Alabama
Contents
ALABAMA,
one of the East South Central states of the U.S., bounded
on the N by Tennessee, on the E by Georgia, on the S by Florida
and the Gulf of Mexico, and on the W by Mississippi. The Chattahoochee
R. forms much of the E boundary.
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State flag
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Called the Heart of Dixie, Alabama entered the Union on Dec.
14, 1819, as the 22d state. In 1861 it became a founding member
of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.
Alabama’s economy was long dominated by farming, but by
the 1990s manufacturing, government, and services were the chief
economic sectors. The name of the state is taken from the Alabama
R., which was named for the Alabama, or Alibamon, Indians, who belonged
to the Creek Confederacy.
| ALABAMA STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
December 14, 1819; 22d state |
| CAPITAL: |
Montgomery |
| MOTTO: |
Audemus jura nostra defendere (We dare maintain our rights) |
| NICKNAME: |
Heart of Dixie |
| STATE SONG: |
“Alabama” (words by Julia S. Tutwiler; music by Edna G. Gussen) |
| STATE TREE: |
Southern (longleaf) pine |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Camellia |
| STATE BIRD: |
Yellowhammer |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
4,447,100; 23d among the states |
| AREA: |
135,765 sq km (52,423 sq mi); 30th largest state; includes 4338 sq km (1675 sq mi) of inland water |
| COASTLINE: |
85 km (53 mi) |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
Cheaha Mt., 733 m (2405 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
Sea level, at the Gulf coast |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
9 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 7 representatives |
| GOVERNOR: |
Bob Riley (Rep.); took office January 2003 |
Alabama, with an area of 135,765 sq km (52,419 sq mi),
is the 30th largest state in the U.S.; 3.4% of the land area is owned
by the federal government. The state is roughly rectangular in shape,
and its extreme dimensions are about 540 km (about 335 mi) from N to S
and about 330 km (about 205 mi) from E to W. Elevations begin at sea
level and extend up to 733 m (2405 ft), atop Cheaha Mt., in the E part
of the state. The approximate mean elevation is 152 m (500 ft).
Alabama's shoreline along the Gulf of Mexico is 85 km (53 mi) long.
The S half of Alabama plus a narrow region in the NW are part of
the East Gulf Coastal Plain. Roughly parallel, generally forested
ridges (mostly less than 152 m/500 ft in elevation) stretch
E-W across the plain. Soils are mainly clays and sandy clays, with
the exception of the limestone-derived dark clays of the Black Belt,
a fertile area in the center of the region. The delta formed by the
Mobile and Tensaw rivers at the city of Mobile includes much swampland
and marshland.
In N Alabama are the Interior Low Plateaus, a part of the
Cumberland Plateau, the Valley and Ridge Region, and a section of
the Piedmont Plateau. The Interior Low Plateaus, developed on flat-lying
limestone and alluvium, are overlaid with relatively fertile sandy
clay soils. The Cumberland Plateau region consists of flat to gently
rolling land, developed principally on sandstone and sandy shale.
The Valley and Ridge Region contains sandstone ridges and broad,
moderately fertile valleys. It includes the Beaver Creek Mts. and
part of Lookout Mt. The generally forested low hills and ridges
of the Piedmont Plateau, developed on the oldest rocks in Alabama,
are overlaid with clay and sandy clay soils. Situated in this region
are Colvin Mt. and Talladega Mt.
With the exception of the Tennessee R. and its tributaries
in N Alabama, all streams in the state flow generally S toward the
Gulf of Mexico. Among the rivers are the Mobile, Alabama, Tombigbee,
Chattahoochee, and Tensaw. The Alabama and Tombigbee rivers join
to form the Mobile-Tensaw system. Principal tributaries of the Alabama
R. include the Coosa, Tallapoosa, and Cahaba rivers, and the Black
Warrior R. is the chief affluent of the Tombigbee R.
All of Alabama’s large lakes are constructed impoundments.
These bodies of water include Lakes Guntersville, Wheeler, and Wilson,
on the Tennessee R.; Weiss Lake, on the Coosa R.; and Walter F.
George Reservoir, on the Chattahoochee R.
The temperate climate of N and central Alabama grades into
a subtropical climate in the coastal area. The average annual temperature
ranges from 15.6° C (60° F) in the N to about 21.1° C
(about 70° F) near the Gulf of Mexico. The recorded temperature
in the state has ranged from –32.7° C (–27° F),
in 1966, to 44.4° C (112° F), in 1925. The average
yearly rainfall for the state is about 1350 mm (about 53 in). The
area near the Gulf receives approximately 1650 mm (approximately
65 in) of precipitation per year and is subject to occasional hurricanes
in the summer months.
| ALABAMA AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Birmingham |
Mobile |
| Average January temperature range |
1.1° to 12.2° C |
34° to 54° F |
5° to 16.1° C |
41° to 61° F |
| Average July temperature range |
21.1° to 32.2° C |
70° to 90° F |
22.8° to 32.8° C |
73° to 91° F |
| Average annual temperature |
16.7° C |
62° F |
19.4° C |
67° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
1346 mm |
53 in |
1702 mm |
67 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
30 mm |
1.2 in |
10 mm |
0.4 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
118 |
124 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
72% |
71% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
99 |
100 |
Forests cover about 65% of the total land area of
Alabama; approximately 3% of the forest area is part of
the National Forest system. Forests in N Alabama are mixtures of hardwoods
and softwoods, whereas softwood pines are the dominant trees in
S areas. A warm, humid climate, with a long growing season, has
helped to produce more than 125 tree varieties and more than 150 species
of shrubs in Alabama. Besides pines, notable trees include oak,
hickory, cypress, and southern magnolia; among the shrubs are rhododendron,
mountain laurel, azalea, and sumac.
Mammals in Alabama include white-tailed deer, red fox, squirrel,
muskrat, nutria, beaver, and rabbit. Among the numerous birds are
the yellowhammer (the state bird), bluebird, cardinal, blue jay,
and mockingbird. Reptiles include snakes, alligators, turtles, and
lizards. Fish abound here. Freshwater varieties include catfish,
bream, bass, and crappie. Mullet, croakers, flounder, red snapper,
and tarpon inhabit the Gulf of Mexico, as do oysters, shrimp, and
crabs.
Among the major mineral deposits found in Alabama are coal, located
mainly in the N half of the state, and petroleum and natural gas,
situated principally in the East Gulf Coastal Plain. The state also
has substantial deposits of limestone, iron ore, sand and gravel,
bauxite, and clay.
According to the 2000 census, Alabama had 4,447,100
inhabitants, an increase of 10.1% over 1990. The average population
density in 2000 was 33.8 persons per sq km (87.6 per sq mi) of land
area. Whites made up 71.1% of the population and blacks 26.0%;
additional groups included American Indians and Alaska Natives 0.5%;
Asians, 0.7%; and other races, 0.7%. (The figures do not include the 1%
of the population who reported more than one race.) A total of 75,830
persons (1.7%) reported being of Hispanic background. The state's
largest cities were Birmingham; Montgomery, the capital; Mobile; and
Huntsville.
According to the 1990 census, Baptists (51.4%), Methodists (10.4%), and
Roman Catholics (4.5%) constituted the largest religious groups in the
state; other Protestant groups made up most of the remainder. In 1990
about 60% of the people of Alabama lived in areas defined as urban, and
the rest lived in rural areas.
| POPULATION OF ALABAMA SINCE 1800 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1800 |
1,000 |
0% |
| 1830 |
310,000 |
1% |
| 1850 |
772,000 |
5% |
| 1880 |
1,263,000 |
5% |
| 1900 |
1,829,000 |
12% |
| 1920 |
2,348,000 |
16% |
| 1940 |
2,833,000 |
30% |
| 1960 |
3,267,000 |
55% |
| 1980 |
3,890,000 |
60% |
| 1990 |
4,040,587 |
60% |
| 2000 |
4,447,100 |
60% |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST CITIES IN ALABAMA |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Birmingham |
242,820 |
265,968 |
| Montgomery |
201,568 |
187,106 |
| Mobile |
198,915 |
196,278 |
| Huntsville |
158,216 |
159,789 |
| Tuscaloosa |
77,906 |
77,759 |
| Hoover |
62,742 |
39,788 |
| Dothan |
57,737 |
53,589 |
| Decatur |
53,929 |
48,761 |
| Auburn |
42,987 |
33,830 |
| Gadsden |
38,978 |
42,523 |
The number and variety of Alabama’s educational and
cultural institutions increased after 1950, as the state became
more urban and developed sophisticated modern industries.
The first school was established in Alabama in 1799,
but the legislature did not provide for a statewide public educational
system until 1854. In the early 2000s Alabama had approximately 1470
public elementary and secondary schools; annual enrollment totaled some
527,600 pupils in kindergarten through eighth grade, and about 201,000
in grades 9-12. More than 70,000 students attended private schools in
the late 1990s. In the same period Alabama had 79 institutions of
higher education, with a combined enrollment of about 219,000 students.
Among the most notable of these schools were the University of Alabama,
with campuses at Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Huntsville; Auburn
University, in Auburn; and Tuskegee University, near Tuskegee.
Although many of Alabama’s cultural activities are
university related and thus distributed throughout the state, most
of its cultural institutions are located in Birmingham, Mobile,
and Montgomery. The most noteworthy art museums are the Birmingham
Museum of Art, which contains part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection;
the Mobile Museum of Art; and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.
The state's principal professional symphony orchestra is in Birmingham,
as is the Birmingham Public Library (1883), considered one of the outstanding
libraries in the South. Also of interest is the George Washington Carver
Museum, part of Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site.
Many of Alabama’s historical sites commemorate battles
of Indian wars and the American Civil War. Horseshoe Bend National
Military Park, near Alexander City, includes the site of Andrew
Jackson’s victory over the Creek Indians in 1814; and Fort
Morgan and Fort Gaines in Mobile Bay are Civil War fortifications.
Montgomery is the site of the first White House of the Confederacy, containing
exhibits of personal furnishings of Jefferson Davis; the Civil Rights
Memorial, commemorating 40 persons who lost their lives in support
of the civil rights movement between 1954 and 1968; and the Rosa Parks
Library and Museum of Troy State University, honoring the woman
sometimes called the mother of the U.S. civil rights movement.
Opportunities for outdoor recreation in Alabama are provided
by numerous rivers and lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and four national
forests. Hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, golf, boating, and swimming
are among the foremost recreational activities.
In the early 1990s Alabama was served by a
comprehensive communications system, which included 160 AM radio
stations, 117 FM radiobroadcasters, and 40 television stations. The
first radio station in the state, WBRC in Birmingham, was licensed in
1925, and the first television station, WAFM-TV in Birmingham, was
licensed in 1949. In 1955, Alabama began to run the nation's first
state-owned educational television network. Alabama's first regularly
issued newspaper, the
Mobile Centinel
, began publication in 1811. In the late 1990s the state had 24 daily
newspapers with a total daily circulation of about 672,000 copies.
Alabama's influential dailies included the
Birmingham News
, the
Huntsville Times
, and the
Montgomery Advertiser.
Alabama is governed under a constitution adopted in
1901, which has been amended more than 700 times. Five earlier
constitutions had been instituted, in 1819, 1861, 1865, 1868, and 1875.
An amendment may be proposed by the legislature or by a constitutional
convention. To become effective, it must be approved by a majority
voting on the issue in an election.
The chief executive of Alabama is a governor, who is popularly
elected. The governor served a 2-year term prior to the constitution
of 1901, which provided for 4-year terms but prohibited consecutive
terms; an amendment in 1968 allowed for two consecutive terms. The
same requirements apply to the lieutenant governor, who succeeds
the governor should the latter resign, die, or be removed from office.
Additional members of Alabama’s executive department include
the secretary of state, attorney general, auditor, treasurer, and
commissioner of agriculture and industries.
The bicameral legislature comprises a senate and house of representatives.
The 35 members of the senate and 105 members of the house are popularly
elected to 4-year terms.
Alabama’s highest court, the supreme court, is made
up of a chief justice who presides over the court and eight associate
judges. The two intermediate appellate courts are the court of criminal
appeals and the court of civic appeals, each with five judges. The major
trial courts are the circuit courts. The judges of all the courts are
popularly elected to 6-year terms. District probate judges are also
elected, but judges of municipal courts are appointed by the governing
body of the municipality.
In the late 1990s Alabama contained 67 counties, each
of which was governed by a board of commissioners. Other important
county officials include the county judge, probate judge,
superintendent of education, and sheriff. The state has more than 440
municipalities, most of them governed under the mayor-council system.
Alabama elects two senators and seven representatives to the
U.S. Congress. The state has nine electoral votes in presidential
elections.
In national, state, and local politics, Alabama was a stronghold
of the Democratic party for most of the 20th century. The dominant
political figure from the early 1960s through the mid-1980s was
George Corley Wallace; first elected governor as a staunch segregationist,
he later won with black support. A Republican trend has been evident
in recent decades, especially in presidential and congressional elections.
From the early 19th century, Alabama’s economy was
dominated by one crop—cotton. After 1915, however, boll
weevils so damaged the state’s cotton plants that farmers
began to concentrate on raising livestock and crops other than cotton.
Manufacturing began to be important to Alabama with the growth of
the iron and steel industry during the early 20th century. Beginning
in the 1930s low-cost power provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA), a federal agency, encouraged industrial development. Manufacturing, along
with the government and service sectors, retained its importance
in the early 2000s. Federal facilities, notably the George C. Marshall
Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, were major employers.
| ALABAMA STATE ECONOMY |
| STATE BUDGET |
|
| General revenue |
$13.1 billion |
| General expenditure |
$13.3 billion |
| Accumulated debt |
$4.5 billion |
| STATE AND LOCAL TAXES, PER CAPITA |
$2,007 |
| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$23,460 |
| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
15.1% |
| ASSETS, INSURED COMMERCIAL BANKS (157) |
$184.7 billion |
| LABOR FORCE (CIVILIAN NONFARM) |
2,150,400 |
| Employed in services |
22% |
| Employed in manufacturing and construction |
21% |
| Employed in wholesale and retail trade |
20% |
| Employed in government |
16% |
| MAJOR INDUSTRIES |
% CONTRIBUTED TO GSP* |
| Private service-producing services |
57% |
| Manufacturing and construction |
24% |
| Government |
16% |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries |
2% |
| Mining |
1% |
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2% |
Gross State Product = total value of goods and services produced in a year.
Sources: U.S. government publications. Based on most recent data available as of 2002. |
| PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF ALABAMA |
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Quantity Produced |
Value |
| FARM PRODUCTS |
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$3.3 billion |
| CROPS |
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$588 million |
| Greenhouse and nursery products |
-- |
$230 million |
| Cotton |
118,000 metric tons |
$146 million |
| Peanuts |
124,000 metric tons |
$72 million |
| Hay |
1.2 million metric tons |
$26 million |
| Corn |
272,000 metric tons |
$20 million |
| LIVESTOCK AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS |
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$2.7 billion |
| Chickens (broilers) |
2.4 million metric tons |
$1.7 billion |
| Cattle and calves |
276,000 metric tons |
$476 million |
| Eggs |
2.4 billion |
$260 million |
| Dairy Products |
-- |
$49 million |
| Hogs |
34,000 metric tons |
$39 million |
| MINERALS |
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$3.7 billion |
| Natural gas |
14.8 billion cu m |
$1.1 billion |
| Cement |
5.0 million metric tons |
$349 million |
| Stone |
59.5 million metric tons |
$388 million |
| Coal |
17.5 million metric tons |
$342 million |
| Petroleum |
10.6 million barrels |
$296 million |
| Lime |
2 million metric tons |
$119 million |
| FISHING |
13,600 metric tons |
$63 million |
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Annual Payroll |
| MANUFACTURING |
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$8.0 billion |
| Apparel and textile mill products |
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$1.2 billion |
| Transportation equipment |
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$1.2 billion |
| Fabricated metal products |
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$949 million |
| Primary metals |
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$868 million |
| Paper |
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$841 million |
| Food |
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$771 million |
| Chemicals |
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$694 million |
| Plastics and rubber products |
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$674 million |
| Wood products |
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$666 million |
| Computers and electronic equipment |
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$546 million |
| Machinery |
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$512 million |
| OTHER MAJOR INDUSTRIES |
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| Government |
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$7.5 billion |
| Retail trade |
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$3.9 billion |
| Transportation and public utilities |
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$2.2 billion |
| Wholesale trade |
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$2.7 billion |
| Construction |
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$2.8 billion |
| Finance, insurance, and real estate |
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$3.2 billion |
| Sources: U.S. government publications. Based on most recent data available as of 2002. |
Farming accounts for about 2% of the annual gross state
product in Alabama. The state has some 47,000 farms, which average 77
ha (191 acres) in size. Livestock products make up more than 80% of
Alabama's farm income. Broiler chickens and chicken eggs, produced
mainly in the N part of the state, are the most important livestock
products, and cattle and calves also constitute a leading source of
farm sales.
Crops account for less than 20% of Alabama's
agricultural income. Peanuts are grown in the SE part of the state.
Greenhouse and nursery products, cotton, and hay are also important, as
are corn, soybeans, pecans, and wheat.
The annual income from forestry and fishing in Alabama
is relatively small. Yellow pine, the state's most common tree, is used
for lumber and for making paper; some hardwood lumber also is produced.
In the late-1980s, about 11.3 million kg (about 24.9
million lb) of seafood was caught yearly in Mobile Bay and the Gulf of
Mexico by Alabama commercial fishers Most of the catch consisted of shrimp,
the state's most valuable marine product. Catfish farming is a growing
sector of the economy.
The mining industry accounts for about 2% of the annual
gross state product of Alabama. Natural gas is by far the leading mineral
product, followed by construction materials, coal, and petroleum.Leading
minerals are coal, natural gas, petroleum, and stone. Coal is mined primarily
in N central Alabama, petroleum and natural gas are recovered in the SW,
and limestone is quarried in the NE.
Enterprises engaged in manufacturing have an annual
payroll exceeding $10 billion in Alabama and employ about 340,000
workers. Leading manufactures include apparel and textiles,
transportation equipment, fabricated metal products, primary metals,
paper, and processed food. Automobile plants in Alabama produced more
than 75,000 vehicles annually in the late 1990s, and several major
automotive firms were expanding their production facilities in the
early 2000s. Other major manufactures of Alabama include chemicals,
plastics and rubber products, wood products, computers and electronic
equipment, and machinery.
Tourists spent an estimated $6.1 billion in Alabama in
2000. Many persons visit the five areas in the state administered by
the National Park Service; Horseshoe Bend National Military Park is the
most popular of these areas. The state maintains a system of 24 parks,
including Cheaha State Park, near Anniston, which is the site of Cheaha
Mt., the highest point in Alabama.
Birmingham and Montgomery are important hubs within a
network of 151,779 km (94,311 mi) of federal, state, and local roads
that serve all sections of Alabama. A total of 5882 km (3655 mi) of
national highway system roads link the major cities of the state.
Alabama is served by 5338 km (3317 mi) of railroad track. Birmingham is
the major rail center.
Mobile is Alabama's only major commercial seaport. It
handles more cargo than any other port on the Gulf of Mexico between
Tampa, Fla., and New Orleans, La. The state includes a section of the
Gulf [fw..in033900.a]Intracoastal Waterway and also has about 2400 km
(about 1500 mi) of navigable inland waterways. The Black
Warrior-Tombigbee-Mobile river system is the longest and most important
such waterway in the state. The Tennessee R. links N Alabama with the
Mississippi R. system. The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, connecting the
port of Mobile with the river system of N Alabama, was completed in
1984 at a cost of nearly $2 billion.
Alabama has some 175 airports and 62 heliports. The
Birmingham airport handles nearly threefifths of the state’s air
passenger traffic.
As of 2000, the electricity generating plants of
Alabama had a total capacity of 23.1 million kw and produced about
124.6 billion kwh of electricity each year. Although Alabama ranks high
among the states in hydroelectric potential, about 62% of its
electricity was coal-generated, and about 25% was produced by nuclear
power plants. Much of the state's electricity was generated by TVA
facilities; these included the Browns Ferry nuclear plant, near Athens.
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Photos.com
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Hernando de Soto
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Earthen mounds and other archaeological evidence indicate
that people have lived in Alabama for at least 9000 years. The major
Indian groups at the time of European settlement were the Chickasaws
and Cherokees in the north and the Creeks and Choctaws to the south.
The first known Europeans to explore Alabama were Spaniards
and probably included álonzo Piñeda (1494–1519)
in 1519 and Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528. Hernando
de Soto reached a site near the present-day city of Mobile on Oct.
18, 1540, after winning a costly victory over the Choctaw Indians
in the Battle of Maubila. The French established the first permanent
European settlements, at Fort Louis (1702), Port Dauphin (1702),
and Mobile (1711). British claims to the area were recognized in
the 1763 Treaty of Paris, but the Spanish regained Mobile and the
Gulf coast by the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The U.S. took possession
of the entire area after the War of 1812.
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Library of Congress LC-USZC4-781
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Battle of Mobile Bay
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The Creek War (1813–14), in which the “Red
Stick” Creeks tried to resist white encroachment, ended
with Gen. Andrew Jackson’s victory at the Battle of Horseshoe
Bend in 1814. Alabama became a territory in 1817 and was accepted
into the Union as the 22d state on Dec. 14, 1819.
The antebellum era in Alabama was characterized by the continued
development of plantation agriculture in the central and southern
parts of the state, the removal of the Indians to the West, and
the rising controversy over the nature and legitimacy of slavery
and its extension into new territories. The election of President
Abraham Lincoln led to the special state convention that voted to
secede from the Union in January 1861. Montgomery became the first
capital of the Confederacy, and Jefferson Davis was inaugurated
president there in February. Military operations in Alabama during
the Civil War consisted of several Union raids into the state and
the victory of Adm. David Farragut in the Battle of Mobile Bay in
1864.
A new state constitution recognizing the abolition of slavery
was adopted in 1865. However, in 1867 Alabama came under federal
military control after refusing to ratify the 14th Amendment. After
another constitution was adopted affirming provisions of the 14th Amendment,
the military rule was ended in 1868. Blacks responded to emancipation
by attempting to exercise their new freedom and improve their condition,
and a number of blacks were elected to public office during the
Reconstruction era.
Conservative Democratic politics persisted throughout the
last quarter of the 19th century, as did farm tenancy and poor agricultural
conditions, despite the reform efforts of the People’s
party (Populists) in the 1890s. The growth of industry in northern
Alabama was especially significant. Founded in 1871, Birmingham quickly
became a center for iron and steel manufacture and one of the fastest
growing cities in the South; it had 132,685 inhabitants in 1910
and 256,678 in 1930.
White supremacy was consolidated in the state constitution
of 1901, which effectively prevented most blacks from voting. White
political control resulted, among other things, in the casting of
Alabama’s electoral votes in 1948 for the states’ rights
candidate rather than for President Harry S. Truman, the regular
Democratic party nominee, and in resistance to the black civil rights
movement in the 1950s and ’60s.
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Library of Congress LC-DIG-ppmsca-08527
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George Wallace
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The Montgomery bus boycott by blacks in 1955 fueled the beginnings
of civil rights protest. In May 1961, “Freedom Riders” of
the Congress of Racial Equality were attacked by white mobs in Anniston,
Birmingham, and Montgomery. In the spring of 1963, a series of demonstrations
in Birmingham led by Martin Luther King, Jr., were met with mass
arrests by city police, but resulted in a settlement containing
most black demands. The Selma to Montgomery march of 1965, also
led by King, furthered the passage of the federal Voting Rights
Act.
Although George Wallace became known outside the South
principally for his conservative views and resistance to racial
integration, his four terms as Alabama governor (1963-67, 1971-75,
1975-79, 1983-87) were also marked by rapid growth in highway
construction, higher education, and business investment. Commerce was
spurred by the completion in 1984 of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway,
linking the port of Mobile with the Tennessee R. in N Alabama.
Wallace's successor, Guy Hunt (1933- ), was the state's first
Republican governor since Reconstruction. He was elected to the
governorship in 1986 and reelected four years later, but was removed
from office in 1993 following his conviction for misappropriating
campaign and inaugural funds for personal use; he was declared innocent
of the charges by the state pardons board in 1998.
Automobile manufacturing was the key growth sector for
Alabama in the 1990s. The state continue to lag behind the national
averages, however, in income and educational attainment. A plan to
boost funding for public schools by instituting a state lottery was
defeated in 1999, largely because of opposition from religious groups.
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