Alabama state

|Alabama re-admitted to the Union. |

|1875 A new constitution adopted, ending the period of|

|Reconstruction. |

|1888 First steel produced in Birmingham. |

|1901 Present state constitution adopted. |

|1944 First petroleum produced near Gilbertown. |

|1949 Redstone Arsenal, at Huntsville, became a center|

|for rocket and missile research. |

|1970 Black Alabamians won seats (two) In the state ||legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. |

|1981 Tuskegee Institute celebrated its 100th |

|anniversary. |

territory,were especially bitter. They sided with the British in the War of 1812. The

Indians raided Fort Mims and killed several hundred settlers. In a final battle at Horseshoe Bend, the Creeks were defeated, and before long they were moved out of the territory. The Cherokees, who had remained neutral in the war, were later moved from their lands. They were the most progressive of the Indian tribes. They lived in brick houses, grew cotton, raised rattle, and even had a written language.

Alabama Becomes a State

When Mississippi became a state in 1817, the eastern half of the

Mississippi Territory was removed and made the Alabama Territory. Its capital was St. Stephens, a small town lo the north of Mobile. At that time settlers were found mainly in three regions—in the Tennessee Valley, around

Huntsville; along Ihc Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers, with centers at

St. Stephens and Tusca-loosa; and along the Alabama and Coosa rivers, near such towns as Wetumpka and Montgomery.

Alabama was not a territory very long. With the approval of Congress, leading citi-/cns met at Huntsville on July 5, 1819, and drafted Alabama's first constitution. Soon after, on December 14, 1819, Alabama became a state. The capital was situated at Ca-haba, a town built for just this purpose at the junction of the Cahaba and the Alabama rivers. The choice of this town was bad. It lay in low, swampy land that flooded regularly. In

1825 the session of the legislature could be held only on the second floor of the capital, and the legislators had to get there by row-boat. Because of this situation the state capital was moved in 1827 to Tuscaloosa, where it stayed for 20 years. In 1847 the increase in wealth and political strength of the cotton planters of the Black Belt caused another move of the state capital—this time to Montgomery, where it is today.

King Cotton, Slavery, and the Civil War

Between 1820 and 1860 Alabama's economy was closely tied to slavery. The large cotton plantations could not be worked profitably without slaves. In the 1840's Alabama was one of the wealthiest states in the Union. In 1860 forces in the North moved toward the abolition of slavery. The leaders of Alabama opposed federal interference in the affairs of their state. They proposed secession. After a special election among the people, a convention was held in Montgomery on

January 7, 1861. On January 11 a resolution of secession was adopted, and