State of Alabama | |
Coordinates | 32°42’N, 86°42’WL |
General | |
Surface | 135,765 km² (3.2% water) |
Inhabitants | 4,779,745 (2010) (35.21 inhabitant/km²) |
Capital city | Montgomery |
Politics | |
Governor | Kay Ivey (R) |
Other | |
Time zone | Central Standard Time (UTC−6) |
Joined | Dec 14, 1819 |
Nickname | The Yellowhammer State |
ISO 3166-2 | US-AL |
Website | alabama.gov |
Alabama is one of the states of the United States. Its standard abbreviation is AL, nicknamed Yellowhammer State (golden ground woodpecker state). The capital is Montgomery.
History
The area that now forms the state of Alabama was originally settled by Native American tribes. The French, the Spaniards and the English lay claim to (pieces of) the area. The first permanent European settlement in Alabama was Mobile which was founded by the French in 1702.
According to JIBIN123.COM, Alabama formally became the 22nd state of the United States of America on December 14, 1819. Tuscaloosa was the capital between 1826 and 1846, and the University of Alabama was established there in 1831.
Alabama, with an economy based on cotton farming, was rich in slaves and sided with the Confederacy during the American Civil War. In 1865, the state, like the other former Confederate states, underwent reconstruction. Racism was also a major problem after the war in the state, where some racist laws were passed at the end of the 19th century, causing the black population to lose the right to vote, among other things. These laws were overturned by the Federal Supreme Court in the 1960s.
In the 1950s, the federal Supreme Court outlawed segregation in education. This led to great tensions as the Alabama government continued to refuse to admit black children to white schools. The federal army had to step in to get children to school safely. With his stubborn politics, Governor George Wallace became very popular among the white population.
Rosa Parks, who was born in Alabama, became world famous for her refusal to give up her seat on the bus to a white person after a long day at work.
In the second half of the 20th century, cotton cultivation lost significance and the economy became more diverse and prosperity increased.
Nevertheless, in the elections of November 2, 2004, the population voted in favor of formally maintaining the apartheid laws. This concerns segregation in education and the poll tax, a poll tax, which gives taxpayers the right to vote. The laws are not applied because federal law prohibits it.
Geography
The state of Alabama covers 135,765 km² of which 3.19% is water. The state belongs to the Central time zone (CT).
Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama is bordered by the state of Tennessee to the north, Mississippi to the west, Georgia to the east, and Florida to the south.
The major rivers are the Mobile, the Tensaw, the Tombigbee, the Alabama, the Chattahoochee, the Coosa, the Tallapoosa, and the Tennessee. The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway connects shipping with the Tennessee River to the north. Alabama has many large lakes, such as Martin Lake and Lewis Smith Lake. The northeast of the state belongs to the Appalachians, with the highest point being the top of Cheaha Mountain (734 m); the rest is flatter.
The state is crossed by six major Interstates: I-10, I-20, I-22, I-59, I-65, and I-85. The state’s main airport is Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.
Demography and Economics
- Birmingham
- Montgomery
- Mobile
- Huntsville
In 2018, Alabama had a population of 4,888,745 (36 per km²) of which 26% were black and approximately 67% white. Christianity is by far the largest religion in Alabama at 92%.
The top 10 largest cities by population are:
Place | City | Population (2008) |
1 | Birmingham | 210.710 |
2 | Montgomery | 199,450 |
3 | mobile | 190.022 |
4 | Huntsville | 176,645 |
5 | Tuscaloosa | 90.221 |
6 | Hoover | 71,020 |
7 | Dothan | 66,505 |
8 | auburn | 56,088 |
9 | Decatur | 56,068 |
10 | Madison | 38,714 |
The gross product of the state in 2001 was $121 billion.
Administrative division
According to COUNTRYAAH, Alabama is administratively subdivided into 67 counties that generally have little self-government.
County | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
County Seat | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
Autauga | 49.960 | Prattville | 32.034 |
Baldwin | 171.769 | Bay Minette | 7726 |
Barbour | 27.941 | Clayton | 1371 |
Bibb | 21.535 | Centreville | 2526 |
Blount | 56.614 | Oneonta | 6880 |
Bullock | 10.781 | Union Springs | 4601 |
Butler | 20.157 | Greenville | 7002 |
Calhoun | 113.103 | Anniston | 23.689 |
Chambers | 34.764 | La Fayette | 3036 |
Cherokee | 24.560 | Centre | 3462 |
Chilton | 42.299 | Clanton | 8742 |
Choctaw | 14.173 | Butler | 1724 |
Clarke | 26.496 | Grove Hill | 1348 |
Clay | 13.788 | Ashland | 1873 |
Cleburne | 14.700 | Heflin | 3511 |
Coffee | 46.793 | Elba | 4129 |
Colbert | 54.588 | Tuscumbia | 8241 |
Conecuh | 13.160 | Evergreen | 3423 |
Coosah | 10.864 | Rockford | 396 |
Covington | 37.007 | Andalusia | 8705 |
Crenshaw | 13.805 | Luverne | 2755 |
Cullman | 80.554 | Cullman | 14.984 |
Dale | 48.150 | Ozark | 14.639 |
Dallas | 43.079 | Selma | 18.949 |
DeKalb | 68.016 | Fort Payne | 13.916 |
Elmore | 77.525 | Wetumpka | 7585 |
Escambia | 37.600 | Brewton | 5281 |
Etowah | 103.217 | Gadsden | 36.936 |
Fayette | 17.648 | Fayette | 4696 |
Franklin | 30.439 | Russellville | 8780 |
Geneva | 25.707 | Geneva | 4401 |
Greene | 9201 | Eutaw | 2973 |
Hale | 18.111 | Greensboro | 2562 |
Henry | 16.621 | Abbeville | 2944 |
Houston | 97.171 | Dothan | 65.447 |
Jackson | 53.030 | Scottsboro | 14.863 |
Jefferson | 658.779 | Birmingham | 229.800 |
Lamar | 14.447 | Vernon | 1913 |
Lauderdale | 88.561 | Florence | 37.449 |
Lawrence | 34.229 | Moulton | 3263 |
Lee | 130.516 | Opelika | 25.836 |
Limestone | 73.898 | Athens | 22.936 |
Lowndes | 12.686 | Hayneville | 1117 |
Macon | 22.336 | Tuskegee | 11.370 |
Madison | 312.734 | Huntsville | 171.327 |
Marengo | 21.276 | Linden | 2285 |
Marion | 29.580 | Hamilton | 6381 |
Marshall | 87.644 | Guntersville | 8267 |
Mobile | 404.406 | Mobile | 191.411 |
Monroe | 22.764 | Monroeville | 6425 |
Montgomery | 225.791 | Montgomery | 204.086 |
Morgan | 115.050 | Decatur | 55.741 |
Perry | 10.602 | Marion | 3171 |
Pickens | 19.651 | Carrollton | 935 |
Pike | 29.925 | Troy | 14.482 |
Randolph | 22.425 | Wedowee | 815 |
Russell | 50.183 | Phenix City | 30.663 |
Shelby | 182.113 | Columbiana | 3779 |
St. Clair | 78.054 | Ashville Pell City |
2511 12.492 |
Sumter | 13.306 | Livingston | 3002 |
Talladega | 80.255 | Talladega | 16.991 |
Tallapoosa | 40.747 | Dadeville | 3218 |
Tuscaloosa | 177.906 | Tuscaloosa | 88.722 |
Walker | 68.816 | Jasper | 13.978 |
Washington | 17.226 | Chatom | 1160 |
Wilcox | 12.779 | Camden | 2214 |
Winston | 24.240 | Double Springs | 983 |
Politics and Governance
Alabama is one of the most conservative states in the country. From the end of the American Civil War to about the 1960s, the Democratic Party dominated the state, but in the 1964 election, the far-right Republican Barry Goldwater won. Since 1980, Republicans have begun to gain ground in the state, especially among conservative Christians. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump won the state with more than 62% of the vote.
State level
The executive branch of the state is headed by a governor, who is directly elected by the voters in the state. The current governor is Kay Ivey of the Republican Party. She succeeded her party colleague Robert Bentley in 2017, after he had to resign after a financing scandal. Ivey was elected to a full term of his own in 2018. She is the second female governor in Alabama history, after Lurleen Wallace in the 1960s.
The state legislature consists of the Alabama House of Representatives with 105 members and the Alabama Senate with 35 members.