USA Alabama - The People : USA  

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USA Alabama - The People

The People

By 1830, the State's population was 309,527. The small majority white population of 190,406 enslaved 117,549 blacks while 1,572 blacks retained free citizen status. 1860 saw the population swell to 526,271 (white 437,770 black 437,770).

on January 11, 1861 the Alabama Secession Convention passes an Ordinance of Secession, declaring Alabama a "Sovereign and Independent State." By a vote of 61-39, Alabama becomes the fourth state to secede from the Union. Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as president of the Confederate States of America on February 18th of the same year.

From 1861-1865 (Civil War) Alabama saw 194 military land events and 8 naval engagements. By 1868, Alabama is readmission to the Union, and allowing black suffrage for the first time. The population of Alabama reaches 1,828,697 at turn of the century (Cacason-Americans 1,001,152 African-Americans 827,307)

More then sixty years of racial tensions started the 1900's off. In 1931 nine black youths (Scottsboro Boys) are arrested in Paint Rock and jailed in Scottsboro, the Jackson County seat. Charged with raping two white women on a freight train from Chattanooga, the sheriff had to protect them from mob violence that night. Within a month, eight of the nine were sentenced to death. Based on questionable evidence, the convictions by an all-white jury generated international outrage.

In 1954 Democratic nominee for state Attorney General, Albert Patterson campaigned to clean-up Phenix City and deems it "the wickedest city in America." Shortly thereafter he is found murdered. In 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, is arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a boarding white passenger as required by Montgomery city ordinance. Her action prompted the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott and earned her a place in history as 'the mother of the modern day civil rights movement.' By 1956, The Supreme Court ruling banning segregated seating on Montgomery’s public transit vehicles goes into effect. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks were among the first people to ride a fully integrated bus, ending the historic year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Alabama today remains largely a black-and-white state, with 71 percent of residents identifying themselves as white only and 26 percent as black only. Though the number of Hispanics tripled to 75,830.

The 2000 Census put Alabama's population at 4,447,100. The State Capital is Montgomery, other major cities or towns include Birmingham, Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Hoover, Dothan, Decatur, Gadsden & Auburn.