ALABAMA

State of Alabama

ORIGIN OF STATE NAME: Probably after the Alabama Indian tribe. NICKNAME: The Heart of Dixie. CAPITAL: Montgomery. ENTERED UNION: 14 December 1819 (22nd). SONG: "Alabama." MOTTO: Aldemus jura nostra defendere (We dare defend our rights). COAT OF ARMS: Two eagles, symbolizing courage, support a shield bearing the emblems of the five governments (France, England, Spain, Confederacy, US) that have held sovereignty over Alabama. Above the shield is a sailing vessel modeled upon the ships of the first French settlers of Alabama; beneath the shield is the state motto. FLAG: Crimson cross of St. Andrew on a square white field. OFFICIAL SEAL: Map of Alabama, including names of major rivers and neighboring states, surrounded by the words "Alabama Great Seal." BIRD: Yellowhammer. FISH: Tarpon. FLOWER: Camellia. TREE: Southern (longleaf) pine. GEM: Star blue quartz. STONE: Marble. MINERAL: Hematite. LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Martin Luther King, Jr., 3rd Monday in January; George Washington's/Thomas Jefferson's Birthdays, 3rd Monday in February; Mardi Gras, February or March; Confederate Memorial Day, 4th Monday in April; Jefferson Davis's Birthday, 1st Monday in June; Independence Day, 4 July; Labor Day, 1st Monday in September; Columbus Day, 2nd Monday in October; Veterans Day, 11 November; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November; Christmas Day, 25 December. TIME: 6 am CST = noon GMT.

⁵⁰ BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnard, William D . Dixiecrats and Democrats: Alabama Politics , 1942–1950. University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1974.

Carmer, Carl Lamson. Stars Fell on Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2000.

Carter, Dan T. Scottsboro. A Tragedy of the American South . Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969.

Lamar, Jay and Jeanie Thompson, eds. The Remembered Gate: Memoirs by Alabama Writers. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2002.

Lofton, J. Mack. Voices from Alabama: A Twentieth-Century Mosaic. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1993.

Marks, Henry S., and Marsha Marks. Alabama Past Leaders . Huntsville, Ala.: Strode, 1981.

Martin, David L . Alabama's State and Local Government . University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1985.

Permaloff, Anne. Political Power in Alabama: The More Things Change—. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1995.

Rogers, William Warren, and Robert David Ward. August Reckoning: Jack Turner and Racism in Post-Civil War Alabama . Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1973.

Rosengarten, Theodore. All God's Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw . New York: Knopf, 1974.

Van De Veer Hamilton, Virginia. Hugo Black: The Alabama Years . Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972.