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FAST FACTS
Abbreviation: AL
Nickname: The Heart of Dixie
Statehood: 1819; 22nd state
Population (as of July 2015):
4,858,979
Capital: Montgomery (200,000)
Biggest City: Birmingham (210,000)
WHY’S IT CALLED THAT?
The state’s name comes from the Alabama tribe, one of the Native American groups from that area.
 
“Dixie” is a nickname for the Confederate states, which left the Union during the Civil War. Alabama is called the Heart
of Dixie because Montgomery, Alabama, was the first Confederate capital.

HISTORY
In Alabama there were Native American tribes. Spanish explorers first arrived in the 1500s. It was later dominated by
the French and the British. In 1819 Alabama became a U.S. state.
 
In the 1960s, Alabama was at the center of the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to
a white man in Montgomery. Many protests against segregation followed, often led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
 

NATURE
In Alabama there are coyotes, armadillos, deer and American alligators.  About 70 percent of Alabama is covered in
forests. Alabama also has beautiful beaches.

In Alabama one can visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the world’s largest
spaceflight museum