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 theAmerican Revolutionary War. Spain held Mobile as part ofSpanish West Florida until 1813. In December 1819, Alabama was recognized as a state. During the antebellum period, Alabama was a majorproducer of cotton and widely usedAfrican Americanslave labor. In 1861, the state seceded from the United States to become part of theConfederate States of America, with Montgomery acting as its first capital, and rejoined the Union in 1868. Following theAmerican Civil War, Alabama would suffer decades of economic hardship, in part due to agriculture and a fewcash crops being the main driver of the state's economy. Similar to other former slave states, Alabamian legislators employedJim Crow laws from the late 19th century up until the 1960s. High-profile events such as theSelma to Montgomery marches made the state a major focal point of thecivil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
During and afterWorld War II, Alabama grew as the state'seconomy diversified with new industries. In 1960, the establishment ofNASA'sMarshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville helped boost Alabama's economic growth by developing a localaerospace industry. Alabama's economy in the 21st century is based on automotive, finance, tourism, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology.[14] Despite this economic and industrial growth in recent decades, Alabama typically ranks low in terms of health outcomes, educational attainment, and median household income.[15][16][17]
Etymology
The name of theAlabama River and state is derived from theAlabama people, aMuskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below theconfluence of theCoosa andTallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the river.[18] In theAlabama language, the word for a person of Alabama lineage isAlbaamo (or variouslyAlbaama orAlbàamo in different dialects; the plural form isAlbaamaha).[19] The word's spelling varies significantly among historical sources.[20] The first usage appears in three accounts of theHernando de Soto expedition of 1540:Garcilaso de la Vega usedAlibamo, while the Knight of Elvas and Rodrigo Ranjel wroteAlibamu andLimamu, respectively, intransliterations of the term.[20]
As early as 1702, the French called the tribe theAlibamon, with French maps identifying the river asRivière des Alibamons.[18] Other spellings of the name have includedAlibamu,Alabamo,Albama,Alebamon,Alibama,Alibamou,Alabamu, andAllibamou.[20][21][22] The use of state names derived fromNative American languages is common in the U.S. An estimated 26 states have names of Native American origin.[23]
Sources disagree on the word's meaning. Some scholars suggest the word comes from the Choctawalba (meaning 'plants' or 'weeds') andamo (meaning 'to cut', 'to trim', or 'to gather').[20][24][25] The meaning may have been 'clearers of the thicket'[24] or 'herb gatherers',[25][26] referring to clearing land for cultivation[21] or collecting medicinal plants.[26] The state has numerousplace names of Native American origin.[27][28]
An 1842 article in theJacksonville Republican proposed it meant 'Here We Rest'.[20] This notion was popularized in the 1850s through the writings ofAlexander Beaufort Meek.[20] Experts in the Muskogean languages have not found any evidence to support such a translation.[18][20]
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 theOhio River began during the Burial Mound Period (1000BC – 700AD) and continued untilEuropean contact.[29]
The agrarianMississippian culture covered most of the state from 1000 to 1600 AD, with one of its major centers built at what is now theMoundville Archaeological Site inMoundville, Alabama.[30][31] This is the second-largest complex of the classic Middle Mississippian era, afterCahokia in present-dayIllinois, which was the center of the culture. Analysis ofartifacts fromarchaeological excavations at Moundville were the basis of scholars' formulating the characteristics of theSoutheastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC).[32] Contrary to popular belief, the SECC appears to have no direct links toMesoamerican culture but developed independently. The Ceremonial Complex represents a major component of the religion of the Mississippian peoples; it is one of the primary means by which their religion is understood.[33]
Among the historical tribes of Native American people living in present-day Alabama at the time of European contact were theCherokee, anIroquoian language people; and theMuskogean-speaking Alabama (Alibamu),Chickasaw,Choctaw, Creek, andKoasati.[34] While part of the same large language family, theMuskogee 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 throughMabila and other parts of the state in 1540. More than 160 years later, the French founded the region's first European settlement atOld Mobile in 1702.[35] The city was moved to the current site of Mobile in 1711. This area was claimed by the French from 1702 to 1763 as part ofLa Louisiane.[36]
After the French lost to the British in theSeven Years' War, it became part of BritishWest Florida from 1763 to 1783. After the U.S. victory in theAmerican Revolutionary War, the territory was divided between the United States and Spain. The latter retained control of this western territory from 1783 until the surrender of the Spanish garrison at Mobile to U.S. forces on April 13, 1813.[36][37]
What are nowBaldwin and Mobile counties became part ofSpanish West Florida in 1783, part of the independentRepublic of West Florida in 1810, and finally part of theMississippi Territory in 1812. Most of what is now the northern two-thirds of Alabama was known as theYazoo lands beginning during the British colonial period. It was claimed by theProvince of Georgia from 1767 onwards. Following the American Revolutionary War, it remained a part of Georgia, although heavily disputed.[41][42]
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 the territory in 1804, following theYazoo land scandal.[42][43] Spain kept a claim on its former Spanish West Florida territory in what would become the coastal counties until theAdams–Onís Treaty officially ceded it to the U.S. in 1819.[37]
The creation of theMississippi Territory quickly prompted debates over its division. Amid pressure from white southerners who sought the establishment of two slave states, Congress formed the Alabama Territory from the eastern half of the Mississippi Territory on March 3, 1817. The legislation appointed William Wyatt Bibb of Georgia as the first governor of the newly designated Alabama Territory.[44][45]
BeforeMississippi's admission to statehood on December 10, 1817, the more sparsely settled eastern half of the territory was separated and named theAlabama Territory. TheUnited States Congress created the Alabama Territory on March 3, 1817.St. Stephens, now abandoned, served as the territorial capital from 1817 to 1819.[46]
Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819, with Congress selectingHuntsville as the site for the firstConstitutional Convention. From July5 to August 2, 1819, delegates met to prepare the new state constitution. Huntsville served as temporary capital from 1819 to 1820, when the seat of government moved toCahaba inDallas County.[47]
Cahaba, now aghost town, was the first permanent state capital from 1820 to 1825.[48] TheAlabama 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.[49][50] Part of the frontier in the 1820s and 1830s, its constitution provided for universal suffrage for white men.[51]
The main house, built in 1833, atThornhill in Greene County. It is a formerBlack Belt plantation.
Southeastern planters and traders from theUpper South broughtslaves with them as the cottonplantations in Alabama expanded. The economy of the centralBlack Belt (named for its dark, productive soil) was built around large cottonplantations whose owners' wealth grew mainly from slave labor.[51] The area also drew many poor, disenfranchised people who becamesubsistence farmers. Alabama had an estimated population of under 10,000 people in 1810, but it increased to more than 300,000 people by 1830.[49] Most Native American tribes werecompletely removed from the state within a few years of the passage of theIndian Removal Act by Congress in 1830.[52]
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.[53] A new capitol building was erected under the direction ofStephen Decatur Button ofPhiladelphia. The first structure burned down in 1849, but was rebuilt on the same site in 1851. This second capitol building in Montgomery remains to the present day. It was designed by Barachias Holt ofExeter, Maine.[54][55]
By 1860, the population had increased to 964,201 people, of which nearly half, 435,080, were enslaved African Americans, and 2,690 werefree people of color.[36] On January 11, 1861, Alabama declared itssecession from theUnion. After remaining an independent republic for a few days, it joined theConfederate States of America. The Confederacy's capital was initially at Montgomery. Alabama was heavilyinvolved in the American Civil War. Although comparatively few battles were fought in the state, Alabama contributed about 120,000 soldiers to the war effort.
Union Army troops occupying Courthouse Square in Huntsville, following its capture and occupation by federal forces in 1864
A company of cavalry soldiers from Huntsville, Alabama, joinedNathan Bedford Forrest's battalion inHopkinsville, Kentucky. The company wore new uniforms with yellow trim on 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.[56]
Alabama's slaves were freed by the 13th Amendment in 1865.[57] 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 the state. Alabama was represented in Congress during this period by three African-American congressmen:Jeremiah Haralson,Benjamin S. Turner, andJames T. Rapier.[58]
Following the war, the state remained chiefly agricultural, with an economy tied to cotton. During the Reconstruction era, state legislators ratified anew 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 andmisappropriation.[58] Organizedinsurgent, resistance groups tried to suppress the freedmen and Republicans. These groups included TheKu Klux Klan, the Pale Faces,Knights of the White Camellia,Red Shirts, and theWhite League.[58]
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,[58] and the legislature passed theBlaine Amendment, prohibiting public money from being used to finance religious-affiliated schools.[59] The same year, legislation was approved that called forracially segregated schools.[60] Railroad passenger cars were segregated in 1891.[60]
20th century
The developing skyline of Birmingham, 1915
The new 1901 constitution of Alabama included provisions forvoter registration that effectivelydisenfranchised 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 apoll tax andliteracy test.[61] 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 wereliterate. This compared to more than 181,000 African Americans eligible to vote in 1900. The numbers dropped even more in later decades.[62] The state legislature passed additional racial segregation laws related to public facilities into the 1950s: jails were segregated in 1911; hospitals in 1915; toilets, hotels, and restaurants in 1928; and bus stop waiting rooms in 1945.[60]
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.[62] By 1941, whites constituted a slight majority of those disenfranchised by these laws: 600,000 whites vs. 520,000 African Americans.[62] 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.[63]
The rural-dominated Alabama legislature consistently underfunded schools and services for the disenfranchised African Americans, but it did not relieve them of paying taxes.[51] Partially as a response to chronic underfunding of education for African Americans in the South, theRosenwald Fund began funding the construction of what came to be known asRosenwald Schools. In Alabama, these schools were designed, and the construction partially financed with Rosenwald funds, which paid one-third of 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.[64]
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 the state. Several of thesurviving school buildings in the state are now listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[64]
Continued racial discrimination andlynchings, agricultural depression, and the failure of the cotton crops due toboll weevil infestation led tens of thousands of African Americans from rural Alabama and other states to seek opportunities in northern and midwestern cities during the early decades of the 20th century as part of theGreat Migration out of the South.[65][66] Reflecting this emigration, the population growth rate in Alabama (see "historical populations" table below) dropped by nearly half from 1910 to 1920.[67]
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 the "Magic City".[68] By 1920, Birmingham was the 36th-largest city in the United States.[69] 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 a lawsuit and court order.[70]
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 a violation of theFifteenth Amendment. The legislature also changed the boundaries ofTuskegee 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.[71]
Industrial development related to the demands of World War II brought a level of prosperity to the state not seen since before the civil war.[51] 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.[72] Cotton and othercash crops faded in importance as 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 was thatJefferson 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 the Alabama legislature."[70][73]
In the United States Supreme Court cases ofBaker v. Carr (1962) andReynolds 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.[74][75]
African Americans continued to press in the 1950s and 1960s to end disenfranchisement and segregation in the state through the civil rights movement, including legal challenges. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled inBrown v. Board of Education that public schools had to bedesegregated, but Alabama was slow to comply. During the 1960s, under GovernorGeorge Wallace, Alabama resisted compliance with federal demands for desegregation.[76][77] The civil rights movement had notable events in Alabama, including theMontgomery bus boycott (1955–1956),Freedom Rides in 1961, and 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches.[78] These contributed to Congressional passage and enactment of theCivil Rights Act of 1964 andVoting Rights Act of 1965 by the U.S. Congress.[79][80]
Legal segregation ended in the states in 1964, but Jim Crow customs often continued until specifically challenged in court.[81] According toThe New York Times, by 2017, many of Alabama's African Americans were living in Alabama's cities such as Birmingham and Montgomery. Also, the Black Belt region across central Alabama "is home to largely poor counties that are predominantly African-American. These counties include Dallas,Lowndes,Marengo andPerry."[82]
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.[73] Other changes were made to implement representative state house and senate districts.
Alabama has made some changes since 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 theat-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 a significant minority in the state, they had been unable to elect any representatives in most of the at-large jurisdictions.[71]
As part of settlement of this case, five Alabama cities and counties, includingChilton County, adopted a system ofcumulative 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 uselimited voting, as inConecuh County. In 1982, limited voting 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.[83]
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, 2017
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.[84] However, the state, particularly Huntsville, benefited from the opening of theGeorge 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 of the state's older industries in the late twentieth century, but the state's economy and growth lagged behind other states in the area, such as Georgia and Florida.[85]
21st century
In 2001, Alabama Supreme Court chief justiceRoy Moore installed a statue of theTen Commandments in the capitol in Montgomery. In 2002, the 11th U.S. 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.[86]
A few natural disasters have occurred in 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.[87] Asuper outbreak of 62 tornadoes hit the state in April 2011 and killed 238 people, devastating many communities.[88]
Alabama is the thirtieth-largest state in the United States with 52,419 square miles (135,760 km2) of total area: 3.2% of the area is water, making Alabama 23rd in the amount of surface water, also giving it the second-largest inland waterway system in the United States.[89] About three-fifths of the land area is part of theGulf Coastal Plain, a gentle plain with a general descent towards theMississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. TheNorth Alabama region is mostly mountainous, with theTennessee River cutting a large valley and creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.[90]
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 a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico, in the extreme southern edge of the state.[90] The state ranges in elevation from sea level[91] at Mobile Bay to more than 2,000 feet (610 m) in thenortheast, toMount Cheaha[90] at 2,413 ft (735 m).[92]
Alabama's land consists of 22 million acres (89,000 km2) of forest or 67% of the state's total land area.[93] SuburbanBaldwin County, along the Gulf Coast, is the largest county in the state in both land area and water area.[94]
The Natural Bridge Rock inWinston County is the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies.
Natural wonders include the"Natural Bridge" rock, the longestnatural bridge east of theRockies, just south ofHaleyville;Cathedral Caverns, inMarshall County, named for its cathedral-like appearance, which features one of the largest cave entrances and one of the largest stalagmites in the world; Ecor Rouge, inFairhope, the highest coastline point betweenMaine and Mexico;[97]DeSoto Caverns, inChildersburg, the first officially recorded cave in the United States;[98]Noccalula Falls, inGadsden, which has a 90-foot waterfall;Dismals Canyon, nearPhil Campbell, which is home to two waterfalls and six natural bridges and is said to have been a hideout ofJesse James;[99] Stephens Gap Cave, inJackson County, which has a 143-foot pit and two waterfalls and is one of the most photographed wild cave scenes in America;[100] Little River Canyon, near Fort Payne, one of the nation's longest mountaintop rivers;Rickwood Caverns, nearWarrior, which has an underground pool, blind cave-fish, and 260-million-year-old limestone formations; and theWalls of Jericho canyon, on the Alabama–Tennessee border.
A 5-mile (8 km)-wide meteorite impact crater is located inElmore County, just north of Montgomery. This is theWetumpka 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.[101] The hills just east of downtownWetumpka showcase the eroded remains of the impact crater that was blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka crater or astrobleme ("star-wound") because of the concentric rings of fractures and zones of shattered rock that can be found beneath the surface.[102] 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.[103]
The state is classified ashumid subtropical (Cfa) under theKöppen climate classification.[104] The average annual temperature is 64°F (18°C). Temperatures tend to be warmer in the southern part of the state with its proximity to theGulf of Mexico, while the northern parts of the state, especially in theAppalachian Mountains in the northeast, tend to be slightly cooler.[105] Generally, Alabama has very hot summers and mild winters with copious precipitation throughout the year. Alabama receives an average of 56 inches (1,400 mm) of rainfall annually and enjoys a lengthy growing season of up to 300 days in the southern part of the state.[105]
Summers in Alabama are among the hottest in the U.S., with high temperatures averaging over 90 °F (32 °C) throughout the summer in some parts of the state. Alabama is also prone totropical storms and hurricanes. Areas of the state far away from the Gulf are not immune to the effects of the storms, which often dump tremendous amounts of rain as they move inland and weaken.
South Alabama reports manythunderstorms. The Gulf Coast, around Mobile Bay, averages between 70 and 80 days per year with thunder reported. This activity decreases somewhat further north in the state, but even the far north of the state reports thunder on about 60 days per year. Occasionally, thunderstorms are severe with frequentlightning and largehail; the central and northern parts of the state are most vulnerable to this type of storm. Alabama ranks ninth in the number of deaths from lightning and tenth in the number of deaths from lightning strikes per capita.[106]
Alabama, along withOklahoma andIowa, has the most confirmedF5 andEF5 tornadoes of any state, according to statistics from theNational Climatic Data Center for the period January 1, 1950, to June 2013.[107] Several long-tracked F5/EF5 tornadoes have contributed to Alabama reporting more tornado fatalities since 1950 than any other state. The state was affected by the1974 Super Outbreak and was devastated tremendously by the 2011 Super Outbreak. The 2011 Super Outbreak produced a record amount of tornadoes in the state. The tally reached 62.[108]
The peak season for tornadoes varies from the northern to southern parts of the state. Alabama is one of the few places in the world that has a secondary tornado season in November and December besides the typically severe spring. The northern part—along the Tennessee River Valley—is most vulnerable. The area of Alabama and Mississippi most affected by tornadoes is sometimes referred to asDixie Alley, as distinct from theTornado Alley of the Southern Plains.
Winters are generally mild in Alabama, as they are throughout most of the Southeastern United States, with average January low temperatures around 40 °F (4 °C) in Mobile and around 32 °F (0 °C) in Birmingham. Although snow is a rare event in much of Alabama, areas of the state north of Montgomery may receive a dusting of snow a few times every winter, with an occasional moderately heavy snowfall every few years. Historic snowfall events includeNew Year's Eve 1963 snowstorm and the1993 Storm of the Century. The annual average snowfall for the Birmingham area is 2 inches (51 mm) per year. In the southern Gulf coast, snowfall is less frequent, sometimes going several years without any snowfall.
Alabama's highest temperature of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded on September 5, 1925, in the unincorporated community ofCenterville. The record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) occurred on January 30, 1966, inNew Market.[109]
Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Alabama cities [°F (°C)]
Alabama is in the subtropical coniferous forest biome and once boasted huge expanses of pine forest, which still form the largest proportion of forests in the state.[114] It currently ranks fifth in the nation for the diversity of its flora. It is home to nearly 4,000pteridophyte andspermatophyte plant species.[116]
Indigenous animal species in the state include 62mammalspecies,[117] 93 reptile species,[118] 73amphibian species,[119] roughly 307 nativefreshwater fish species,[114] and 420 bird species that spend at least part of their year within the state.[120] Invertebrates include 97crayfish species and 383mollusk species. 113 of these mollusk species have never been collected outside the state.[121][122]
As of 2010, the state contains 461 municipalities, consisting of 174 cities and 287 towns. Covering only 9.6% of Alabama's land mass, its municipalities are home to 60.4% of its population.Montgomery, the state's capital, is the third-most populous settlement in Alabama; and the most populous city isHuntsville. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the state contains 12 metropolitan statistical areas. Alabama's largest metropolitan area wasGreater Birmingham.
Map of counties in Alabama by racial plurality, per the 2020 census
Legend
Non-Hispanic White
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
Black or African American
40–50%
50–60%
70–80%
80–90%
At the1800 United States census, Alabama had a population of 1,250 people. Since then, the state has continued to experience population growth with every U.S. census. According to the2020 United States census the population of Alabama was 5,024,279, which represents an increase of 244,543 or 5.12%, since the2010 census.[125] This includes a natural increase since the last census of 121,054 (502,457 births minus 381,403 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 104,991 into the state.[126]
According to statistics from 2012,immigration from outside the U.S. resulted in a net increase of 31,180 people, and migration within the country produced a net gain of 73,811 people.[126] The state had 108,000 foreign-born residents (2.4% of the state population), of which an estimated 22.2% were undocumented (24,000). The top countries of origin for immigrants were Mexico, China, India, Germany andGuatemala as of 2018.[127] According toHUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 3,752homeless people in Alabama.[128][129]
Many American Indian tribes such as theCherokee,Chickasaw,Choctaw, andCoushatta inhabited present-day Alabama before European colonization.[34] With Spanish, French, and British colonization of Alabama,white andblack Americans migrated to the area. From European colonization to U.S. statehood, Alabama's population grew to become increasinglynon-Hispanic white and African American. By the 2020 census, Alabama's total racial and ethnic population was 66.5% non-Hispanic white and 26.9% African American, with a growingHispanic and Latino population of 5.3%.[132]
Alabamians citing "American" ancestry are of overwhelminglyEnglish extraction. Demographers estimate that a minimum of 20–23% of people in Alabama are of predominantly English ancestry and state that the figure is probably much higher. In the 1980 census, 1,139,976 people in Alabama cited that they were of English ancestry out of a total state population of 2,824,719 making them 41% of the state at the time and the largest ethnic group.[133][134][135]
Alabama has the 5th-highest black and African American population among U.S. states at 25.8% alone as of 2020.[132] In 2011, 46.6% of Alabama's population younger than age1 were minorities.[136] The largest reported ancestry groups in Alabama were American (13.4%),Irish (10.5%), English (10.2%),German (7.9%), andScots-Irish (2.5%) based on 2006–2008 U.S. census data.[137] The Scots-Irish were the largest non-English immigrant group from the British Isles before the American Revolution, and many settled in the South, later moving into the Deep South as it was developed.[138]
In 1984, under the Davis–Strong Act, the state legislature established theAlabama Indian Affairs Commission.[139] Indigenous groups within the state had increasingly been demanding recognition as ethnic groups and seeking an end to discrimination. Given the long history of slavery and associated racial segregation, the Native American or American Indian peoples, who have sometimes been of mixed race, have insisted on having their cultural identification respected. In the past, their self-identification was often overlooked as the state tried to impose a binary breakdown of society into white and black. The state hasofficially recognized nine American Indian tribes in the state, descended mostly from theFive Civilized Tribes of the American Southeast. These are the following.[140]
The state government has promoted recognition of American Indian contributions to the state, including the designation in 2000 for Columbus Day to be jointly celebrated as American Indian Heritage Day.[141] In 2020, 33,625 identified as being Native American alone, and 97,405 did in combination with one or more other races.[132]
Language
According to the 2022American Community Survey's estimates, approximately 94% of Alabamians speak English as their sole language, while 6% spoke a language other than English.[142] Of other languages, the majority of its multilingual population speaksSpanish (3.8%). In a separate 2021 study by theAmerican University Washington College of Law, Spanish was spoken by 156,656 residents.[143] Following,Korean,Vietnamese,Mandarin andCantonese,German,French, andTagalog were the most-spoken languages; among its French-speaking population, the majority have preserved their language since French colonization.[144]
Religion
Highlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham, part of the Five Points South Historic DistrictTemple B'Nai Sholom in Huntsville, established in 1876. It is the oldest synagogue building in continuous use in the state.The Islamic Center of Tuscaloosa
In the 2008American Religious Identification Survey, 86% of Alabama respondents reported their religion as Christian, including 6% Catholic, with 11% as having no religion.[146] The composition of other traditions is 0.5% Mormon, 0.5% Jewish, 0.5% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, and 0.5% Hindu.[147]
Alabama is located in the middle of theBible Belt, a region of numerousProtestant Christians. Alabama has been identified as one of the most religious states in the United States, with about 58% of the population attending church regularly.[148] A majority of people in the state identify as Evangelical Protestant. As of 2010[update], the three largest denominational groups in Alabama are theSouthern Baptist Convention,The United Methodist Church, andnon-denominational Evangelical Protestant.[149]
In Alabama, the Southern Baptist Convention has the highest number of adherents with 1,380,121; this is followed by the United Methodist Church with 327,734 adherents, non-denominational Evangelical Protestant with 220,938 adherents, and the Catholic Church with 150,647 adherents. Many Baptist and Methodist congregations became established in theGreat Awakening of the early 19th century, when preachers proselytized across the South. TheAssemblies of God had almost 60,000 members, theChurches of Christ had nearly 120,000 members. ThePresbyterian churches, strongly associated with Scots-Irish immigrants of the 18th century and their descendants, had a combined membership around 75,000 (PCA—28,009 members in 108 congregations,PC(USA)—26,247 members in 147 congregations,[149] theCumberland Presbyterian Church—6,000 members in 59 congregations, theCumberland Presbyterian Church in America—5,000 members and fifty congregations plus theEPC and Associate Reformed Presbyterians with 230 members and nine congregations).[150]
In a 2007 survey, nearly 70% of respondents could name all four of the ChristianGospels. Of those who indicated a religious preference, 59% said they possessed a "full understanding" of their faith and needed no further learning.[151] In a 2007 poll, 92% of Alabamians reported having at least some confidence in churches in the state.[152][153]
Jews have been present in what is now Alabama since 1763, during the colonial era of Mobile, whenSephardic Jews immigrated from London.[154] The oldest Jewish congregation in the state isCongregation Sha'arai Shomayim in Mobile. It was formally recognized by the state legislature on January 25, 1844.[154] Later immigrants in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries tended to beAshkenazi Jews from eastern Europe. Jewish denominations in the state include twoOrthodox, fourConservative, tenReform, and oneHumanistic synagogue.[155]
Muslims have been increasing in Alabama, with 31 mosques built by 2011, many by African-American converts.[156]
Several Hindu temples and cultural centers in the state have been founded by Indian immigrants and their descendants, the best-known being the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Birmingham, the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Birmingham inPelham, the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama inCapshaw, and the Hindu Mandir and Cultural Center in Tuscaloosa.[157][158]
The first community of adherents of the Baháʼí Faith in Alabama was founded in 1896 by Paul K. Dealy, who moved from Chicago to Fairhope. Baháʼí centers in Alabama exist in Birmingham, Huntsville, andFlorence.[164]
Health
In 2018, life expectancy in Alabama was 75.1 years, below the national average of 78.7 years and is thethird lowest life expectancy in the country. Factors that can cause lower life expectancy are maternal mortality, suicide, and gun crimes.[165]
ACenters for Disease Control and Prevention study in 2008 showed that obesity in Alabama is a problem, with most counties having more than 29% of adults obese, except for ten which had a rate between 26% and 29%.[166] Residents of the state, along with those in five other states, were least likely in the nation to be physically active during leisure time.[167] Alabama, and the southeastern U.S. in general, has one of the highest incidences of adult onsetdiabetes in the country, exceeding 10% of adults.[168][16]
The state has invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries, including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production andfabrication. By 2006, crop and animal production in Alabama was valued at $1.5billion. In contrast to the primarily agricultural economy of the previous century, this was only about one percent of the state's gross domestic product. The number of private farms has declined at a steady rate since the 1960s, as land has been sold to developers, timber companies, and large farming conglomerates.[169]
Non-agricultural employment in 2008 was 121,800 in management occupations; 71,750 in business and financial operations; 36,790 in computer-related and mathematical occupation; 44,200 in architecture and engineering; 12,410 in life, physical, and social sciences; 32,260 in community and social services; 12,770 in legal occupations; 116,250 in education, training, and library services; 27,840 in art, design and media occupations; 121,110 in healthcare; 44,750 in fire fighting, law enforcement, and security; 154,040 in food preparation and serving; 76,650 in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; 53,230 in personal care and services; 244,510 in sales; 338,760 in office and administration support; 20,510 in farming, fishing, and forestry; 120,155 in construction and mining, gas, and oil extraction; 106,280 in installation, maintenance, and repair; 224,110 in production; and 167,160 in transportation and material moving.[14]
TheRiverchase Galleria in Hoover, one of the largest shopping centers in the southeast
According to the U.S.Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2008 totalgross state product was $170billion, or $29,411 per capita. Alabama's 2012 GDP increased 1.2% from the previous year. The single largest increase came in the area of information.[170] In 2010, per capita income for the state was $22,984.[130]
The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.8% in April 2015.[171] This compared to a nationwide seasonally adjusted rate of 5.4%.[172]
Alabama has no minimum wage and in February 2016 passed legislation preventing municipalities from setting one. (A Birmingham city ordinance would have raised theirs to $10.10.)[173]
As of 2018[update], Alabama has the sixth highest poverty rate among states in the U.S.[174] In 2017, United Nations Special RapporteurPhilip Alston toured parts of rural Alabama and observed environmental conditions that he said were poorer than anywhere he had seen in the developed world.[15]
Largest employers
TheSpace ShuttleEnterprise being tested at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1978Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery in 2010Shelby Hall, School of Computing, at theUniversity of South Alabama in Mobile
The five employers that employed the most employees in Alabama in April 2011 were:[175]
Alabama's agricultural outputs include poultry andeggs, cattle, fish, plant nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains such ascorn andsorghum, vegetables, milk,soybeans, and peaches. Although known as "The Cotton State", Alabama ranks between eighth and tenth innational cotton production, according to various reports, withTexas, Georgia and Mississippi comprising the top three.[177][178]
Aquaculture
Aquaculture is a large part of the economy of Alabama.[179] Alabamians began to practice aquaculture in the early 1960s.[180] U.S.farm-raised catfish is the 8th most popular seafood product in America.[181] By 2008, approximately 4,000 people in Alabama were employed by the catfish industry and Alabama produced 132 million pounds of catfish.[179] In 2020, Alabama produced1⁄3 of the United States' farm-raised catfish.[181] The total 2020 sales of catfish raised in Alabama equaled $307 million but by 2020 the total employment of Alabamians fell to 2,442.[181]
From the early 2000s to 2020, the Alabamian catfish industry has declined from 250 farms and 4 processors to 66 farms and 2 processors.[181] Reasons for this decline include increased feed prices, catfish alternatives,COVID-19's impact on restaurant sales, disease, and fish size.[181]
Industry
Alabama's industrial outputs include iron and steel products (including cast-iron and steel pipe); paper,lumber, and wood products; mining (mostly coal); plastic products; cars and trucks; andapparel. In addition, Alabama producesaerospace andelectronic products, mostly in the Huntsville area, the location ofNASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and theU.S. Army Materiel Command, headquartered atRedstone Arsenal.
Automakers accounted for approximately a third of the industrial expansion in the state in 2012.[183] The eight models produced at the state's auto factories totaled combined sales of 74,335 vehicles for 2012. The strongest model sales during this period were theHyundai Elantra compact car, theMercedes-Benz GL-Class sport utility vehicle and theHonda Ridgeline sport utility truck.[184]
Airbus Mobile Engineering Center at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile
Steel producersOutokumpu,Nucor,SSAB,ThyssenKrupp, andU.S. Steel have facilities in Alabama and employ more than 10,000 people. In May 2007, German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp selectedCalvert in Mobile County for a 4.65billion combinedstainless andcarbon steel processing facility.[185] ThyssenKrupp's stainless steel division, Inoxum, including the stainless portion of the Calvert plant, was sold to Finnish stainless steel company Outokumpu in 2012.[186] The remaining portion of the ThyssenKrupp plant had final bids submitted byArcelorMittal andNippon Steel for $1.6billion in March 2013.Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional submitted a combined bid for the mill at Calvert, plus a majority stake in the ThyssenKrupp mill in Brazil, for $3.8billion.[187] In July 2013, the plant was sold to ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel.[188]
TheHunt Refining Company, a subsidiary of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., is based in Tuscaloosa and operates a refinery there. The company also operates terminals in Mobile, Melvin, and Moundville.[189]JVC America, Inc. operates anoptical disc replication and packaging plant in Tuscaloosa.[190]
TheGoodyear Tire and Rubber Company operates a large plant in Gadsden which employs about 1,400 people. It has been in operation since 1929.
Construction of anAirbus A320 family aircraft assembly plant in Mobile was formally announced byAirbus CEOFabrice Brégier from the Mobile Convention Center on July 2, 2012. The plans include a $600million factory at theBrookley Aeroplex for the assembly of the A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. Construction began in 2013, with plans for it to become operable by 2015 and produce up to 50 aircraft per year by 2017.b[191][192] The assembly plant is the company's first factory to be built within the United States.[193] It was announced on February 1, 2013, that Airbus had hired Alabama-basedHoar Construction to oversee construction of the facility.[194] The factory officially opened on September 14, 2015, covering one million square feet on 53 acres of flat grassland.[195]
Tourism and entertainment
Alabama's beaches are one of the state's major tourist destinations.
According toBusiness Insider, Alabama ranked 14th in most popular states to visit in 2014.[196] An estimated 26 million tourists visited the state in 2017 and spent $14.3 billion, providing directly or indirectly 186,900 jobs in the state,[197] which includes 362,000 International tourists spending $589 million.[198]
Mobile is the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the U.S.
Mobile is known for having the oldest organizedMardi Gras celebration in the United States, beginning in 1703.[202] It was also host to the first formally organized Mardi Gras parade in the U.S. in 1830, a tradition that continues to this day.[202] Mardi Gras is an official state holiday in Mobile and Baldwin counties.[203]
In 2018, Mobile'sMardi Gras parade was the state's top event, producing the most tourists with an attendance of 892,811. The top attraction was theU.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville with an attendance of 849,981, followed by theBirmingham Zoo with 543,090. Of the parks and natural destinations, Alabama's Gulf Coast topped the list with 6,700,000 visitors.[204]
Wells Fargo has a regional headquarters, an operations center campus, and a $400million data center in Birmingham. Many smaller banks are also headquartered in the Birmingham area, including ServisFirst and New South Federal Savings Bank. Birmingham also serves as the headquarters for several large investment management companies, includingHarbert Management Corporation.
Electronics and communications
Telecommunications providerAT&T, formerlyBellSouth, has a major presence in Alabama with several large offices in Birmingham.
Many technology companies are headquartered in Huntsville, such asADTRAN, a network access company;Intergraph, a computer graphics company; andAvocent, an IT infrastructure company.
There has been a significant movement to rewrite and modernize Alabama's constitution.[215] Critics have argued that Alabama's constitution maintains highly centralized power with the state legislature, leaving practically no power in local hands. Most counties do not have home rule. Any policy changes proposed in different areas of the state must be approved by the entire Alabama legislature and, frequently, by state referendum. The former constitution was particularly criticized for its complexity and length intentionally codifying segregation and racism.
Alabama's government is divided into three coequal branches. Thelegislative branch is theAlabama Legislature, abicameral assembly composed of theAlabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and theAlabama Senate, with 35 members. The Legislature is responsible for writing, debating, passing, or defeating state legislation. TheRepublican Party currently holds a majority in both houses of the Legislature. The Legislature has the power to override a gubernatorial veto by a simple majority (most state Legislatures require a two-thirds majority to override a veto).
Until 1964, the state elected state senators on a geographic basis by county, with one per county. It had not redistricted congressional districts since passage of its constitution in 1901; as a result, urbanized areas were grossly underrepresented. It had not changed legislative districts to reflect the decennial censuses, either. InReynolds v. Sims (1964), the U.S. Supreme Court implemented the principle of "one man, one vote", ruling that congressional districts had to be reapportioned based on censuses (as the state already included in its constitution but had not implemented.) Further, the court ruled that both houses of bicameral state legislatures had to be apportioned by population, as there was no constitutional basis for states to have geographically based systems.
At that time, Alabama and many other states had to change their legislative districting, as many across the country had systems that underrepresented urban areas and districts. This had caused decades of underinvestment in such areas. For instance, Birmingham and Jefferson County taxes had supplied one-third of the state budget, but Jefferson County received only 1/67th of state services in funding. Through the legislative delegations, the Alabama legislature kept control of county governments.
The members of the Legislature take office immediately after the November elections. Statewide officials, such as the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and other constitutional officers, take office the following January.[216]
Thejudiciary is responsible for interpreting theConstitution of Alabama and applying the law in state criminal and civil cases. Thestate's highest court is theSupreme Court of Alabama. Alabama uses partisan elections to select judges. Since the 1980s judicial campaigns have become increasingly politicized.[217] The currentchief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is RepublicanTom Parker. All sitting justices on the Alabama Supreme Court are members of the Republican Party. There are two intermediateappellate courts, the Court of Civil Appeals and the Court of Criminal Appeals, and fourtrial courts: the circuit court (trial court of general jurisdiction), and the district, probate, and municipal courts.[217]
Alabama has the death penalty with authorized methods of execution that include theelectric chair and thegas chamber.[218] Some critics believe the election of judges has contributed to an exceedingly high rate of executions.[219] Alabama has the highest per capitadeath penalty rate in the country. In some years, it imposes more death sentences than does Texas, a state which has a population five times larger.[220] However, executions per capita are significantly higher in Texas.[221] Some of its cases have been highly controversial; the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned[222] 24 convictions in death penalty cases.[citation needed] It was the only state to allow judges to override jury decisions in whether or not to use a death sentence; in 10 cases judges overturned sentences oflife imprisonment without parole that were voted unanimously by juries.[220] This judicial authority was removed in April 2017.[223]
On May 14, 2019, Alabama passed theHuman Life Protection Act, banning abortion at any stage of pregnancy unless there is a "serious health risk", with no exceptions for rape andincest. The law subjects doctors who perform abortions with 10 to 99 years imprisonment.[224] The law was originally supposed to take effect the following November, but on October 29, 2019, U.S. District JudgeMyron Thompson blocked the law from taking effect due to it being in conflict with the 1973U.S. Supreme Court caseRoe v. Wade.[225] On June 24, 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturnedRoe v. Wade inDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Judge Thompson lifted the injunction, allowing the law to go into effect.[226]
Alabama is one of the few states that does not allow the creation of state lotteries.[227]
Taxes
Taxes are collected by the Alabama Department of Revenue.[228] Alabama levies a 2%, 4%, or5%personal income tax, depending on the amount earned and filing status.[229] Taxpayers are allowed to deduct theirfederal income tax from their Alabama state tax, even if taking thestandard deduction; those who itemize can also deductFICA (the Social Security and Medicare tax).[230]
The state's general sales tax rate is 4%.[231] Sales tax rates for cities and counties are also added to purchases.[232] For example, the total sales tax rate inMobile County, Alabama is 10% and there is an additional restaurant tax of 1%, which means a diner inMobile County, Alabama would pay an 11% tax on a meal.
In 2020, sales and excise taxes in Alabama accounted for 38% of all state and local revenue.[233] Only Alabama,Mississippi, andSouth Dakota tax groceries at the full state sales tax rate.[234]
The corporate income tax rate in Alabama is 6.5%. The overall federal, state, and local tax burden in Alabama ranks the state as the second least tax-burdened state in the country.[235]Property taxes of 0.40% of assessed value per year, are the second-lowest in the U.S., after Hawaii.[236] The state constitution currently requires a voter referendum to raise property taxes.
Historically, an Alabama excise tax "on the storage, use or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased at retail for storage, use or other consumption in this state" was the focus of a 1941U S Supreme Court ruling,Curry v United States.[237]
Alabama has 67counties. Each county has its own elected legislative branch, usually called the county commission. It also has limited executive authority in the county. Because of the constraints of the Alabama Constitution, which centralizes power in the state legislature, only seven counties (Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa) in the state have limitedhome rule. Instead, most counties in the state must lobby the Local Legislation Committee of the state legislature to get simple local policies approved, ranging from waste disposal to land use zoning.
The state legislature has retained power over local governments by refusing to pass a constitutional amendment establishing home rule for counties, as recommended by the 1973 Alabama Constitutional Commission.[238] Legislative delegations retain certain powers over each county. United States Supreme Court decisions inBaker v. Carr (1964) required that both houses have districts established on the basis of population, and redistricted after each census, to implement the principle of "one man, one vote". Before that, each county was represented by one state senator, leading to under-representation in the state senate for more urbanized, populous counties. The rural bias of the state legislature, which had also failed to redistrict seats in the state house, affected politics well into the 20th century, failing to recognize the rise of industrial cities and urbanized areas.
"The lack of home rule for counties in Alabama has resulted in the proliferation of local legislation permitting counties to do things not authorized by the state constitution. Alabama's constitution has been amended more than 700 times, and almost one-third of the amendments are local in nature, applying to only one county or city. A significant part of each legislative session is spent on local legislation, taking away time and attention of legislators from issues of statewide importance."[238]
Alabama is analcoholic beverage control state, meaning the state government holds a monopoly on the sale of alcohol. TheAlabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board controls the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages in the state. A total of 25 of the 67 counties are "dry counties" which ban the sale of alcohol, and there are many dry municipalities in counties which permit alcohol sales.[239]
During Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of theThird Military District underGeneral John Pope. In 1874, the political coalition of white Democrats known as theRedeemers took control of the state government from the Republicans, in part by suppressing the black vote through violence, fraud, and intimidation. After 1890, a coalition of White Democratic politicians passed laws to segregate and disenfranchise African American residents, a process completed in provisions of the 1901 constitution. Provisions which disenfranchised blacks resulted in excluding many poor Whites. By 1941 more Whites than Blacks had been disenfranchised: 600,000 to 520,000. The total effects were greater on the black community, as almost all its citizens were disfranchised and relegated to separate and unequal treatment under the law.
From 1901 through the 1960s, the state did not redraw election districts as population grew and shifted within the state during urbanization and industrialization of certain areas. As counties were the basis of election districts, the result was a rural minority that dominated state politics through nearly three-quarters of the century, until a series of federal court cases required redistricting in 1972 to meet equal representation. Alabama state politics gained nationwide and international attention in the 1950s and 1960s during the civil rights movement, when whites bureaucratically, and at times violently, resisted protests for electoral and social reform. GovernorGeorge Wallace, the state's only four-term governor, was a controversial figure who vowed to maintain segregation. Only after passage of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964[79] and Voting Rights Act of 1965 did African Americans regain the ability to exercise suffrage, among other civil rights. In many jurisdictions, they continued to be excluded from representation by at-large electoral systems, which allowed the majority of the population to dominate elections. Some changes at the county level have occurred following court challenges to establishsingle-member districts that enable a more diverse representation among county boards.
In 2007, the Alabama Legislature passed, and Republican governorBob Riley signed a resolution expressing "profound regret" over slavery and its lingering impact. In a symbolic ceremony, the bill was signed in theAlabama State Capitol, which housed Congress of the Confederate States of America.[240] In 2010, Republicans won control of both houses of the legislature for the first time in 136 years.[241]
As of February 2023[update], there are a total of 3,707,233 registered voters, with 3,318,679 active, and the others inactive in the state.[242]
With the disfranchisement of Blacks in 1901, the state became part of the "Solid South", a system in which theDemocratic Party operated as effectively the only viable political party in every Southern state. For nearly a hundred years local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Partyprimary, with generally only tokenRepublican challengers running in the general election. Since the mid- to late 20th century, however, white conservatives started shifting to the Republican Party. In Alabama, majority-white districts are now expected to regularly elect Republican candidates to federal, state and local office.
Members of the nine seats on theSupreme Court of Alabama[244] and all ten seats on the state appellate courts are elected to office. Until 1994, no Republicans held any of the court seats. In that general election, the then-incumbent chief justice,Ernest C. Hornsby, refused to leave office after losing the election by approximately 3,000 votes to RepublicanPerry O. Hooper Sr.[245] Hornsby sued Alabama and defiantly remained in office for nearly a year before finally giving up the seat after losing in court.[246] The Democrats lost the last of the nineteen court seats in August 2011 with the resignation of the last Democrat on the bench.
In the early 21st century, Republicans hold all seven of the statewide elected executive branch offices. Republicans hold six of the eight elected seats on the Alabama State Board of Education. In 2010, Republicans took large majorities of both chambers of the state legislature, giving them control of that body for the first time in 136 years. The last remaining statewide Democrat, who served on the Alabama Public Service Commission, was defeated in 2012.[247][248][249]
Only three Republican lieutenant governors have been elected since the end of Reconstruction, when Republicans generally represented Reconstruction government, including the newly emancipated freedmen who had gained the franchise. The three GOP lieutenant governors areSteve Windom (1999–2003),Kay Ivey (2011–2017), andWill Ainsworth (2019–present).
Local elections
Many metropolitan and suburban counties have voters who are majority Democrats, resulting in local elections being decided in the Democratic primary. Similarly, most rural counties are majority-Republican and elections are effectively decided in the Republican primary. However, since local governments in Alabama are weaker than in other parts of the country, Republicans have the upper hand in government.
Alabama's 67 county sheriffs are elected in partisan, at-large races, and Republicans retain the vast majority of those posts. The current split is 18Democrats, and 49Republicans as of 2023. However, most of the Democratic sheriffs preside over urban and more populated counties. The majority of Republican sheriffs have been elected in the more rural counties with lower population. As of 2025, the state of Alabama has 11 African-American sheriffs.[250]
Public primary and secondary education in Alabama is under the purview of theAlabama State Board of Education as well as local oversight by 67 county school boards and 60 city boards of education. Together, 1,496 individual schools provide education for 744,637 elementary and secondary students.[251]
Public school funding is appropriated through the Alabama Legislature through the Education Trust Fund. In FY 2006–2007, Alabama appropriated $3,775,163,578 for primary and secondary education. That represented an increase of $444,736,387 over the previous fiscal year. In 2007, more than 82 percent of schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward student proficiency under the NationalNo Child Left Behind law, using measures determined by the state of Alabama.
While Alabama's public education system has improved in recent decades, it lags behind in achievement compared to other states. According to U.S. Census data (2000), Alabama's high school graduation rate (75%) is the fourth lowest in the U.S. (afterKentucky,Louisiana and Mississippi).[17] The largest educational gains were among people with some college education but without degrees.[252] According to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP), Alabama ranks 39 in reading and 40 in math among fourth-grade students in the rankings from 2022.[253]
Generally prohibited in the West at large,school corporal punishment is not unusual in Alabama, with 27,260 public school studentspaddled at least one time, according to government data for the 2011–2012 school year.[c][254] The rate of school corporal punishment in Alabama is surpassed by only Mississippi and Arkansas.[254]
The largest single campus is the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, with 37,665 enrolled for fall 2016.[256] Troy University was the largest institution in the state in 2010, with an enrollment of 29,689 students across four Alabama campuses (Troy,Dothan, Montgomery, andPhenix City), as well as sixty learning sites in seventeen other states and eleven other countries. The oldest institutions are the publicUniversity of North Alabama in Florence and the Catholic Church-affiliatedSpring Hill College in Mobile, both founded in 1830.[257][258]
College football is extremely popular in Alabama, particularly the University of AlabamaCrimson Tide and Auburn UniversityTigers, rivals in theSoutheastern Conference. Alabama averages over 100,000 fans per game and Auburn averages over 80,000—both numbers among the top twenty in the nation.[266] Bryant–Denny Stadium is the home of the Alabama football team, and has aseating capacity of 101,821,[267] and is the fifth largest stadium in America.[268] Jordan-Hare Stadium is the home field of the Auburn football team and seats up to 87,451.[269]
Alabama has six major interstate routes:Interstate 65 (I-65) travels north–south roughly through the middle of the state;I-20/I-59 travel from the central west Mississippi state line to Birmingham, where I-59 continues to the north-east corner of the state and I-20 continues east towardsAtlanta;I-85 originates in Montgomery and travels east-northeast to the Georgia state line, providing a main thoroughfare to Atlanta; andI-10 traverses the southernmost portion of the state, traveling from west to east through Mobile.I-22 enters the state from Mississippi and connects Birmingham withMemphis, Tennessee. In addition, there are currently five auxiliary interstate routes in the state:I-165 in Mobile,I-359 in Tuscaloosa,I-459 around Birmingham,I-565 in Decatur and Huntsville, andI-759 in Gadsden. A sixth route,I-685, will be formed when I-85 is rerouted along a new southern bypass of Montgomery. A proposed northern bypass of Birmingham will be designated asI-422. Since a direct connection from I-22 to I-422 will not be possible,I-222 has been proposed, as well.
There are four toll roads in the state: Montgomery Expressway in Montgomery; Northport/Tuscaloosa Western Bypass in Tuscaloosa andNorthport; Emerald Mountain Expressway in Wetumpka; and Beach Express inOrange Beach.
Ports
ThePort of Mobile, Alabama's only saltwater port, is a large seaport on the Gulf of Mexico with inland waterway access to theMidwest by way of theTennessee–Tombigbee Waterway. The Port of Mobile was ranked 12th by tons of traffic in the United States during 2009.[273] The newly expandedcontainer terminal at the Port of Mobile was ranked as the 25th busiest for container traffic in the nation during 2011.[274] The state's other ports are on rivers with access to the Gulf of Mexico.
^The relevant note on p. 10 erroneously switches the population values for Perry and Washington counties. The correct values can be found onpage 121 of the final census report for 1820.
^Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.
^This figure refers to only the number of students paddled, and does not refer to the number of instances of corporal punishment, which would be higher.
^Thomason, Michael (2001).Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. pp. 2–21.ISBN978-0-8173-1065-3.
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^Walthall, John A. (1990).Prehistoric Indians of the Southeast-Archaeology of Alabama and the Middle South. University of Alabama Press.ISBN978-0-8173-0552-9.OCLC26656858.
^ab"Alabama Indian Tribes".Indian Tribal Records. AccessGenealogy.com. 2006.Archived from the original on October 12, 2006. RetrievedSeptember 23, 2006.
^Clark, Thomas D.; Guice, John D. W. (1989).The Old Southwest 1795–1830: Frontiers in Conflict. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. pp. 44–65,210–257.ISBN978-0-8061-2836-8.
^Hamilton, Peter Joseph (1910).Colonial Mobile: An Historical Study of the Alabama-Tombigbee Basin and the Old South West from the Discovery of the Spiritu Sancto in 1519 until the Demolition of Fort Charlotte in 1821. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 241–244.OCLC49073155.
^Cadle, Farris W (1991).Georgia Land Surveying History and Law. Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press.
^abKeith, LeeAnna (October 13, 2011)."Alabama Fever".Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University. Archived fromthe original on January 17, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 22, 2012.
^"Alabama Fever".Alabama Department of Archives and History. State of Alabama. Archived fromthe original on January 17, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 22, 2012.
^Flynt, Wayne (July 9, 2008)."Alabama".Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University. Archived fromthe original on September 6, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 22, 2012.
^"Capitals of Alabama".Alabama Department of Archives and History.Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. RetrievedJuly 8, 2011.
^Gamble, Robert (1987).The Alabama Catalog: A Guide to the Early Architecture of the State. University, AL: University of Alabama Press. pp. 144,323–324.ISBN978-0-8173-0148-4.
^Bowsher, Alice Meriwether (2001).Alabama Architecture. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. pp. 90–91.ISBN978-0-8173-1081-3.
^abc"Jim Crow Laws in Alabama".Emmett Till, It All Began with a Whistle. Classroomhelp.Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 22, 2012.
^Kousser, Morgan (1974).The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South. New Haven: Yale University Press.
^abcFeldman, Glenn (2004).The Disfranchisement Myth: Poor Whites and Suffrage Restriction in Alabama. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. p. 136.
^abJames Blacksher, Edward Still, Nick Quinton, Cullen Brown and Royal Dumas.Voting Rights in Alabama (1982–2006)Archived September 24, 2020, at theWayback Machine, Renew the VRA.org, July 2006, from discussion in Peyton McCrary, Jerome A. Gray, Edward Still, and Huey L. Perry, "Alabama" inQuiet Revolution in the South, pp. 38–52, Chandler Davidson and Bernard Grofman, eds. 1994.
^Thomason, Michael (2001).Mobile : the new history of Alabama's first city. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. pp. 213–217.ISBN0-8173-1065-7.
^"Voting Rights".Civil Rights: Law and History. U.S. Department of Justice. January 9, 2002. Archived fromthe original on February 21, 2007. RetrievedSeptember 23, 2006.
^Martin, Jonathan; Blinder, Alan (December 12, 2017). "Alabama Senate Race Between Roy Moore and Doug Jones Ends With More Controversy".
^abc"The Geography of Alabama".Geography of the States. NetState.com. August 11, 2006.Archived from the original on September 17, 2006. RetrievedSeptember 23, 2006.
^"National Park Guide".Geographic Search. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service—U.S. Department of the Interior.Archived from the original on September 30, 2006. RetrievedSeptember 23, 2006.
^"National Forests in Alabama".USDA Forest Service. United States Department of Agriculture.Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. RetrievedOctober 5, 2008.
^Pappas, Breck (January 14, 2016)."Coastal Clay".Mobile Bay Magazine.Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. RetrievedSeptember 21, 2020.
^"The Wetumpka Astrobleme" by John C. Hall, Alabama Heritage, Fall 1996, Number 42.
^King, David T. Jr. (April 23, 2010)."Wetumpka Crater".Encyclopedia of Alabama.Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. RetrievedDecember 13, 2011.
^"About the Atlas".Alabama Plant Atlas. Alabama Herbarium Consortium and University of West Alabama.Archived from the original on October 29, 2012. RetrievedOctober 16, 2012.
^"Mammals".Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived fromthe original on May 25, 2017. RetrievedMay 22, 2017.
^"Reptiles".Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived fromthe original on May 25, 2017. RetrievedMay 22, 2017.
^"Amphibians".Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived fromthe original on May 25, 2017. RetrievedMay 22, 2017.
^"Birds".Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived fromthe original on May 25, 2017. RetrievedMay 22, 2017.
^"Alabama Snails and Mussels".Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived fromthe original on May 25, 2017. RetrievedMay 22, 2017.
^"Crayfish".Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived fromthe original on May 25, 2017. RetrievedMay 22, 2017.
^Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, 'The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns',Social Science Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44–46.
^Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, 'Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites',Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82–86.
^"Alabama Demographics"(PDF).American University Washington College of Law.Archived(PDF) from the original on July 19, 2024. RetrievedDecember 1, 2024.
^White, David (April 1, 2007). "Poll says we feel good about state Trust in government, unlike some institutions, hasn't fallen".Birmingham News. p. 13A.
^abZietz, Robert (1994).The Gates of Heaven : Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim, the first 150 years, Mobile, Alabama, 1844–1994. Mobile, Alabama: Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim. pp. 1–7.
^Ijaz, Ahmad; Addy, Samuel N. (July 6, 2009)."Food Production in Alabama".The Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University. Archived fromthe original on January 17, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 22, 2012.
^"Alabama's Largest Employers".Birmingham Business Journal. American Registry. April 2011.Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 19, 2012.
^"Alabama and CBER: 75 Years of Change"(PDF).Alabama Business. Center for Business and Economic Research, Culverhouse College of Commerce, The University of Alabama. 2005. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on September 27, 2006. RetrievedSeptember 23, 2006.
^"State Highlights for 2004–2005"(PDF).Alabama Cooperative Extension System. USDA, NASS, Alabama Statistical Office. 2005. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on September 21, 2006. RetrievedSeptember 23, 2006.
^Volz, Jim (February 21, 2007)."Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF)".The Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University.Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. RetrievedApril 3, 2012.
^"Members". Association for Biblical Higher Education.Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. RetrievedJune 24, 2011.
^"Membership Directory"(PDF). Council on Operational Education. November 2010. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on July 25, 2011. RetrievedAugust 5, 2011.
^"ACICS Website Directory"(PDF). Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. July 20, 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on July 24, 2011. RetrievedAugust 5, 2011.
Alabama: State Resource Guide from theLibrary of Congress, A guide that provides access to digital materials related to the state of Alabama at the Library of Congress, as well as links to external websites and a selected print bibliography.
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