55 Facts About Alabama

1.

Alabama is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered by Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south; and Mississippi to the west.

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2.

Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U S states.

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3.

Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird.

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4.

Alabama is known as the "Heart of Dixie" and the "Cotton State".

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5.

Alabama's capital is Montgomery, and its largest city by population and area is Huntsville.

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6.

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.

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7.

Politically, as part of the Deep South, Alabama is predominantly a conservative state, and culturally is known for its Southern culture.

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8.

The suggestion that "Alabama" was borrowed from the Choctaw language is unlikely.

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9.

Alabama settled in the Tombigbee District during the early 1770s.

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10.

Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819, with Congress selecting Huntsville as the site for the first Constitutional Convention.

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11.

Alabama had an estimated population of under 10, 000 people in 1810, but it increased to more than 300, 000 people by 1830.

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12.

On January 30, 1846, the Alabama legislature announced it had voted to move the capital city from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery.

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13.

Company of cavalry soldiers from Huntsville, Alabama, joined Nathan Bedford Forrest's battalion in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

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14.

Alabama wore new uniforms with yellow trim on the sleeves, collar and coattails.

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15.

Alabama was under military rule from the end of the war in May 1865 until its official restoration to the Union in 1868.

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16.

Alabama was represented in Congress during this period by three African-American congressmen: Jeremiah Har n, Benjamin S Turner, and James T Rapier.

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17.

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.

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18.

New 1901 Constitution of Alabama included provisions for voter registration that effectively disenfranchised large portions of the population, including nearly all African Americans and Native Americans, and tens of thousands of poor European Americans, through making voter registration difficult, requiring a poll tax and literacy test.

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19.

The civil rights movement had notable events in Alabama, including the Montgomery bus boycott, Freedom Rides in 1961, and 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches.

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20.

Also, the Black Belt region across central Alabama "is home to largely poor counties that are predominantly African-American.

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21.

Alabama has made some changes since the late 20th century and has used new types of voting to increase representation.

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22.

Alabama is the thirtieth-largest state in the United States with 52, 419 square miles of total area: 3.

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23.

The North Alabama region is mostly mountainous, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley and creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.

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24.

Alabama is bordered by the states of Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida to the south, and Mississippi to the west.

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25.

Alabama has coastline at the Gulf of Mexico, in the extreme southern edge of the state.

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26.

Areas in Alabama administered by the National Park Service include Horseshoe Bend National Military Park near Alexander City; Little River Canyon National Preserve near Fort Payne; Russell Cave National Monument in Bridgeport; Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee; and Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site near Tuskegee.

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27.

Additionally, Alabama has four National Forests: Conecuh, Talladega, Tuskegee, and William B Bankhead.

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28.

Alabama contains the Natchez Trace Parkway, the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail, and the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

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29.

Generally, Alabama has very hot summers and mild winters with copious precipitation throughout the year.

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30.

Alabama receives an average of 56 inches of rainfall annually and enjoys a lengthy growing season of up to 300 days in the southern part of the state.

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31.

Alabama is home to a diverse array of flora and fauna in habitats that range from the Tennessee Valley, Appalachian Plateau, and Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the north to the Piedmont, Canebrake, and Black Belt of the central region to the Gulf Coastal Plain and beaches along the Gulf of Mexico in the south.

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32.

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.

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33.

Center of population of Alabama is located in Chilton County, outside the town of Jemison.

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34.

Those citing "American" ancestry in Alabama are of overwhelmingly English extraction, however most English Americans identify simply as having American ancestry because their roots have been in North America for so long, in many cases since the early sixteen hundreds.

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35.

Alabama English is predominantly Southern, and is related to South Midland speech which was taken across the border from Tennessee.

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36.

Unique words in Alabama English include: redworm, peckerwood (woodpecker), snake doctor and snake feeder (dragonfly), tow sack (burlap bag), plum peach (clingstone), French harp (harmonica), and dog irons (andirons).

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37.

Alabama is located in the middle of the Bible Belt, a region of numerous Protestant Christians.

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38.

Alabama has no minimum wage and in February 2016 passed legislation preventing municipalities from setting one.

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39.

The total 2020 sales of catfish raised in Alabama equaled $307 million but by 2020 the total employment of Alabamians fell to 2, 442.

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40.

Alabama has historically been a popular region for film shoots due to its diverse landscapes and contrast of environments.

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41.

Movies filmed in Alabama include: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Get Out, 42, Selma, Big Fish, The Final Destination, Due Date, Need For Speed and many more.

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42.

Foundational document for Alabama's government is the Alabama Constitution, which was ratified in 1901.

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43.

Critics argue that Alabama's constitution maintains highly centralized power with the state legislature, leaving practically no power in local hands.

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44.

Judiciary is responsible for interpreting the Constitution of Alabama and applying the law in state criminal and civil cases.

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45.

Alabama has the highest per capita death penalty rate in the country.

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46.

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.

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47.

Alabama is an alcoholic beverage control state, meaning the state government holds a monopoly on the sale of alcohol.

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48.

In 2007, the Alabama Legislature passed, and Republican governor Bob Riley signed a resolution expressing "profound regret" over slavery and its lingering impact.

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49.

For nearly a hundred years local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Party primary, with generally only token Republican challengers running in the General Election.

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50.

Alabama'slby was originally elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 1986 and re-elected in 1992, but switched parties immediately following the November 1994 general election.

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51.

Public primary and secondary education in Alabama is under the purview of the Alabama State Board of Education as well as local oversight by 67 county school boards and 60 city boards of education.

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52.

Colleges and universities in Alabama offer degree programs from two-year associate degrees to a multitude of doctoral level programs.

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53.

Largest single campus is the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, with 37, 665 enrolled for fall 2016.

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54.

Alabama has several professional and semi-professional sports teams, including three minor league baseball teams.

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55.

Alabama has hosted several professional golf tournaments, such as the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championship at Shoal Creek, the Barbasol Championship, the Mobile LPGA Tournament of Champions, Airbus LPGA Classic, and Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic (LPGA Tour), and The Tradition (Champions Tour).

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