Alabama 

(/ˌæləˈbæmə/) is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered

by Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south;
and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area[9] and the 24th-most populous of
the U.S. states.[10]
Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird. Alabama is also known as
the "Heart of Dixie" and the "Cotton State". The state tree is the longleaf pine, and the state
flower is the camellia. Alabama's capital is Montgomery, and its largest city by population and
area is Huntsville.[11]Its oldest city is Mobile, founded by French colonists (Alabama Creoles) in
1702 as the capital of French Louisiana.[12][13] Greater Birmingham is Alabama's largest
metropolitan area and its economic center.[14]
Originally home to many native tribes, present-day Alabama was a Spanish territory beginning in
the sixteenth century until the French acquired it in the early eighteenth century. The British won
the territory in 1763 until losing it in the American Revolutionary War. Spain held Mobile as part
of Spanish West Florida until 1813. In December 1819, Alabama was recognized as a state.
During the antebellum period, Alabama was a major producer of cotton, and widely used African
American slavelabor. In 1861, the state seceded from the United States to become part of
the Confederate States of America, with Montgomery acting as its first capital, and rejoined the
Union in 1868. Following the American Civil War, Alabama would suffer decades of economic
hardship, in part due to agricultureand a few cash crops being the main driver of the state's
economy. Similar to other former slave states, Alabamian legislators employed Jim Crow
laws from the late 19th century up until the 1960s. High-profile events such as the Selma to
Montgomery march made the state a major focal point of the civil rights movement in the 1950s
and 1960s.
During and after World War II, Alabama grew as the state's economy diversified with new
industries. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville would help Alabama's economic
growth in the mid-to-late 20th century, by developing an aerospace industry. Alabama's economy
in the 21st century is based on automotive, finance, tourism, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral
extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology.[15]
The state's geography is diverse, with the north dominated by the mountainous Tennessee
Valley and the south by Mobile Bay, a historically significant port. Politically, as part of the Deep
South, Alabama is predominantly a conservative state, and is known for its Southern culture.
Within Alabama, American football, particularly at the college level, plays a major part of the
state's culture.

Etymology
The European-American naming of the Alabama River and state was derived from the Alabama
people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of
the Coosaand Tallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the river.[16] In the Alabama language,
the word for a person of Alabama lineage is Albaamo (or variously Albaama or Albàamo in
different dialects; the plural form is Albaamaha).[17] The word's spelling varies significantly among
historical sources.[18]The first usage appears in three accounts of the Hernando de
Soto expedition of 1540: Garcilaso de la Vega used Alibamo, while the Knight of Elvas and
Rodrigo Ranjel wrote Alibamu and Limamu, respectively, in transliterations of the term.[18] As early
as 1702, the French called the tribe the Alibamon, with French maps identifying the river
as Rivière des Alibamons.[16] Other spellings of the name have
included Alibamu, Alabamo, Albama, Alebamon, Alibama, Alibamou, Alabamu, Allibamou.[18][19][20] a
nd possibly Alabahmu.[citation needed] The use of state names derived from Native American
languages is common in the U.S.; an estimated 26 states have names of Native American origin.
[21]

Sources disagree on the word's meaning. Some scholars suggest the word comes from the
Choctaw alba (meaning 'plants' or 'weeds') and amo (meaning 'to cut', 'to trim', or 'to gather').[18][22]
[23]
 The meaning may have been 'clearers of the thicket'[22] or 'herb gatherers',[23][24] referring to
clearing land for cultivation[19] or collecting medicinal plants.[24] The