiana from Napoleon Bonaparte , and they claimed that the Spanish Floridas were part of the purchase. Americans within the Floridas plotted against the Spanish government. During the War of 1812 , the Americans finally had a justification to take Spanish Mobile and the Floridas. On April 11, 1813, an American force of 600 overwhelmed 60 Spanish troops stationed in Mobile. On April 13,

4982-400: The Union in 1868. Following the American Civil War , Alabama would suffer decades of economic hardship, in part due to agriculture and 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

5076-429: 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

5170-440: The United States. The Code Noir based on Roman laws also conferred affranchis (ex-slaves) full citizenship and gave complete civil equality with other French subjects. By the mid-18th century, Mobile was populated by French Creoles, European Frenchmen, French-Canadians, Africans, and Indians. This diverse group was united by Roman Catholicism, the exclusive religion of the colony. The town's inhabitants included 50 troops,

5264-441: 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

5358-439: The company of other slaves and free blacks. Following the Creole custom liberté des savanes (savannah liberty), although outlawed by Americans, many slaves hired themselves out and accumulated personal funds. Slaves in Mobile learned to read and write from the highly educated Creoles, and they gained freedom through their skilled labor. Although the antebellum period was the most colorful, exuberant period of Mobile's history, it

5452-530: 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

5546-438: 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

5640-409: 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

5734-402: 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

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5828-430: The east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to 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

5922-596: The economic outlook of Mobile. New industry appeared, and Mobile became an important port once more. After World War II, racial tension became inflamed again leading to the protests and riots of the Civil Rights Movement that changed the situation of blacks in the United States. After the Civil Rights Movement, institutionalized segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement were finally abolished. The Creoles of Alabama slowly disappeared, either emigrating to other states or assimilating into African American culture , replacing their Creole history, language, and heritage in

6016-423: The end of the 1930s, Mobile was essentially a small town where most people were comfortable and satisfied with the community institutions available. However, the city was deeply divided by race, and the lack of economic opportunity hampered the economic development of the city. Mobile's Creole population was prevented from fully contributing its energy and talents towards building a better city. World War II changed

6110-401: 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

6204-399: The glories of the past and their older social heritage. Creoles continued to maintain their own schools, churches, social clubs, and the fabled Creole Steam Fire Company Number I. Creoles worked as doctors, lawyers, educators, and businessmen. They mirrored the customs and practices of Mobile's white elite, and formed their own mystic societies, creating a "Colored Mardi Gras" celebration. At

6298-504: 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. Alabama Creole people Alabama Creoles ( French : Créoles de l'Alabama ) are

6392-401: 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

6486-430: 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

6580-411: The process. The last speakers of Alabama Creole French died at Mon Louis Island in the 1990s. Asia Middle East Europe North America South America Oceania Country Creoles who lived in the bayous outside of Mobile, in the forests surrounding Daphne , and in the hills of Mount Vernon were designated as "Cajans" during the years after the Civil War. They gained their name from

6674-514: 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

6768-673: 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

6862-496: The south by Mobile Bay , a historically significant port. Alabama's capital 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

6956-604: 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 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

7050-414: 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

7144-458: 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

7238-461: 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

7332-623: 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

7426-521: 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

7520-689: 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

7614-474: The state. In the years after the Civil War, Mobile's economy languished, and its population declined. Birmingham replaced Mobile in its economic development and became Alabama's largest city. For Creoles in Mobile, the following era was bleak. Poor economic conditions continued from reconstruction all the way until the first World War, and a rising tide of racism eroded many of the rights that Creoles once knew. A binary racial system took hold of Mobile; everyone

7708-484: 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

7802-684: 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

7896-576: 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

7990-550: The town's labor. White indentured servants usually worked for two to four years and their masters provided them housing, food, and clothing. In 1783, Spain took possession of East Florida and West Florida after the American Revolutionary War . Fur trading continued to be the primary resource sold by Mobile. Mobile continued to have a very heterogeneous population, and Spain wanted more settlement in its Floridian colonies. It attracted British and American immigrants by adopting very liberal policies compared to those in other parts of

8084-531: The two groups. The French also established slavery in 1721. Slaves infused elements of African and French Creole culture into Mobile, as many of the slaves who came to Mobile worked in the French West Indies . In 1724, the Code Noir , a slave code based on Roman laws , was instituted in French colonies which allowed slaves certain legal and religious rights not found in either British colonies or

8178-476: The world. 36°0′N 86°48′W  /  36.000°N 86.800°W  / 36.000; -86.800 This Tennessee geography–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 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

8272-495: Was also short-lived. Young Alabama Creoles who began their careers in the 1820s lived to see their fortunes and the accomplishments of their city destroyed by a civil war , which they more than other Alabamians, sought to avoid. Creoles during the Civil war in both Louisiana and Alabama petitioned their state governments to form military units to protect their homes, their cities, and their states. In New Orleans, Creoles formed

8366-405: Was classified either as black or white. An informal, but rigid segregation code restricted the social and economic activities of the Creoles. In 1901, racist forces moved to permanently disenfranchise the black population of Mobile through the state constitution. The Creoles of Mobile pleaded with the white leadership of the state, but it was of no use. Many Creoles turned inward, seeking solace in

8460-535: 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,

8554-508: 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

8648-553: 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

8742-413: 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

8836-544: 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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