Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama. The second largest city in Alabama, it is located on the Alabama River in Montgomery County (of which it is the seat) in south central part of the state. Montgomery is notable for its association with the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement.

History

Montgomery was named for General Richard Montgomery, who died in the American Revolutionary War attempting to capture Quebec, Canada. Montgomery was made the capital of Alabama on the fourth try. The territorial capital, St. Stephens on the Tombigbee River, had been supplanted by Huntsville then Cahawba and Tuscaloosa [1]. It was the first capital of the Confederate States of America, whose president Jefferson Davis was inaugurated in its steps (illustration, right). It is located on the north portion of the Alabama River.

Rev. Dr. Martin L. King Jr. gained national attention for civil rights issues during his tenure, 1954/1960, as pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, two blocks from the State Capitol Building. A civil rights memorial has been erected near the still-active church. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks became a civil rights heroine in the city by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. The reaction to this arrest led to the 382-day Montgomery Bus Boycott which forced the city to desegregate its transit system on December 21, 1956. In 1965, Dr. King’s nationally-publicized march for justice was conducted from Selma to Montgomery.

Country music pioneer and legend Hank Williams grew up and is buried in Montgomery. Country star Alan Jackson eulogizes Williams in a popular song, called Midnight In Montgomery, about a trip to Hank’s gravesite.

Geography

Montgomery is located at 32°21′42″ North, 86°16′45″ West (32.361538, -86.279118)GR1.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 404.5 km² (156.2 mi²). 402.4 km² (155.4 mi²) of it is land and 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.52% water.

Adjoining the Cumberland Plateau region on the S.E. is the Appalachian Valley (locally known as Coosa Valley) region, which is the S. extremity of the great Appalachian Mountains, and occupies an area within the state of about 8000 sq. m. This is a limestone belt with parallel hard rock ridges left standing by erosion to form mountains. Although the general direction of the mountains, ridges and valleys is N.E. and S.W., irregularity is one of the most prominent characteristics.

In the N.E. are several flat-topped mountains, of which Raccoon and Lookout are the most prominent, having a maximum elevation near the Georgia line of little more than 1800 ft. and gradually decreasing in height toward the S.W., where Sand Mountain is a continuation of Raccoon. South of these the mountains are marked by steep N.W. sides, sharp crests and gently sloping S.E. sides.

South-east of the Appalachian Valley region, the Piedmont Plateau also crosses the Alabama border from the N.E. and occupies a small triangular-shaped section of which Randolph and Clay counties, together with the N. part of Tallapoosa and Chambers, form the principal portion. Its surface is gently undulating and has an elevation of about 1000 ft. above the sea. The Piedmont Plateau is a lowland worn down by erosion on hard crystalline rocks, then uplifted to form a plateau.

The remainder of the state is occupied by the Coastal Plain. This is crossed by foot-hills and rolling prairies in the central part of the state, where it has a mean elevation of about 600 ft., becomes lower and more level toward the S.W., and in the extreme S. is flat and but slightly elevated above the sea.

The Cumberland Plateau region is drained to the W.N.W. by the Tennessee River and its tributaries; all other parts of the state are drained to the S.W. In the Appalachian Valley region the Coosa is the principal river; and in the Piedmont Plateau, the Tallapoosa. In the Coastal Plain are the Tombigbee in the W., the Alabama (formed by the Coosa and Tallapoosa) in the W. central, and in the E. the Chattahoochee, which forms almost half of the Georgia boundary. The Tombigbee and Alabama unite near the S.W. corner of the state, their waters discharging into Mobile Bay by the Mobile and Tensas rivers. The Black Warrior is a considerable stream which joins the Tombigbee from the E.

The valleys in the N. and N.E. are usually deep and narrow, but in the Coastal Plain they are broad and in most cases rise in three successive terraces above the stream. The harbour of Mobile was formed by the drowning of the lower part of the valley of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers as a result of the sinking of the land here, such sinking having occurred on other parts of the Gulf coast.

The fauna and flora of Alabama are similar to those of the Gulf states in general and have no distinctive characteristics.

Climate and Soil

The climate of Alabama is temperate and fairly uniform.

The heat of summer is tempered in the S. by the winds from the Gulf of Mexico, and in the N. by the elevation above the sea. The average annual temperature is highest in the S.W. along the coast, and lowest in the N.E. among the highlands. Thus at Mobile the annual mean is 67 degrees F., the mean for the summer 81 degrees, and for the winter 52 degrees ; and at Valley Head, in De Kalb county, the annual mean is 59 degrees, the mean for the summer 75 degrees, and for the winter 41 degrees . At Montgomery, in the central region, the average annual temperature is 66 degrees, with a winter average of 49 degrees, and a summer average of 81 degrees .

The average winter minimum for the entire state is 35 degrees, and there is an average of 35 days in each year in which the thermometer falls below the freezing-point. At extremely rare intervals the thermometer has fallen below zero, as was the case in the remarkable cold wave of the 12th-13th of February 1899, when an absolute minimum of 17 degrees was registered at Valley Head. The highest temperature ever recorded was 109 degrees in Talladega county in 1902.

The amount of precipitation is greatest along the coast (62 in.) and evenly distributed through the rest of the state (about 52 in.). During each winter there is usually one fall of snow in the S. and two in the N.; but the snow quickly disappears, and sometimes, during’ an entire winter, the ground is not covered with snow. Hail-storms occur in the spring and summer, but are seldom destructive. Heavy fogs are rare, and are confined chiefly to the coast. Thunderstorms occur throughout the year, but are most common in the summer. The prevailing winds are from the S.

As regards its soil, Alabama may be divided into four regions. Extending from the Gulf northward for one hundred and fifty miles is the outer belt of the Coastal Plain, also called the Timber Belt, whose soil is sandy and poor, but responds well to fertilization. North of this is the inner lowland of the Coastal Plain, or the Black Prairie, which includes some 13,000 sq. m. and seventeen counties.

It receives its name from its soil (weathered from the weak underlying limestone), which is black in colour, almost destitute of sand and loam, and rich in limestone and marl formations, especially adapted to the production of cotton; hence the region is also called the Cotton Belt. Between the Cotton Belt and the Tennessee Valley is the mineral region, the Old Land area — a region of resistant rocks — whose soils, also derived from weathering in silu, are of varied fertility, the best coming from the granites, sandstones and limestones, the poorest from the gneisses, schists and slates. North of the mineral region is the Cereal Belt, embracing the Tennessee Valley and the counties beyond, whose richest soils are the red clays and dark loams of the river valley; north of which are less fertile soils, produced by siliceous and sandstone formations.

Local & County Government

Alabama has 67 counties, each having its own elected legislative branch, usually called the Board of Commissioners, which usually also has executive authority in the county. Due to the restraints placed in the Alabama Constitution, all but 7 counties (Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa) in the state have little to no home rule. Instead, most counties in the state have to lobby to the Local Legislation Committee the state legislature to get simple local policies such as waste disposal to land use zoning.

Political Climate

The current governor of the state is Bob Riley and the two U.S. senators are Jefferson B. Sessions III and Richard C. Shelby (all three from the Republican Party). The current Alabama Constitution was adopted in 1901.

During Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of the Third Military District under General John Pope. In 1877, the Reconstruction period ended with the recognition of Rutherford B. Hayes as President-elect. White Southerners assumed control of the government and passed laws to segregate and disenfranchise black residents. 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 no Republican challenger running.

From 1876 through 1956, Alabama supported only Democratic presidential candidates, by margins as high as 73 percentage points. In 1960, Alabama gave most of its electoral votes to segregationist candidate Harry F. Byrd. In 1964, the national Republican Party began to win more votes in the South by following a “Southern Strategy” which emphasized “states’ rights” and the increasing liberalism of the national Democratic Party. The first such candidate was conservative Barry Goldwater, who became the first Republican candidate supported by Alabama. In 1968, Alabama supported native son and American Independent Party (Segregationist) candidate George Wallace.

The last Democratic candidate to win Alabama’s votes in a presidential election was Southerner Jimmy Carter in 1976. Today, the Republican party has become increasingly dominant in conservative Alabama politics. However, in local politics, Democrats still control many offices, including majorities in both houses of the Legislature, and registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state. In 2004, George W. Bush won Alabama’s nine electoral votes by a margin of 25 percentage points with 62.5% of the vote. The only 11 counties voting Democratic were Black Belt counties, where African Americans are in the majority.

Judicial

The Court of the Judiciary is created consisting of one judge of an appellate court, other than the Supreme Court, who shall be selected by the Supreme Court and shall serve as Chief Judge of the Court of the Judiciary; two judges of the circuit court, who shall be selected by the Circuit Judges’ Association; and one district judge who shall be selected by the District Judges’ Association. Other members of the Court of the Judiciary shall consist of two members of the state bar, who shall be selected by the governing body of the Alabama State Bar; two persons who are not lawyers who shall be appointed by the Governor; and one person appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. Members appointed by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be subject to Senate confirmation before serving.

Provided, however, that on January 1, 2005, the appointment authority granted to the Lieutenant Governor shall revert to the Governor and the Governor shall therefore be entitled to appoint three persons who are not lawyers, subject to Senate confirmation. The court shall be convened to hear complaints filed by the Judicial Inquiry Commission. The court shall have authority, after notice and public hearing (1) to remove from office, suspend without pay, or censure a judge, or apply such other sanction as may be prescribed by law, for violation of a Canon of Judicial Ethics, misconduct in office, failure to perform his duties, or (2) to suspend with or without pay, or to retire a judge who is physically or mentally unable to perform his duties. (Constitution of Alabama of 1901, Amendment 581, §6.18).

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Alabama is composed of a chief justice (currently Drayton Nabers, Jr.) and 8 associate justices (Harold Frend See, Jr., Champ Lyons, Jr., Robert Bernard Harwood, Jr., A. Woodall, Lyn Stuart, Patricia M. Smith, Michael F. Bolin, and Tom Parker). As the highest state court, the Supreme Court has both judicial and administrative responsibilities.

The Supreme Court has authority to review decisions rendered by the other courts of the state. It also has authority to determine certain legal matters over which no other court has jurisdiction and to issue such orders necessary to carry out its general superintendence over the courts in Alabama. The Alabama Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over all appeals where the amount in controversy exceeds $50,000 and appeals from the Alabama Public Service Commission.

The chief justice is the administrative head of the state’s judicial system. The Supreme Court may make rules governing administration, practice, and procedure in all courts. Under this authority, rules of practice and procedure and judicial administration have been adopted to eliminate many of the technicalities which cause delay in the trial courts and needless reversals in the appellate courts.

Highway Network

Almost 80,000 miles of all-weather state and local roads are anchored by 23,500 miles of federal highways.

Five interstates and a strong network of four-lane highways connect every major city and most other communities throughout the state.

Diversified motor freight services for business and industry are available through more than 1,600 trucking and warehousing firms.

Railroad System

Five Class I and twenty-three Class III, or shortline, competitively priced railroad companies operate in Alabama along approximately 4,728 miles of rail lines hauling 93.5 million tons of cargo annually.

These mainline railroads provide the majority of Alabama’s service:

Norfolk Southern Corporation

Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railway

CSX Transportation

Illinois Central Railroad

Kansas City Southern

Air Service

Birmingham International Airport is home to 11 airlines (6 major and 5 regional carriers), operating at 19 gates. With 72 departing and 72 arriving flights daily, Birmingham International Airport handles over 3,000,000 passengers annually. Birmingham International Airport has 3 cargo carriers, INS, U. S. Customs on site, plus a Foreign Trade Zone.

Located within minutes of downtown Mobile, and an easy drive from anywhere in southwest Alabama, west Florida, and southeast Mississippi, Mobile Regional Airport offers all the services and amenities you expect without the stress of expansive terminals, delays, and huge crowds. With our growing schedule of flights connecting to six major hub airports-Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Orlando and Charlotte-you have access to domestic and international destinations throughout the world.

The Port of Huntsville is an inland port comprised of Huntsville International Airport, the International Intermodal Center and Jetplex Industrial Park. In addition to convenient passenger service provided by American Airlines, American Eagle, ASA, COMAIR, Continental Express, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlink, US Airways and US Airways Express, they also offer air and rail cargo services and business location opportunities.

Dothan, Tuscaloosa and the Shoals also provide regional air service. In addition, Alabama communities are served by ninety-six public-use airfields in the state.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2003 total gross state product was USD 132 billion. The per capita income for the state was USD 26,505 in 2003. Alabama’s agricultural outputs are poultry and eggs, cattle, nursery stock, peanuts, cotton, vegetables, milk, and soybeans. Its industrial outputs are paper, lumber and wood products, mining, rubber and plastic products, transportation equipment and apparel.

The central Black Belt, formerly a principal cotton-growing area, is now employed largely for raising poultry (the state ranks third in U.S. broiler chicken production) and cattle, Alabama’s most valuable agricultural products. Cotton is still the chief crop; greenhouse plants, peanuts, and vegetables are also important.

Although about half of Alabama’s area is devoted to agriculture, manufacturing accounts for a larger share of the state’s income. Where the Tennessee River loops across the north, hydroelectric power from the Tennessee Valley Authority has converted much agricultural land to industrial uses. Alabama has the second most extensive (after Georgia) forests in the contiguous United States, and pulp and paper products lead manufactures. Other major industries produce chemicals, electronics, textiles, processed foods, and automobiles. Oil and gas, cement, and stone lead mineral production; the state’s once-prominent coal industry is gradually declining. The Marshall NASA Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, Maxwell Air Force Base, and Forts Rucker and McClellan contribute significantly to the economy.