Everything about Alabama totally explained
As of 2005, Alabama has an estimated population of 4,557,808, which is an increase of 32,433, or 0.7%, from the prior year and an increase of 110,457, or 2.5%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 77,418 people (that is 319,544 births minus 242,126 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 36,457 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 25,936 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 10,521 people.
The state had 108,000 foreign-born (2.4% of the state population), of which an estimated 22.2% were illegal immigrants (24,000).
The
center of population of Alabama is located in
Chilton County, outside of the town of
Jemison, an area known as Jemison Division.
Race and ancestry
The racial makeup of the state and comparison to the prior census:
The largest reported ancestry groups in Alabama: African American (26.0%), American (17.0%),
English (7.8%),
Irish (7.7%),
German (5.7%), and
Scots-Irish (2.0%). 'American' doesn't include those reported as Native American.
Religion
Alabama is located in the middle of the
Bible Belt. In a 2007 survey, nearly 70% of respondents could name all four of the Christian Gospels. Of those who indicated a religious preference, 59% said they possessed a "full understanding" of their faith and needed no further learning. In a 2007 poll, 92% of Alabamians reported having at least some confidence in churches in the state.
Economy
According to the United States
Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2006 total
gross state product was $160 billion, or $29,697 per capita for a ranking of 44th among states. Alabama's GDP increased 3.1% from 2005, placing Alabama number 23 in terms of state level GDP growth. The single largest increase came in the area of durable goods manufacturing. In 1999,
per capita income for the state was $18,189.
Alabama's
agricultural outputs include
poultry and
eggs,
cattle, plant nursery items,
peanuts,
cotton,
grains such as
corn and
sorghum,
vegetables,
milk,
soybeans, and
peaches. Although known as "The Cotton State", Alabama ranks between eight and ten in national cotton production, according to various reports, with
Texas,
Georgia and
Mississippi comprising the top three.
Alabama's
industrial outputs include
iron and
steel products (including cast-iron and steel pipe);
paper,
lumber, and
wood products;
mining (mostly coal);
plastic products; cars and trucks; and
apparel. Also, Alabama produces
aerospace and
electronic products, mostly in the
Huntsville area, which is home of the
NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the
US Army Missile Command, headquartered at
Redstone Arsenal.
Alabama is also home to the largest industrial growth corridor in the nation, including the surrounding states of Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, and Georgia. Most of this growth is due to Alabama's rapidly expanding automotive manufacturing industry. In Alabama alone since 1993, it has generated more than 67,800 new jobs. Alabama currently ranks 2nd in the nation behind Detroit in automobile output. With recent expansions at sites in Alabama, by early 2009 the state will surpass Detroit and become the largest builder of automobiles in North America.
In May 2007, a site north of
Mobile was selected by German steelmaker
ThyssenKrupp for a $3.7 billion steel production plant, with the promise of 2,700 permanent jobs.
The city of
Mobile, Alabama's only saltwater port, is a busy seaport on the
Gulf of Mexico, and with inland waterway access to the Midwest via the
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
Alabama levies a 2, 4, or 5% personal income tax, depending upon the amount earned and filing status. The state's general sales tax rate is 4%. The collection rate could be substantially higher, depending upon additional city and county sales taxes. The corporate income tax rate is currently 6.5%. The overall federal, state, and local tax burden in Alabama ranks the state as the second least tax-burdened state in the country.
As recently as 2003, Alabama had an annual budget deficit as high as $670 million. It is one of only a few handful of states to accomplish large surpluses, with a budget surplus of nearly $1.2 billion in 2007, and estimated at more than $2.1 billion for 2008. The declining economy may reduce that surplus.
Transportation
Alabama has five major interstate roads that cross it:
I-65 runs north–south roughly through the middle of the state; I-59/I-20 travels from the central west border to Birmingham, where
I-59 continues to the north-east corner of the state and
I-20 continues east towards Atlanta;
I-85 goes from the border of Georgia and ends in Montgomery, providing a main thoroughfare to Atlanta; and
I-10 traverses the southernmost portion of the state, running from west to east through Mobile. Another interstate road,
I-22, is currently under construction. When completed around 2012 it'll connect Birmingham with
Memphis, Tennessee.
Major airports in Alabama include
Birmingham International Airport (BHM),
Dothan Regional Airport (DHN),
Huntsville International Airport (HSV),
Mobile Regional Airport (MOB),
Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM),
Muscle Shoals – Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL),
Tuscaloosa Regional Airport (TCL), and
Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU). For rail transport,
Amtrak schedules the Crescent, a daily passenger train, running from New York to New Orleans with stops at Anniston, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa.
Water ports
Listed from north to south
Law and government
State government
The foundational document for Alabama's government is the
Alabama Constitution, which was ratified in 1901. At almost 800 amendments and 310,000 words, it's the world's longest constitution and is roughly forty times the length of the
U.S. Constitution. There is a significant movement to rewrite and modernize Alabama's constitution.
(External Link
) This movement is based upon the fact that Alabama's constitution highly centralizes power in Montgomery and leaves practically no power in local hands. Any policy changes proposed around the state must be approved by the entire Alabama legislature and, frequently, by state referendum. One criticism of the current constitution claims that its complexity and length were intentional to codify segregation and racism.
Alabama is divided into three equal branches:
The
legislative branch is the
Alabama Legislature, a
bicameral assembly composed of the
Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the
Alabama Senate, with 35 members. The Legislature is responsible for writing, debating, passing, or defeating state legislation.
The
executive branch is responsible for the execution and oversight of laws. It is headed by the
Governor of Alabama. Other members of executive branch include the cabinet, the
Attorney General of Alabama, the
Alabama Secretary of State, the
Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, the
Alabama State Treasurer, and the
Alabama State Auditor.
The
judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the
Constitution and applying the law in state criminal and civil cases. The highest court is the
Supreme Court of Alabama.
Local and county government
Alabama has 67
counties. Each county has its own elected legislative branch, usually called the County Commission, which usually also has executive authority in the county. Due to the restraints placed in the
Alabama Constitution, all but seven counties (Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa) in the state have little to no
home rule. Instead, most counties in the state must lobby the Local Legislation Committee of the state legislature to get simple local policies such as waste disposal to land use zoning.
Alabama is an
alcoholic beverage control state; the government holds a monopoly on the sale of alcohol. However, counties can declare themselves "dry"; the state doesn't sell alcohol in those areas.
State politics
The current
governor of the state is
Bob Riley. The
lieutenant governor is
Jim Folsom Jr. The
Democratic Party currently holds a large majority in both houses of the
Legislature. Due to the Legislature's power to override a gubernatorial
veto by a mere simple majority (most state Legislatures require a 2/3 majority to override a veto), the relationship between the executive and legislative branches can be easily strained when different parties control the branches.
During
Reconstruction following the
American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of the
Third Military District under
General John Pope. In 1874, the political coalition known as the
Redeemers took control of the state government from the Republicans, in part by suppressing the African American vote through intimidation and terrorism. White supremacy was re-established.
After 1890, a coalition of whites passed laws to
segregate and disenfranchise black residents, a process completed in provisions of the 1901 constitution. Provisions which disfranchised African Americans also disfranchised poor whites, however. By 1941 more whites than blacks had been disfranchised: 600,000 to 520,000, although the impact was greater on the African-American community, as almost all of its citizens were disfranchised.
From 1901 to the 1960s, the state legislature failed to perform redistricting as population grew and shifted within the state . The result was a rural minority that dominated state politics until a series of court cases required redistricting in 1972.
With the disfranchisement of African Americans, the state became part of the "
Solid South", a one-party system in which the
Democratic Party became essentially the only political party in every Southern state. For nearly 100 years, local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Party
primary, with generally only token
Republican challengers running in the General Election.
In the 1986 Democratic primary election, the then-incumbent Lieutenant Governor lost the Democratic nomination for Governor. The state Democratic party invalidated the election and placed the Lieutenant Governor's name on the ballot as the Democratic candidate instead of the candidate chosen in the primary. The voters of the state revolted at what they perceived as disenfranchisement of their right to vote and elected the Republican challenger
Guy Hunt as Governor. This was the first Republican Governor elected in Alabama since Reconstruction. Since then, Republicans have been increasingly elected to state offices until in 2006 Democrats were barely holding a majority in the state legislature. Since 1986, only one Democrat,
Don Siegelman, has managed to win the Governor's office. A corruption probe and eventual trial, the timing of which coincided with the 2006 state primary, relegated Siegelman to one term. Today, the state is mainly Republican.
Alabama state politics gained nationwide and international attention in the 1950s and 1960s during the
American Civil Rights Movement, when majority whites bureaucratically, and at times, violently resisted protests for electoral and social reform.
George Wallace, the state's governor, remains a notorious and controversial figure. Only with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 did African Americans regain suffrage and other civil rights.
In 2007, the
Alabama Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a resolution expressing "profound regret" over slavery and its lingering impact. In a symbolic ceremony, the bill was signed in the
Alabama State Capitol, which served as the first Capital of the
Confederate States of America.
National Politics
Presidential elections results>
| Year |
Republican |
Democrat |
State winner |
| 2004 |
62.46% 1,176,394 |
36.84% 693,933 |
George W. Bush |
| 2000 |
56.47% 944,409 |
41.59% 695,602 |
George W. Bush |
| 1996 |
50.12% 769,044 |
43.16% 662,165 |
Bob Dole |
| 1992 |
47.65% 804,283 |
40.88% 690,080 |
George Bush |
| 1988 |
59.17% 815,576 |
39.86% 549,506 |
George Bush |
| 1984 |
60.54% 872,849 |
38.28% 551,899 |
Ronald Reagan |
| 1980 |
48.75% 654,192 |
47.45% 636,730 |
Ronald Reagan |
| 1976 |
42.61% 504,070 |
55.73% 659,170 |
Jimmy Carter |
| 1972 |
72.43% 728,701 |
25.54% 256,923 |
Richard Nixon |
| 1968* |
13.99% 146,923 |
18.72% 196,579 |
George Wallace |
| 1964 |
69.45% 479,085 |
30.55% 210,732 |
Barry Goldwater |
| 1960 |
42.16% 237,981 |
56.39% 318,303 |
John F. Kennedy |
*State won by George Wallace
of the American Independent Party,
at 65.86%, or 691,425 votes |
From 1876 through 1956, Alabama supported only Democratic presidential candidates, by large margins. 1960 was a curious election. The Democrats won with
John F. Kennedy on the ballot, but the Democratic electors from Alabama gave 6 of their 11 electoral votes as a protest to
Harry Byrd. In
1964, Republican
Barry Goldwater carried the state, in part because of his opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which restored the franchise for African Americans.
In
the 1968 presidential election, Alabama supported native son and
American Independent Party candidate
George Wallace over both
Richard Nixon and
Hubert Humphrey. In
1976, Democratic candidate
Jimmy Carter from Georgia carried the state, the region, and the nation, but Democratic control of the region slipped after that.
Since 1980, conservative Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and comprise a longstanding majority in the
Alabama Legislature.
In
2004,
George W. Bush won Alabama's nine electoral votes by a margin of 25 percentage points with 62.5% of the vote, mostly white voters. The eleven counties that voted Democratic were
Black Belt counties, where
African Americans are the majority racial group.
The state's two
U.S. senators are
Jefferson B. Sessions III and
Richard C. Shelby, both Republicans.
In the
U.S. House of Representatives, the state is represented by seven members, five of whom are Republicans: (
Jo Bonner,
Terry Everett,
Mike D. Rogers,
Robert Aderholt, and
Spencer Bachus) and two are Democrats: (
Bud Cramer and
Artur Davis).
Health and education
Primary and secondary education
Public primary and secondary education in Alabama is under the oversight of the
Alabama State Board of Education as well as local oversight by 67 county school boards and 60 city boards of education. Together, 1,541 individual schools provide education for 743,364 elementary and secondary students.
Public school funding is appropriated through the Alabama Legislature through the Education Trust Fund. In FY 2006-2007, Alabama appropriated $3,775,163,578 for primary and secondary education. That represented an increase of $444,736,387 over the previous fiscal year.
Colleges and universities
Alabama's programs of higher education include 14 four-year public universities, numerous two-year community colleges, and 17 private, undergraduate and graduate universities. Public, post-secondary education in Alabama is overseen by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Colleges and universities in Alabama offer degree programs from 2-year associate degrees to 16 doctoral level programs.
Accreditation of academic programs is through the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges as well as a variety of subject focused national and international accreditation agencies.
Professional Sports teams
Further Information
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