Historical Note:
The Capital of the Confederacy . . .
Montgomery was the first capital of the Confederate States. In 1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was inaugurated in what is now the State Capitol building. And the First White House of the Confederacy, where Davis and his family lived for three months, remains today just across the street.
FYI: New Orleans wasn't the first place to hold a Mardi Gras. The first American Mardi Gras was held in 1702 in an early French settlement where Mobile is now.
Name Origin: Indian. (Name of Indian tribe)
Capital: Montgomery
Population: 4,219,000
Area: 51,705 square miles
Statehood: December 14, 1819 (22nd)
Nickname: Heart of Dixie
Motto: "We dare defend our rights"
Famous For: Cotton, Steel, Antebellum Mansions, Confederate Capital (1861), Azalea Trail, U.S. Space and Rocket Center
Trivia Questions:
Montgomery wasn't always the capital of Alabama. What city was the state capital from 1826-1846? -- Tuscaloosa was the capital from 1826-1846, replacing Cahawba, the capital city from 1819-1826.
George Washington Carver, "The Wizard of Tuskegee," is shown standing beside his award-winning painting of a Yucca plant. Born during the Civil War, Carver became a famous artist, educator, scientist, agriculturist, botanist and inventor, who coined the word, "chemurgy." He repeatedly said chemurgy would "solve America's social and economic problems," and in doing so, won the admiration and friendship of industrialists such as Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie. What is chemurgy? -- Chemurgy is the development of new chemical products from organic raw materials, especially from agriculture. Carver believed that all weeds and other agricultural "waste" have a commercial use. For example, he made synthetic rubber from goldenrod, made paper "as fine as linen" from peanut skins, and made synthetic marble from sawdust. But Carver never patented any of his inventions, believing knowledge should be free. As a result many industrialists developed commercial products from Carver's laboratory inventions -- making millions from this man's brilliant mind, and generous spirit.
The Civil Rights Memorial shown here was designed by Maya Y. Lin. What other famous memorial did she design? -- In addition to the Civil Rights Memorial Maya Y. Lin designed the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
All Alabama rivers flow south to the Gulf of Mexico, except one. What Alabama river flows to the Mississippi River instead of the Gulf of Mexico? -- All Alabama rivers flow south to the Gulf of Mexico, except the Tennessee River which dips into northern Alabama on its way to join the Mississippi River in Paducah, Kentucky.
