Alabama

Alabama

Capital	Montgomery
Nickname	Heart of Dixie; Camellia State
Official Language	English
Governor	Kay Ivey, R
Senator	Tommy Tuberville, R (202) 224-5744 []
Senator	Katie Britt, R (202) 224-4124 [no E-mail listed]
Population	4,920,000 (2020)
Ratification of Constitution/or statehood	December 14, 1819
	Motto: Audemus jura nostra defendere (We dare defend our rights)

Alabama is located in the Southeastern region of the United States and on December 14, 1819 it became the twenty-second state to enter the union.

The state Constitution of Alabama, like all of the other 50 states, acknowledges God or our Creator or the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe. It says:

We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution.

Civil War History[edit]

Alabama seceded from the Union on January 11, 1861, and on February 8 of that year became one of the founding members of the Confederate States of America. After the American Civil War, Alabama was readmitted into the Union in 1868.

In May 2017, Alabama enacted a law making it illegal to remove any monument over 40 years old, thus protecting the state's Confederate monuments.^[1]

Alabama Politics[edit]

The capital of Alabama is Montgomery and its largest city is Birmingham. Alabama is a red state which tends favor Republicans in elections, particularly on a national level.^[2] The current governor of Alabama is Kay Ivey, a Republican. Alabama's current Senators are Richard Shelby, a Republican, and Tommy Tuberville, a Republican.

Alabama currently has seven members of the House of Representatives, Jerry Carl (R), Barry Moore (R), Mike Rogers (R), Robert Aderholt (R), Mo Brooks (R), Gary Palmer (R), and Terri Sewell (D).

Alabama's Constitution was adopted in 1901. It is notorious for his length (longer than the oft-amended California Constitution, and the also fairly long Texas Constitution) and centralization of government control at the state level; cities and counties have little authority and even minor changes require either unanimous consent of the Legislature, or else the issue is up for vote statewide (thus, an issue affecting Mobile can be voted down by Huntsville residents).

Economy[edit]

Alabama is the nation's fourth largest producer of automobiles, and much of Alabama's economic growth is tied to increases in its domestic manufacturing base. Alabama also has a robust agricultural sector, producing over 12% of the nation's chicken, along with large amounts of cattle, cotton, and eggs. Early, in Alabama's history, cotton was the dominant force in the state's economy, but by 1915 farmers had diversified their crops in response to the Boll Weevil, a parasite that targets cotton plants. Alabama also has access to bituminous coal, natural gas, and petroleum reserves.^[3]

Elected Officials[edit]

As of January 3, 2021:

Federal[edit]

• Senator Richard Shelby (R)
• Senator Tommy Tuberville (R)
• Rep. Jerry Carl [R, AL–1]
• Rep. Barry Moore [R, AL–2]
• Rep. Mike D. Rogers [R, AL–3]
• Rep. Robert Aderholt [R, AL–4]
• Rep. Mo Brooks [R, AL–5]
• Rep. Gary Palmer [R, AL–6]
• Rep. Terri Sewell [D, AL–7]

Statewide[edit]

• Governor Kay Ivey (R)
• Lt. Governor (vacant)
• Attorney General Steve Marshall (R)
• Secretary of State John Merrill (R)
• State Auditor Jim Zeigler]]R)
• State Treasurer Young Boozer (R)
• Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan (R)

Notable people from Alabama[edit]

• Hank Aaron, who held the Major League Baseball record for most home runs hit until 2007, is from Mobile.
• James B. Allen, U.S. Senator, 1969-1978
• Hugo Black, Senator from Alabama who was nominated to the Supreme Court by Franklin Roosevelt and served on the Court from 1937 to 1971, was born in Ashland.
• John Hall Buchanan, Jr., conservative GOP representative elected as a "Goldwater Republican" who later became a moderate
• Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood, lived in Monroeville, though he was born in New Orleans. During his time in Monroeville he was good friends with Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird.
• Jeremiah Denton, Navy admiral and prisoner of war in Vietnam War and U.S. Senator from 1981 to 1987.
• Jack Edwards, conservative Republican elected in 1964 as a "Goldwater Republican" from southern Alabama
• Alfred Goldthwaite, attorney and former state representative
• Joe Jones, jazz drummer, was born in Chicago but spent his early youth in Alabama.
• Helen Keller activist for the disabled and in various causes, was born in Tuscumbia.
• Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil rights activist, lived in Montgomery.
• Tandy Little, real estate developer and former state representative
• Joe Louis, a boxer who is the only famous athlete to be buried in Arlington Cemetery, lived in Lafayette.
• Elvin McCary, Republican former state representative and state senatior
• Bert Nettles, Birmingham lawyer who was a Republican state representative for Mobile County, 1969-1974
• Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist who became famous for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, lived in Tuskegee.
• Walker Percy, novelist and thinker strongly influenced by Catholicism, was born in Birmingham.
• Sun Ra, jazz pianist and band leader; his birth certificate indicates Birmingham as his place of birth though he claimed to have been born on Saturn.
• Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State in the George W. Bush Administration, was born in Birmingham.

State Motto[edit]

Audemus jura nostra defendere is the state motto, which translated from Latin means "We dare defend our rights." It is reminiscent of Alabama's role in the Confederate States of America while it was fighting for State's rights.

References[edit]

See also[edit]

• Birmingham Alabama Temple
• Bradley Byrne