James F. KasermanSarah J. Kaserman

AAllaabbaammaa

I Save A TreeElectronic Books

"We dare defend our rights"

Montgomery

C 2003 I Save A Tree Inc.

Table of Contents

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Location 5

History before statehood 7

History since statehood 9

State government 11

State flag 13

Current facts 15

Industry today 17

State landmarks 19

Weather and land 21

Animals in Alabama 23

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State bird 25

State tree 27

State flower 29

Famous people from Alabama 31

Things to do in Alabama 33

Popular sports in Alabama 35

Fast facts 37

Glossary 39

Web sites / books for information 41

Index 43

Credits 45

Location

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Montgomery

Alabama is located in thesoutheastern region of the UnitedStates. It is called a southern statebecause of the location.. Alabama isbordered by the states of Florida,Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.Alabama is both an industrial andagricultural state.

Montgomery is the state capital. It is located near the center of the state.

HistoryBefore Statehood

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Burial mound

Native Americans

The Paleo-Indians lived in the landthat would become Alabama. TheIndians built large mounds where they

met for worshipand ceremony.The Spanish were the first Europeans toexplore the area.

Later the Frenchcame and madeMobile thecapital of whatthey called French Louisiana. Spainlater claimed the area until May 5,1799, when it became a territory ofthe United States.

HistorySince Statehood

Cotton plant

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Rosa Parks

Alabama became the 22nd stateon December 14, 1819. Alabama iscalled the "Heart of Dixie" and the"Cotton State." Once, cotton was soimportant that people called it"King Cotton."Alabamaestablished oneof the first co-edschools in thecountry in 1822.

By 1830,there was a statecollege-educationsystem with twocolleges.Alabama wasthe stagingground for the Civil Rights Movementin the 1960s. That's when African-Americans fought for equal rights.

Government

Governor Bob Riley

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State capitol building

The state government of Alabamais divided into three branches.Governor Bob Riley is head ofthe executive branch. This branch is in

charge of carryingout the laws. Thelegislative branchmakes the laws.

It is made up ofthe Senate and theHouse ofRepresentatives.The judicial branchinterprets the laws.

There are 67 counties in Alabama.Each county has its own government.

The state flagof Alabamawas adopted in1895. Alabama'sstate colors are red and white. TheAlabama flag is patterned after theConfederate battle flag.

State Flag

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The flag has a crimson or red crosson a white background. The red barsforming the cross are six inches wideand extenddiagonallyacross the flagfrom sideto side.

Current Facts

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Rocket museum

Alabama gardens

Alabama has4,447,100 people.It ranks 23rd inpopulation in the

U.S.The state covers 50,750 square miles.In size, it ranks 28th in the nation.

Alabamaworkers builtthe first rocketto put a humanon the moon. Alabama has all the

major natural resources necessary to make iron and steel.

IndustryToday

Farm tractor

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Chickens

The manufacturing of paper, wood,cloth and yarn plastic products, as well astransportation equipment and

chemicals are themain industries.Alabama alsohas a miningindustry.

Important agriculture and farmingproducts in Alabama include cotton,peanuts, vegetables, soybeans,nursery stock,cattle, poultryand eggs.Commercialfishing is alsoimportant.

Landmarks

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Stalagmite

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Moon lander

The firstAmericanmonumentdedicated to aninsect, the bollweevil, is locatedin Enterprise,Alabama. Cathedral Caverns has theworld's largest cave opening and thelargest stalagmite.

The Alabama Space and RocketCenter in Huntsville is the largestspace museum in the world. The U.S.Army ChemicalCorps Museum is at FortMcClellan,Alabama.

Weather & Land

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Thunderstorm

Alabama gardens

The year-round climate inAlabama is mild.In January the

temperature average is 57° Fahrenheitin the southern part of the state and 44°in the north. In the summer thetemperature averages around 85° .

Rainfall in the southern part of thestate averages 65 inches per year. Inthe north the rain averages 53 inchesper year. Alabamahas six main landregions. Muchland is fertile andused for farming.

AnimalsIn Alabama

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Ducks

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The racking horse was named thestate animal in 1975. The horse'spopularity grew when it was learnedthat it could be ridden comfortably forhours. Otters, weasels, minks, opossums,

rabbits, raccoons,skunks andsquirrels live inmany parts ofthe state.

The swampsand bayousprovide ahabitat forbeavers.Alligators alsocan be found in swamps in thesouthern part of the state. Ducks,geese and other water birds spendthe winter in these areas before flyingnorth in the spring.

State Bird

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Woodpecker

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Woodpecker

The yellow-hammer ornorthern flicker(Colaptes auratus)is the state bird ofAlabama. This birdis a woodpecker. In

flight, this bird reveals yellow under itswings and tail. The yellowhammer isone of the liveliest birds in the forest

and can be found all over the U.S.The yellowhammer woodpecker buildsnests inside treetrunks. The maleand female livetogether. They arestraight flyers,traveling directlyfrom one placeto another.

State Tree

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Sapling

New sprouts

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The official statetree of Alabama isthe southernlongleaf pine(Pinus palustrisM iller). This pine is

found in the lower two-thirds of thestate. It is different from most trees in thatthe tree grows very little above groundwhile it is young.

The longleafpine is found ona variety of sites,but grows best on well-drained sandysoils. It can grow to a height of about150 feet and a diameter of nearly fourfeet.

State Flower

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Camellia

Camellia

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On August 29,1959, the camellia(Camellia) becameAlabama's stateflower. It replacedthe goldenrod as

the state flower. Camellias are not nativeto Alabama. They came from Asia.Camellias produce beautiful blooms

during nine months of the year,including winter when few otherplants flower.Camellias areevergreen plantsand earn millionsof dollars forgrowers.

Famous People

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Helen Keller

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George Washington Carver

Booker T.Washington founded a black college called the TuskegeeInstitute. Another famous black scientist, George

Washington Carver, taught at the school. Carver discovered over 300 products that

could be made from peanuts.Helen Keller, a famous blind and deaf woman, livedin Alabama. Manyother famous athletes, singers and leaders came from Alabama.

Things to Do

In Alabama

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Historic battle sites

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Musician

If you like history,Alabama has pro-grams on Indianhistory, Civil Warhistory and the

history of the Civil Rights movement.

In the arts, Alabama has world-classmuseums, theatres and great music.Many famousmusicians comefrom Alabama, which has festivals all yearlong.

SportsIn Alabama

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Speedway

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_______________________Ice skating

From the fastest race track in theworld at Talledega Super Speedwayto ice hockey rinks in southernAlabama, the "Cotton State" has all

types of sports.Alabama collegeshave some of thebest footballteams in thenation every year.

The AlabamaSports Hall of Famehonors all of thestate's greatestathletes. The rivers,lakes and streams throughout thestate offer the chance to catch fishand enjoy water sports.

Fast Facts

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Governor: Bob RileyCapital : MontgomerySize: 50 ,750 square miles, 28th in the U.S.Population: 4,447,100, 23rd in the U.S.Major cities : Birmingham, Huntsville,Mobile, Huntsville,Tuscaloosa, AuburnNickname : "Yellowhammer State"State animal : racking horseState bird: yellowhammer woodpeckerState flower : camelliaState tree : southern longleaf pineState song : "Alabama"State motto : "We dare defend our rights"

Raccoons

Alabama sky

Glossary

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bayou, a creek or lake with stagnantwater.Confederate, to belong to the 11Southern states that left the UnitedStates in 1861.cotton, a plant with white fibers usedto make threads and cloth.diagonally, having a slanted directionfrom one corner to another.establish, to set up or make something.

evergreen, having foliage that remainsgreen all year.habitat, the place where a person,animal or thing may be found.institute, a building or organization likea school.natural resources, a material that occursin a natural state and has economicvalue.rainfall, the amount of water measuredover a period of time, like in a year.

Links & BooksFor more information

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Link1Link2Link3Link4Link5

Visit our website @ www.isaveatree.com

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Title: The World Book EncyclopediaPublisher: World Book, Inc.Copyright: 2002

Title: The Kid's World Almanac of the United StatesAuthor: Dr.Thomas G. AylesworthPublisher: World AlmanacCopyright: 1990

Title: Exploring the 50 StatesAuthor: Marcie AndersonPublisher: Willowisp Press, Inc.Copyright: 1983

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Index _______________________

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bayous, 24

boll weevil, 19

camellia, 29

Carver, George Washington, 31

Civil Rights, 10, 34

cotton, 9, 18, 35

French Louisiana, 8

Keller, Helen, 32

mining, 17

Mobile, 8

peanuts, 18

pine, longleaf, 27, 28

rainfall, 22

R iley, Bob, 11

temperature, 21

yellowhammer, 25, 26

Washington, Booker T., 31

CreditsWritten by

James F. Kaserman

Sarah J. Kaserman

Produced by

Robert Rance

Technologies

Doug Meyers

Design

Dan Mader

Edited by

Linda Coyner

Photo creditsAlabama Department of NaturalResourceswww.arttoday.com

_______________________46I Save A Tree Inc. reserves the right to remove or exchange any

photo/illustration at any time without notice.