Geography And Climate Of Alabama
Alabama, also known as the “Heart of Dixie” due to its strong Southern heritage, is 52,423 square miles in total area and is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Florida to the south, Georgia to the east and Mississippi to the west. Montgomery is the state’s capital.
The northeastern region runs into part of the Appalachian Mountains, with the highest point in the state being Mount Cheaha at a height of 2,407 feet. From the middle of the state southward, the topography is low hills, forests and plains. In the southern region, Alabama border the Gulf of Mexico, with the city of Mobile and Mobile Bay sitting at sea level.
Northern Alabama is mainly mountains, with low hills and plains running from middle of the state to the south. The Tennessee River cuts through a large valley, thereby creating a number of streams, creeks, rivers and lakes, while the “Natural Bridge” rock is the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies. Interestingly enough, there is a five-mile meteorite impact crater in Elmore County, also known as the Wetumpka crater.
The state’s climate is temperate, characterized by mild winters and hot summers, with increased humidity and higher temperatures the closer it gets to the Gulf. Northern parts of the state, particularly in the Appalachian Mountains, are considerably cooler. With an annual rainfall of 56 inches, Alabama reports more thunderstorms than any other part of the South in addition to frequent lightening and hail.
Like other states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama is vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes, which tend to weaken into heavy rainstorms as it moves north. It also, along with Kansas, reports more F5 tornadoes than any other state, according to the National Climate Data Center.
History Of Alabama
Before French explorers settled in Mobile in 1702, various Native American tribes inhabited Alabama, including the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw. After Alabama became part of British Georgia and then later part of the Mississippi territory, the state was admitted to the Union in 1819.
Like other antebellum states, Alabama’s plantation economy was dependent on cotton and involved slave labor, with 45 percent of the population enslaved, according to the 1860 census. After seceding and joining the Confederate States of America, Alabama was readmitted to the Union in 1868. Despite the efforts of the Reconstruction period, the state’s government enacted a new constitution in 1901 that effectively disfranchised African-American and poor white from voting, keeping the white elite minority in power.
Agricultural depression, including a crop failure from a boll weevil infestation, and racial discriminatory practiced led to a mass migration to northern states in search of better job opportunities. Heavy industry and mining in the city of Birmingham also attracted a large number of white and blacks from farms, leading to a rapid population growth by the 1920s. As cotton started to wane in importance and World War II increased the demand for jobs, Alabama’s economy shifted from a focus on agriculture to manufacturing.
Even though Birmingham became one of the most populated cities in the South, its urban population went unrecognized for decades, as the Alabama legislature refused to reorganize House and Senate seats in order to keep political and economic control in the agricultural areas of the state. Moreover, segregation kept African-Americans from advancing socially, while supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan continued terrorizing the African-American population.
During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Alabama and Birmingham garnered national attention as they were seen as the epitome of racial segregation and injustice. Civil rights leaders, such as the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., used nonviolent protest to campaign for desegregation in Birmingham. By 1965, all voting restrictions, Jim Crow laws and public segregation were nullified. The state was also redrawn to give more populated areas a stronger political voice.
Demographics Of Alabama
Alabama has an estimated population of 4,557,808 as of 2005. The state consists of 67 counties.
Since slaves were brought to Alabama to work on plantations, the number of African-Americans representing the population is 26 percent and remains the state’s largest minority group. Furthermore, as part of the Bible Belt, Alabama is predominately Christian, with 37 percent claiming to belong to the Baptist church alone.
Economy Of Alabama
Alabama’s gross state product (GSP) was $160 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, with per capita earnings at $29, 697.
True to its history, Alabama still relies on agriculture, such as eggs, poultry, peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans and peaches. However, the state’s industrial output is equally important, including iron and steel products, lumber, paper, coal mining, plastic and textiles. Alabama’s automotive manufacturing industry continues generating new jobs and now ranks only second to Detroit in automobile production. In addition, Alabama is home to several aerospace headquarters mainly in the Huntsville area, including the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Army Missile Command.
Alabama Law And Government
The Alabama Legislatures includes 105 House of Representatives 35 members of Senate, with current Alabama Governor Bob Riley leading the state and Jefferson B. Sessions III and Richard C. Shelby serving as U.S. senators, all of whom are Republican.
Since 1980, conservative Alabamans have consistently voted for Republican candidates in presidential elections, while Democrats have won state elections. Prior to this recent change, Alabama voted Democrat until the Civil Rights Movement, in which it supported candidates, often Republican, who opposed such measures. In 1968, the state supported controversial former Governor George Wallace as an independent candidate for his views on racial segregation.
Alabama’s constitution is 40 times as long as the U.S. Constitution and is the longest in the world, with 800 amendments and 310,000 words. There is currently a growing movement to rewrite Alabama’s constitution, as it centralizes political power in a few areas while leaving most of the state to little or no home rule, which means local government has practically no power. Policy changes must be approved by the entire legislature and state referendum, thus making it difficult for elected officials to change simple issues such as land zoning. Critics also argue that it was intended to promote segregation and racism, and thus needs to be modernized.
Alabama Transportation
I-65 runs from the north to the south of Alabama, while the I-59 and I-20 travel from the central west border to Birmingham and through the northeast corner. I-85 goes from Montgomery to the border of Georgia, while I-10 runs through the southernmost area of the state.
Birmingham International Airport and Huntsville International Airport both have daily flights, while other regional airports serve different parts of the state and local regions in Dothan, Mobile, Muscle Shoals and Tuscaloosa.
Several ports, including the Port of Birmingham, Port of Tuscaloosa, Port of Montgomery and Port of Mobile, connect to the Tennessee River, Alabama River and Gulf of Mexico, respectively.
Major Cities And Towns Of Alabama
Birmingham is Alabama’s largest city, founded after the Civil War in 1871. Since the 20th Century, Birmingham has grown significantly as a manufacturing and industrial city. Birmingham also played a large role in the Civil Rights Movement, where Kelly Ingram Park and the 16th Street Baptist Church serve as somber reminders of the time.
Mobile, which is located on the Gulf Coast and serves as Alabama’s only seaport, was originally the first capital of French Louisiana in 1702. The city has several museums, military parks and a botanical garden as well as nine historic districts with antebellum architecture such as Gothic and Greek Revival.
Huntsville is the largest city in northern Alabama. After being settled in 1805 as Twickenham, the city was renamed Huntsville after founder John Hunt during the War of 1812. Located by the Tennessee River, Huntsville is known as the center for the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and as a significant site for aerospace engineering.
Alabama Educational System
The Alabama State Board of Education oversees the public primary and secondary education in the state. There are 14 public four-year universities, including the University of Alabama school system, along with 17 private colleges and a number of community colleges.
For more information, visit the Alabama State Department of Education.
Alabama Sports Teams And Recreational Activities
Alabama does not have any major franchises, but there are four baseball teams in the Southern League of minor league baseball: the Birmingham Barons, the Huntsville Stars, the Mobile BayBears and the Montgomery Biscuits. Huntsville is also home of the Huntsville Havoc, an ice hockey teams, as well as the Alabama Renegades of the National Women’s Football Association.
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