Alabama (factsheet)

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LAND
Area: 135,293km ² (52,237 mi²); rank: 30th.
Capital: Montgomery (1999 est. pop., 195,690).
Largest city: Birmingham (1999 est. pop., 249,459).
Counties: 67.
Elevations: highest — 733 m (2,405 ft), at Cheaha Mountain; lowest — sea level, Gulf of Mexico.

 

PEOPLE
Population (2000): 4,447,100; rank: 23d; density: 33.8 persons per km² (87.6 per mi²).
Distribution (1990): 60.4% urban, 39.6% rural.
Average annual change (1990 –2000): +1.01%.

EDUCATION
Public enrollment (1996): elementary — 540,000; secondary — 208,000; higher — 197,000.
Nonpublic enrollment: elementary and secondary (1997 –98) — 72,486; higher (1996) — 23,000.
Institutions of higher education (1995): 82.

ECONOMY
State personal income (1999): $100.45 billion; rank: 24th.
Median household income (1999 dollars): $35,478; rank: 37th.
Nonagricultural labor distribution (1998): manufacturing — 379,000 persons; wholesale and retail trade — 439,000; government — 347,000; services — 449,000; transportation and public utilities — 92,000; finance, insurance, and real estate — 87,000; construction — 102,000.
Agriculture: income (1997) — $3.2 billion.
Fishing: value (1999) — $50.4 million.
Lumber production: (1999) — 2.6 billion board feet
Mining, value: nonfuel (1998) — $947 million; oil and natural gas (1997) — $1.8 billion.
Manufacturing: value added (1997) — $29.2 billion.
Services: value (1997) — $26.2 billion.

GOVERNMENT (2001)
Governor: Donald Siegelman, Democrat (elected 1998).
U.S. Congress: Senate — 2 Republicans; House — 2 Democrats, 5 Republicans.
Electoral college votes: 9.
State legislature: 35 senators, 105 representatives.

STATE SYMBOLS
Statehood: Dec. 14, 1819; the 22d state.
Nickname: Heart of Dixie.
Bird: Yellowhammer.
Flower: Camellia.
Tree: Southern pine.
Motto: Audemus jura nostra defendere ("We dare maintain our rights").
Song: "Alabama."

The Bill of Rights Time line
A time line of the Bill of Rights from 1791 to 1988.

Selma
Presents a brief profile of the city of Selma, Alabama and mentions its role in history.

Ida B. Wells: Civil Rights Activist
Journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells fought for women's right to vote, but the National American Woman Suffrage Association asked her not to march with them. Didn't black women have as much right to vote as white women?

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BOOK INFORMATION	Feliz cumpleaños, Martin Luther King This fact-filled account celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in an easy-to-read format, featuring the unique illustrations of J. Brian Pinkney. Spanish language book.