Some scholars suggest the word may come from the Choctaw alba (meaning ‘plants’ or ‘weeds’) and amo (meaning ‘to cut’, ‘to trim’, or ‘to gather’), potentially meaning ‘clearers of the thicket’ or ‘herb gatherers’.

Alabama receives an average of 56 inches (1,400 mm) of rainfall annually.

Tuscaloosa served as Alabama’s capital from 1826 to 1846.

The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC) is a major component of the religion of the Mississippian peoples, understood through artifacts from archaeological excavations at sites like Moundville in Alabama. Contrary to popular belief, the SECC appears to have developed independently ...Read more

The 1901 Constitution of Alabama included provisions for voter registration that effectively disenfranchised large portions of the population, including nearly all African Americans, Native Americans, and tens of thousands of poor European Americans. It also required racial segregation of ...Read more

The name “Alabama” first appears in written accounts from the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540, with Garcilaso de la Vega using Alibamo, the Knight of Elvas using Alibamu, and Rodrigo Ranjel using Limamu.

By 1903, only 2,980 African Americans were registered to vote in Alabama, despite at least 74,000 being literate. This was a sharp decline from the more than 181,000 eligible to vote in 1900.