Who first settled in Alabama and why?
The first permanent European settlement in Alabama was founded by the French at Fort Louis de la Mobile in 1702. The British gained control of the area in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris, but had to cede almost all the Alabama region to the US and Spain after the American Revolution.
What was the first permanent settlement on the Gulf Coast?
Settlers rebuilt a fort on higher ground known as Fort Conde. This was the start of what developed as present-day Mobile, the first permanent European settlement in Alabama. Biloxi was another early French settlement on the Gulf Coast, to the west in what is now Mississippi.
What was Alabama's early statehood called?
Territorial Period and Early Statehood. Mississippi TerritoryThe early history of Alabama as a territory and a state was marked by an increasing number of Americans migrating into the region that, with the United States' continual expansion westward, became known as the "Old Southwest.".
Who was the first European to visit Alabama?
Cabeza de Vaca (and possibly Pánfilo de Narvaez) visited Alabama in 1528, and the Spanish did not really explore the area for another two decades, when Hernando de Soto led an expedition into the region about 1540. In the 1700s many more Europeans moved into the area.
Who settled in Alabama first?
The land that is today the state of Alabama was originally settled by two groups of Native Americans: the Cherokee and the Muskogee peoples. The Muskogee peoples included the Choctaw, the Creek, and the Chickasaw tribes.
When did the first people arrive in Alabama?
Contents. Alabama, which joined the union as the 22nd state in 1819, is located in the southern United States and nicknamed the “Heart of Dixie.” The region that became Alabama was occupied by aboriginals as early as some 10,000 years ago. Europeans reached the area in the 16th century.
When did the first slaves come to Alabama?
There were roughly 110 African children, teenagers, and young adults on board the Clotilda when it arrived in Alabama in 1860, just one year before the Civil War.
How old is Alabama?
Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819, with Congress selecting Huntsville as the site for the first Constitutional Convention.
Who migrated to Alabama?
The top countries of origin for immigrants were Mexico (27 percent of immigrants), China (6 percent), India (6 percent), Guatemala (5 percent), and Germany (5 percent). In 2018, 166,266 people in Alabama (3 percent of the state's population) were native-born Americans who had at least one immigrant parent.
What year did slavery end in Alabama?
1865The outcome of the American Civil War ended slavery in Alabama. The Thirteenth Amendment permanently abolished slavery in the United States in 1865. Alabama freedpeople welcomed emancipation but endured continuing hardships because of the prevailing and pervasive racial prejudices of the state's white inhabitants.
Who Discovered Alabama?
Alabama State History. Spanish explorers are believed to have arrived at Mobile Bay in 1519, and the territory was visited in 1540 by the explorer Hernando de Soto. The first permanent European settlement in Alabama was founded by the French at Fort Louis de la Mobile in 1702.
What happened in Alabama in the 1930s?
Alabama in the 1930s Alabamians suffered through the Depression, actually posting higher unemployment rates than any other southern state and boasting the dubious distinction of Birmingham's being arguably the hardest-hit city in America, with its full-time workforce plummeting from 100,000 to 15,000.
Where did the French settle in Alabama?
In 1702 the French founded the first permanent European settlement in Alabama, at Fort Louis, north of present-day Mobile. The British had also made a number of trips to the region from the Carolinas, but the French settlements—part of a string of forts arcing southward from Canada and designed to contain the British—were more numerous. Port Dauphin, on Dauphin Island, received the first Africans when a slave ship landed there in 1719.
How many people were in Alabama in 1820?
By 1820 Alabama’s population was more than 125,000, including about 500 free Blacks. By 1830 there were 300,000 residents, nearly one-fifth of them slaves, and cotton was the principal cash crop.
What was the bloodiest encounter between Europeans and Native Americans in North America?
A battle with the warriors of Choctaw chief Tuscaloosa, however, resulted in the slaughter of several thousand Native Americans in the area, one of the bloodiest single encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples in North America.
What is the state of Alabama?
The present-day state of Alabama was originally inhabited by various indigenous peoples. Visible traces of their occupancy, which spanned nearly 10,000 years, may be seen at Dust Cave, a Paleo-Indian site; at Russell Cave, a site dating to the Archaic period; and at Moundsville, a Mississippian site nestled in a series of large mounds that snake across the land. Many place-names in the state are of Native American origin, including the name Alabama itself, which derives from a word that perhaps means “thicket clearers.” The principal indigenous groups at the time of the initial European exploration of the region were the Chickasaw, in the northwest; the Cherokee, in the northeastern uplands; the Upper Creek, or Muskogee, in the centre and southeast; and the Choctaw, in the southwest.
What happened in 1832?
The Creek cession of 1832 virtually ended the claims of indigenous peoples to territorial rights in Alabama. Although a small number of Creeks remain in the southern part of the state, most descendants of Alabama’s original inhabitants live in Oklahoma.
Where did the first Africans settle?
The British had also made a number of trips to the region from the Carolinas, but the French settlements—part of a string of forts arcing southward from Canada and designed to contain the British—were more numerous. Port Dauphin, on Dauphin Island, received the first Africans when a slave ship landed there in 1719.
Who were the first Europeans to explore the Mississippi River?
The first known European explorers were Spaniards, who arrived at Mobile Bay in 1519. The main thrust of exploration came in 1540, when Hernando de Soto and his army of about 500 men entered the interior from the valley of the Tennessee River to search for gold. His expedition, which crisscrossed the area extensively, included the first European sighting of the Mississippi River and added greatly to European knowledge of southern indigenous cultures; it also opened the whole region to European settlement. A battle with the warriors of Choctaw chief Tuscaloosa, however, resulted in the slaughter of several thousand Native Americans in the area, one of the bloodiest single encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples in North America. De Soto ultimately found no gold, and the Spaniards who followed him failed to establish settlements in Alabama.
When was Alabama first settled?
Alabama First Early Inhabitants Timeline. 10,000 BC - 7000 BC - The first inhabitants of the area we now call Alabama were of the Paleo-Indian culture, semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers who lived in caves or in the open countryside around 10,000 years ago. (e.g. Russell Cave in Jackson County and the Stanfield-Worley bluff shelter in Colbert County).
When did Europeans settle in Alabama?
The first permanent European settlement in Alabama was founded by the French at Fort Louis de la Mobile in 1702.
What tribes were forced to settle in Alabama?
Between 1805 and 1806, the Choctaw tribes (in western Alabama) and the Chickasaw and Cherokee tribes (in northern Alabama) were forced to cede their land to white settlement. The Creek Indians attempted to ally themselves with other tribes from the North in resistance to white settlement, but were ultimately unsuccessful. As a result, most of the native people of Alabama were resettled in the Oklahoma territory.
What are the names of the tribes in Alabama?
The names of the Alabama tribes included: Alabama- The Native word is "Albina" which means to camp....This tribe belonged to the Muskhogean Tribe which was the Southern Division. Abihika- A branch of the Muskgoee & Creek Confederacy. Atasi- A sub-tribe of the Muskgoee.
What tribes lived on the Chattahoochee River?
Apalachee- This is one of the older lower creek tribes of Alabama. A few later joined the Creeks to he move to Oklahoma. Apalachicola- The early tribe lived on the Chattahoochee River & then moved to the other side to Georgia.
What is early history?
Early history examines the archaeological record that tells the story of the first inhabitants of Alabama. Learn about the prehistory and culture of the first early inhabitants, and what lessons it might teach us about the early history of Alabama.
Which tribes occupied the Tombigbee area?
Chatot- A tribe near Mobile. Choctaw- A tribe that shortly occupied the Tombigbee area for hunting grounds.
When was Alabama settled?
When Alabama was being settled in the early 1800s our first settlers were diverse in their origins. Our river regions were the most desirable lands. Indeed this is where the Indians lived. They realized the importance of water and the abundant fishing for their sustenance besides the natural advantage offered by these waters.
What were the people who settled in North Alabama?
In contrast, the people who settled North Alabama were small farmers who migrated to the Tennessee Valley of North Alabama from North Carolina or simply moved down from the hill country of Tennessee. The land they settled on was not conducive to growing cotton. It was hilly and less fertile. These folks were not interested in being cotton farmers anyway. They were yeomen hill farmers who were happy to have 40 acres and a mule. They were fiercely independent and very religious. They did not need slaves like their neighbors to the south. Therefore, when the winds of division between the North and South began to blow in the 1850's an obvious political difference between North and South Alabama arose.
What was the crucible decision of secession?
With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, along with the Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery, the crucible decision of secession arose. Contrary to what most present day Alabamians think, it was not an easy unified decision that we should leave the Union. The obvious political cleavage between North and South Alabama was stark and measured. The folks in North Alabama did not own slaves and they figured they did not have a dog in that fight.
How many delegates were there at the Secession Convention in 1861?
A secession convention was held on January 7, 1861 in Montgomery. The vote was extremely close. There were 100 delegates. The vote was 54 to secede and 46 against secession. The vote fell along regional lines. The Black Belters from South Alabama were for creating a confederacy of southern states to protect their slave ownership and way of life. The hill farmers from North Alabama preferred to wait and see what their cousins from Tennessee were going to do because they had more in common with them. These North Alabamians voted against secession from the Union at this time.
What were the settlers' roles in the Black Belt?
These settlers were well educated and many had been leaders in their governments in those states. They were well heeled slave owners and became the cotton growing plantation owners of the Black Belt . They also usurped and wielded inordinate power in state political affairs for the next century, despite the fact that they were a distinct minority population wise.
How many slave owners were there in 1800?
These yeomen farmers of the hills were obviously reluctant to leave the Union for the cause of the planter and his slaves. In 1800 there were only 14 slave owners in Winston County. The legend of Winston County is that on July 4, 1861 at their meeting at Looney's Tavern the good people of Winston County decided to secede from Alabama ...
Why did the Black Belters want to create a Confederacy of Southern states?
The Black Belters from South Alabama were for creating a confederacy of southern states to protect their slave ownership and way of life. The hill farmers from North Alabama preferred to wait and see what their cousins from Tennessee were going to do because they had more in common with them.
When was Alabama formed?
Under pressure from white southerners desiring to see two slave states emerge, Congress created the Alabama Territory out of the eastern half of the Mississippi Territory on March 3, 1817.
How many people were in Alabama in 1800?
The population grew so rapidly in the Alabama Territory (from 1,250 residents in 1800 to 9,046 in 1810 to 127,901 by 1820) that by 1817, state representatives at St. Stephens, the seat of the territorial government, were overwhelmed with petitions for statehood. Alabama's Native American residents, predominantly members of the Creek, Cherokee, ...
How did slavery affect Alabama?
Slavery emerged as the dominant labor system in Alabama, driven by the state's rapidly developing cotton economy, and it had a significant impact on Alabamians in the Tennessee River Valley and those of the Tombigbee and Alabama River Valleys alike. By 1820, Alabama's population had swelled to more than 125,000 persons, with slaves making up 31 percent of the total, or nearly 40,000 individuals. State politics in the 1820s centered on debates about the proposed creation of a state bank engineered by Gov. Israel Pickens. The banking institutions within the state were directly linked to the plight of fledgling planters and frontier yeomen who seemingly divided in the 1830s as the Black-Belt region grew in economic and political importance. Some distinction was no doubt drawn between the earliest white settlers, who possessed enough capital to acquire large tracts of land, and those who did not at the 1817 land auctions at Milledgeville, Georgia, and the much larger sale at Huntsville in 1818. In early Alabama, the primary necessity for agricultural producers, be they small farmers growing corn or large plantation owners manufacturing cotton, was land. Thus, the desire for land and the funding it necessitated from banking institutions had the potential to unite various socio-economic classes; yet it could also divide them, as elites were often able to acquire the best farm lands and the most slaves because they controlled the state's networks of private banks.
What was Alabama's early political culture?
Early Alabama possessed an active journalistic culture that offered a venue for many of these early political debates to take place. Various newspapers like the Cahawba Press and Alabama Intelligencer and Huntsville's Alabama Republican and Huntsville Democrat demonstrated the regional splits that expanded during Alabama's early decades. This conflict for consensus seems to be most clearly expressed during the negotiations for the permanent seat of the state's capital. Nevertheless, early Alabamians could act collectively when the opportunity to fashion themselves as frontier yet civilized and cultured Americans presented itself. In April 1825, French nobleman and Revolutionary
What states did the Treaty of Fort Jackson settle in?
Whereas some historians have considered the land-hungry migrants from neighboring southern states such as Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and the Carolinas as "settlers," other historians view the settlement of Alabama differently.
What are the three capitals of Alabama?
Brantley, William H. Three Capitals: A Book About the First Three Capitals of Alabama: St. Stephens, Huntsville, & Cahawba. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1976.
What was the name of the territory that the United States expanded westward?
Mississippi Territory. The early history of Alabama as a territory and a state was marked by an increasing number of Americans migrating into the region that, with the United States' continual expansion westward, became known as the "Old Southwest.". As these migrants, rich and poor, white and black, free and enslaved, travelled southward, ...
Which country claimed Alabama?
The English also laid claims to the region north of the Gulf of Mexico. Charles II of England included the territory of modern Alabama in the Province of Carolina, with land granted to certain of his favorites by the charters of 1663 and 1665. English traders from Carolina frequented the valley of the Alabama River as early as 1687.
Who was the first person to visit Alabama?
Although a member of Pánfilo de Narváez's expedition of 1528 may have entered southern Alabama, the first fully documented visit was by explorer Hernando de Soto. He made an arduous expedition along the Coosa, Alabama and Tombigbee rivers in 1539.
What was the conflict between the Indians of Alabama and American settlers?
Conflict between the Indians of Alabama and American settlers increased rapidly in the early 19th century. The great Shawnee chief Tecumseh visited the region in 1811, seeking to forge an Indian alliance of resistance from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Britain encouraged Tecumseh's resistance movement. Several tribes were divided in opinion.
What states claimed the Mississippi River?
A strip of land 12 or 14 miles wide near the present northern boundary of Alabama and Mississippi was claimed by South Carolina , but in 1787 that state ceded this claim to the federal government. Georgia likewise claimed all the lands between the 31st and 35th parallels from its present western boundary to the Mississippi River, and did not surrender its claim until 1802. Two years later, the boundaries of Mississippi Territory were extended so as to include all of the Georgia cession.
What was the name of the French settlement in the Mobile River?
The French also colonized the region. In 1702 they founded a settlement on the Mobile River, constructing Fort Louis there. For the next nine years this was the French seat of government of New France, or Louisiane (Louisiana). In 1711, Fort Louis was abandoned to floods.
When did the British give West Florida to Spain?
A few years later, during the American Revolutionary War, the British ceded this region to Spain. By the Treaty of Versailles, September 3, 1783, Great Britain ceded West Florida to Spain. By the Treaty of Paris (1783), signed the same day, Britain ceded to the newly established United States all of this province north of the 31°N, thus laying the foundation for a long controversy.
When was Mississippi divided?
In 1817 , the Mississippi Territory was divided. The western portion became the state of Mississippi, and the eastern portion became the Alabama Territory, with St. Stephens, on the Tombigbee River, as the temporary seat of government.
What was the capital of Alabama in 1819?
Montgomery , the capital city of Alabama, was incorporated in 1819. However, it didn't become Alabama's capital until 1846. Montgomery played a major part in the Civil Rights Movement, which included events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma to Montgomery marches. 8. Tuscumbia.
What was the first capital of Louisiana?
In 1702, Mobile became the first capital of colonial French Louisiana. This historic port town became a part of the United States in 1813. Mobile is the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama and is one of the state's largest cities.
Who founded Tuskegee Airmen?
flickr/Timothy Merrill. In 1833, Tuskegee, located in Macon County, Alabama, was founded and laid out by General Thomas Simpson Woodward. It was later incorporated in 1843. Tuskegee is home to the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American military pilots that fought in World War II.
