My Alabama History Project

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My Alabama History Project

by:Jaden PRESLEY Thompson

George W. Long Elementary

4th Grade ~ Mrs. Childers

January 30, 2012

Table of Contents My Favorite Thing………………..1 Alabama the Beautiful...............2 Alabama Indians……………..…3 Famous Alabamian…................4 Alabama State Song…………...5 Alabama State Flag…................6 Alabama State Seal…................7 Alabama State Tree…................8 Alabama State Bird…………..…9 Alabama State Flower………….10 Alabama State Fish…………..…11 Alabama State Reptile…………12 Alabama State Insect…………..13 Alabama Coat of Arms………..14 Alabama Governor……………..15 The U. S. President…………….…16 Read…. Read all about it!!!.......17 Alabama Attractions…………...18 About the author……………...…19

. . . and my most favorite thing about Alabama is . . . Auburn, AL

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When I grow up, I want to be a

veterinarian and go to Auburn University!

~ Alabama the Beautiful ~

AlabamaAlabama the beautiful is the beautiful state that I live in. Alabama was the 22nd state in the United

States of America and it became a state on December 14, 1819. We often abbreviate the

name Alabama by AL. Our capital city is Montgomery, Alabama, while the largest city in Alabama is Birmingham. Out of all the states in the United States, Alabama is the 30th biggest state, with a total of 67 counties. We border Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi

and also the Gulf of Mexico. Cheah Mountain is the highest point, or mountain in Alabama.

Some of Alabama’s biggest rivers are Tombigbee, Alabama River, Tennessee River

and Chattahoochee River. I have been swimming in the Chattahoochee River, Lake

Eufaula, and The Gulf of Mexico. The name “Alabama” means tribal town in the

language of local Creek Indians. Some Nicknames for our state are “Heart of Dixie” and

Yellowhammer State”, which comes from the Yellowhammer being our state bird. I learned that our state motto is “We Dare Defend Our

Rights” and the State Song is Alabama.The Alabama Flag is simple, yet very unique. It

is a white flag with a red cross, called the “crimson cross of St. Andrew’s” It was adopted

in 1895 and they got the pattern from the confederate flag.

Alabama has many interesting facts, you dig deep and can find lots on fun interesting facts

about the beautiful state we live in!2

Alabama IndiansIndians played a major role in the History of Alabama. Did you know the name "Alabama" is a Muskogean Indian word? It meant "campsite" or "clearing," and became used as a name for one of the major tribes in the area, the Alabama (or Alabamee) Indians. The Alabama Indians were not the only native people of this region, however.Some of the Indians in Alabama were members of the Creek, Choctaw nations. They played central role during the state’s creation. Conflicts between Indians and white settler’s during the early 1800’s paved the way for the creation of the state of Alabama! Indians feuds over white land claims a the price paid was the Creek war ( 1813-14) During President George Washington’s time in office they created a policy know as the “Plan of Civilization”. Benjamin Hawkins was a Indian agent who had orders from the federal government, pressed southeastern Indians to adapt to white peoples methods of education, agriculture, religion, labor systems, gender roles and even clothing styles. White expansionist felt that by accepting these and other ways the Native Americans would change into mainstream American culture and abandon their vast hunting lands more quickly to white settlers. Not all Indian people agreed to this. In the 1780s and 1790s. Alexander McGillivary, a well-read and Indian politician who bridged the divide between early American leaders and Creek peoples by centralizing Creek power and managing the affairs of the Creek Nation. Division in Indian societies over "civilization" presented itself as the War of 1812 between Americans and the British seemingly ran parallel with the internal Creek War in the southeastern United States. During the Creek War, the United States sided with the Lower Creeks led by men like McGillivray who had accepted and profited from the new order but who were directly challenged by Upper Creeks who were engaging in a religious revival movement that drew on defending "traditional" Indian life. The pan-Indian leader, Tecumseh, and his Massacre at Fort Mims followers, known as Red Sticks led this movement to reject white culture. Andrew Jackson's defeat of the Creek insurgency at Tohopeka, or HorseShoe Bend, in March 1814 won him national fame for subduing Indian opposition to white expansion. This and other engagements like those at Burnt Corn Creek and Fort Mims  demonstrated the complexity of the evolving relationships between white Americans, Indian residents, and their mixed-blood children on the Alabama frontier. Jackson's own presidency ensured that the Creek War was not the last time the Indian inhabitants of Alabama would be forced to deal with the federal government's support of white expansion.  

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Henry Louis 'Hank' Aaron

Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron was born on February 5, 1934 in

Mobile, Alabama. Aaron played 23 years in the outfield for the Atlanta

Braves and Milwaukee Brewers. Aaron holds many baseball records. Most of the time he hit at least 30 homeruns

per year. He is in the top five for career hits and runs. Aaron was born in a poor community in Mobile, Al called “down

the bay”. When Aaron got to high school, he played 3rd base and

shortstop. Aaron pictured that he would have a big future, so he quit

school in 1951 to play for the Indianapolis Clowns. Aaron

demonstrated his ability to come up big when it counted most. Aaron realized that there might be more in store for him if he kept playing. Letters poured into the Braves office. Everyday there

was about three thousand letters turned in for Aaron through the mail.

Many people wrote to congratulate him for his talents, but some people didn’t,

but he still kept going. Aaron made 30,000 dollars in 1959, which is

nothing compared to what players are making today. Aaron retired in 1976 and moved back to Milwaukee. After

retiring, Aaron was elected Vice-president for the Atlanta Braves front

office, to recruit minority players. Aaron was elected into the Hall of

Fame in 1982. Hank Aaron was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 and spends much of

his retired time as a civil rights activist.

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Julia Tutwiler

1841 ~1916Tutwiler was

known as a poet and wrote the

lyrics for "Alabama", the

state song, which was officially

adopted in 1931.

Alabama State FlagAlabama’s Flag is

a Crimson St. Andrew's cross on

a white field, patterned after the Confederate Battle Flag, and adopted in 1895. The bars forming

the cross must not be less than six

inches broad and must extend

diagonally across the flag from side

to side.6

Alabama State Seal

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Designed in 1817 by the first governor of the Alabama Territory

(William Wyatt Bibb), the great seal of Alabama

displays the major rivers of the state. The seal design is a map of the

Alabama and surrounding territories

(now states). When Alabama became a state

in 1819, this seal became the official state

seal and remained unchanged for over 50

years.

The official state tree of Alabama is the Southern Longleaf Pine. Longleaf pine is located in the

lower part of the state. You might notice the needles which occur in bundles of threes and are about 12 inches long. The cones are

about seven inches long. 

 The Legislature first designated the state as the Southern pine

tree in 1949. Because there are so many kinds of pine trees, the

Southern Longleaf Pine was specified as the state tree of Alabama by the Legislature in

1997. 

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Alabama State Tree

Alabama State Bird

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The "yellowhammer" was designated the official bird symbol of Alabama in 1927, also known as

a woodpecker.

The yellowhammer (correct name northern flicker) has been a symbol

of Alabama since the Civil War

Alabama is often called ”The Yellowhammer State”

Alabama State Flower

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In 1927 a bill was introduced in the Alabama Legislature by Representative T. E. Martin, of Montgomery County, making

the goldenrod the state flower. T This became law on September 6, 1927, the same day that the Yellowhammer

became the state bird. 

On August 26, 1959, the state flower was changed to the camellia. Ladies in Butler County preferred the camellia since

the goldenrod is a wildflower. They called the goldenrod a weed.

Alabama State Fish

The fighting tarpon was designated the state fish of Alabama in 1955. A silver-colored saltwater game fish that ranges off the coast of Alabama and the Mobile

estuary, the tarpon can reach 100 pounds in weight. In

1975 the designation was changed to "state saltwater fish“ when the largemouth bass became Alabama's

state fresh water fish.

The largemouth bass was designated the official

“ state freshwater fish” of Alabama in 1975. Adult largemouth bass

are active predators in the aquatic ecosystem, feeding on other fish and large. Large bass will also prey upon smaller bass. This black bass (an elongated sunfish) lives in quiet, vegetation-rich waters and can grow to over 20 inches and

weigh over fifteen pounds.

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Alabama State Coat of Arms

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The official coat of arms for the state of Alabama was adopted by both houses of Legislature in 1939. Alabama's coat of arms displays a shield with the emblems of five

governments that have held sovereignty over the state. The flags of Spain, France, Great Britain, and the Confederacy sit behind the emblem for the United States.

The state motto  appears beneath the shield: "Audemus jura nostra defendere" (Latin for We Dare Defend our Rights).

Alabama State Governor

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Governor Robert BentleyAfter graduating from Shelby County High School, Robert Bentley put

himself through college at the University of Alabama. While at the University, he majored in Chemistry and Biology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in three years. After graduating from the University, he began his medical studies at The University of Alabama

School of Medicine. During his first year of medical school, he met Dianne Jones of Montgomery. They were married in 1965. He received

his medical degree in 1968 and began a one-year internship at Carraway Methodist Hospital in Birmingham. 

In 1969, during the Vietnam conflict, Bentley joined the United States Air Force where he was commissioned as a captain, and served as a

general medical officer. He was stationed at Pope Air Force Base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he became hospital commander near the

end of his tenure there. 

Following his military service, Bentley began a three-year residency in Dermatology at the University of Alabama hospital in Birmingham. After completing his residency, The Bentley’s made Tuscaloosa their home and raised four boys. Robert and Dianne are now proud grandparents of six

granddaughters. 

Dr. Bentley has founded a number of small businesses, the most successful of which is Alabama Dermatology Associates. As President of Alabama Dermatology Associates, Dr. Bentley managed the practice's

growth into one of the largest dermatology practices in the Southeastern United States. 

Dr. Bentley was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2002 and served two terms in the State House. He declared his

candidacy for Governor in 2009. 

Dr. Robert J. Bentley ran for Governor to grow the economy and create jobs without increasing taxes or spending. He believes there should be

more transparency and accountability in Alabama’s government. He is a pro-life, pro-marriage, and pro-second amendment conservative who

believes in smaller and more limited government. 

Dr. Bentley was elected Governor of Alabama on November 2, 2010. 

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President of the United States Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the

United States.His story is the American story — values from the heartland, a

middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that

a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raised

with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton's army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial

pool to middle management at a bank.After working his way through college with the help of

scholarships and student loans, President Obama moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel

plants.He went on to attend law school, where he became the first

African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago to help lead a voter

registration drive, teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and remain active in his community.

President Obama's years of public service are based around his unwavering belief in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose. In the Illinois State Senate, he passed the first major

ethics reform in 25 years, cut taxes for working families, and expanded health care for children and their parents. As a United

States Senator, he reached across the aisle to pass groundbreaking lobbying reform, lock up the world's most

dangerous weapons, and bring transparency to government by putting federal spending online.

He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. He and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two daughters, Malia, 13,

and Sasha, 10.

Read, Read, Read… all about It!!!Alabama gambling corruption retrial will be 'a new game‘ An attorney in the second round of the federal corruption trial of VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and six others compared it to the national championship game between Alabama and Louisiana State University."We played the game before, but this is a new game," said Jim Parkman, a defense attorney for state Sen. Harri Anne Smith, an independent from Slocomb.LSU beat Alabama in the first contest. But in the second, Alabama overwhelmed LSU to win the national championship.Parkman said, although there were no convictions out of the more than 130 counts in the first trial, they are taking nothing for granted. They are preparing an offense and a defense and will be ready to go a second time.Jury selection begins at 9 a.m. Monday.The new trial will feature two fewer defendants, a different prosecution team, the absence of key prosecution witnesses from the first trial, and at least the possibility former Gov. Bob Riley could be called by the defense.McGregor, Smith, and five others are accused of having taken part in an alleged scheme in which casino owners and their lobbyists bribed state lawmakers to support pro-gambling legislation.Country Crossing developer Ronnie Gilley and two of his lobbyists, Jarrod Massey and Jennifer Pouncy, pleaded guilty before the start of the first trial, which ended in August.The jury found two of the nine defendants in that trial not guilty on all of the charges against them, and found the defendants not guilty on a total of 91 counts.U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson also threw out several counts before the case went to the jury and declared a mistrial on 33 counts after the jury could not reach a consensus on those counts.After declaring a mistrial on those undetermined counts against the remaining seven defendants, Thompson set a retrial for Monday.Much like that national championship game, the retrial could be a very different affair than the first.Change in prosecution teamThe lead prosecutor for the federal government, Justin Shur, left the U.S. Department of Justice in the last month for private practice. And the two local assistant U.S. attorneys who handled much of the heavy lifting in the first trial, Louis Franklin and Steve Feaga, will not be prosecuting the case.

Town suspends use of traffic cameras after storms CENTER POINT -- The Center Point City Council has approved the suspension of traffic cameras because of this week's tornadoes.The Birmingham News reported the cameras nab drivers who run stop signs and speed. Violations result in vehicle owners getting citations in the mail. The council approved installation of the cameras last year.Council President Roger Barlow said Arizona-based Redflex Traffic Systems had stopped monitoring traffic with the cameras after the tornado swept through Center Point early Monday.Barlow said that despite the company's halt, the council still needed to vote on the move.Barlow said the move is temporary.Several tornadoes ripped through Alabama on Monday, killing two people, injuring at least 100 and causing damage in multiple counties.

Tuscaloosa school wins $100,000 grant from TargetTUSCALOOSA — An Alabama elementary school is one of 50 nationwide being awarded $100,000 grants from Target.The Tuscaloosa News reports that University Place Elementary is the only school in Alabama to receive money from the $5 million in grants being given by Target Corp. to winners of a competition co-sponsored by "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."The show asked viewers to submit names of elementary, middle and high schools needing financial help. University Place was severely damaged by the April 27 tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa. Its students had to be moved to another school.University Place principal Deron Cameron said school officials are "very pleased and awestruck."

Community Leaders Charged......With Having a Heart for the Youth of Dale County!On Friday,February 10th the Coalition for a Drug Free Dale County of SpectraCare Health Systems will be holding a “Bail or Jail” fundraiser.The fundraiser will be held from 9:00am-5:00pm in front of Wal-Mart Supercenter in Ozark.All funds raised will go to host safe and drug-free after prom parties for Dale County’s five high schools.The “jailbirds” for the event will be community leaders throughout Dale County such as school officials,law enforcement,business owners,government officials,and even pastors! They have each been asked to raise their bail money ahead of time,but there will be some “jailbirds” trying to raise their money the day of the event!Community members can join us at Wal-mart and give us donations in order to keep them locked up! The public will also have a chance to issue a “Bail or Jail warrant” for someone of their choosing on that day for a small fee. Join us to raise funds for a great cause-keeping our youth safe on prom night! For more info call:(334)445-4554.

www.alabamahappenings.com

Alabama Attractions

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Bellingrath GardensMobile, Al

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about the author…

Jaden Presley Thompson

I was born in Dothan, Alabama September 25, 2001. I live on a poultry farm in Mabson , Alabama with my family. My mother is Nicky Johnson Mitchell and my Katty is Keith Mitchell. I have one sister, Jojo and one brother, Flynt. I am 10 years old and go to George W. Long School. I am currently in the 4th grade and my teacher is Mrs. Childers. I go to church at Echo United Methodist Church. I like to eat spaghetti and my potatoes mashed. I love penguins and like fuzzy hamsters ! My favorite drink is Cream Soda & Root Beer. I like to play softball. On my weekends I spend my time riding my bicycle, playing my dsi and fighting with my sister! I love my family, my church and my God!

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