DOCSLIB.ORG

A Geographic Interpretation of the Causes Underlying

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Geographic Interpretation of the Causes Underlying A GEOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION OF THE CAUSES UNDERLYING URBAN GROWTH AND DISTRIBUTION IN ALABAMA, 1820 – 2010 by ALEXANDER CHRISTOPHER FRIES JOE WEBER, COMMITTEE CHAIR CRAIG REMINGTON TERESA CRIBELLI A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Geography in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2020 Copyright Alexander Christopher Fries 2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Urbanization in Alabama has been driven and influenced by a number of factors over the course of the state’s history. Examined from a geographic standpoint, the sizes and spatial distributions of Alabama’s cities have been chiefly driven at different times by access to the state’s navigable waterways; proximity to its major cotton-cultivating regions; access to significant railroad infrastructure; proximity to the state’s major coal and iron ore deposits; access to significant highway infrastructure; proximity to various “institutional industries” (defined here as the combination of county seats of government, public universities, permanent military installations, and the site of the state capital); and the process of suburbanization. This study employs qualitative data-collection and quantitative analysis methods to determine the possibility of modeling the explanatory power of these variables relative to the populations of the state’s twenty largest cities in each decade since 1820 in a manner that complements and aligns with the prior literature on the subject using multiple linear regression. The resulting models are able to successfully capture a single statistically-significant geographic variable with great accuracy, although the results are also somewhat more mixed when examining possible secondary and tertiary predictors of city population. The research serves as a stepping stone towards developing a statistical means of analyzing and understanding the impacts of various geographic factors on urban population that is both adaptable to other regions of the world and is able to produce outputs that are relatively easy to map and visualize. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my parents and my siblings, whose endless love, support, encouragement, and guidance over the years are what have ultimately made this journey possible. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful for the guidance and support from many different people that made this thesis possible. I would first like to thank all of the members of my thesis committee: my committee chair, Dr. Joe Weber, for his never-ending advice, encouragement, and generosity throughout the process of completing this project; Dr. Teresa Cribelli, for her invaluable mentorship as I navigated through the world of historical scholarship as both an undergraduate and graduate student; and Mr. Craig Remington, cartographer extraordinaire, for sharing his incredible insights into both cartography and Alabama history with me throughout my time working under him in the Cartographic Research Lab. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge my fellow colleagues in geography and cartography alike for their constant support and willingness to help me with any questions or concerns I may have had along the way. Finally, I would like to thank the faculty of the Departments of Geography and History, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences and The University of Alabama as a whole, for the instruction, experience, and financial support they have provided me that ultimately made it possible for me to take on this project at all. iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND .............................................................................5 2.1 NAVIGABLE WATERWAYS .................................................................................................7 2.2 COTTON CULTIVATION .....................................................................................................13 2.3 RAILROADS ...........................................................................................................................19 2.4 MINERAL RESOURCES .......................................................................................................24 2.5 HIGHWAYS ............................................................................................................................30 2.6 INSTITUTIONAL INDUSTRIES ...........................................................................................35 2.6.1 County Seats .........................................................................................................................35 2.6.2 Public Universities ................................................................................................................37 2.6.3 Military Installations .............................................................................................................40 2.6.4 The State Capital ...................................................................................................................42 2.7 SUBURBANIZATION............................................................................................................45 CHAPTER 3. METHODS .............................................................................................................50 3.1 DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................................................51 3.2 DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................61 v CHAPTER 4. RESULTS ...............................................................................................................68 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION .........................................................................................................82 5.1 CORROBORATING RESULTS .............................................................................................83 5.2 CONTRADICTING RESULTS ..............................................................................................86 5.3 STUDY LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .................90 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................96 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................100 APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................................110 vi LIST OF FIGURES 3.1 Map of the 10-mile buffer zone used for calculating the mileage of railroads surrounding Fairfield in 1940 .............................................................................................................................65 4.1 A cartographic approach to visualizing the historical urbanization patterns in Alabama .......81 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The history of urbanization in the United States is a long, convoluted, and fascinating tale that has undoubtedly impacted every corner of the nation to some extent. The likes of the Union’s major industrial centers in the Northeast and the Midwest, as well as the burgeoning centers of commerce and innovation along its West Coast and the Sun Belt, all serve as remarkable testaments to the great variety of cities to be found in the United States, as well as to the plethora of causes and conditions that ultimately contributed to their individual stories of growth and development. When considering the most prominent examples of the phenomenon, however, rarely does the state of Alabama register as a location where urbanization imparted a significant mark. To an extent, this assumptions holds some merit; for much of its history, the majority of the state’s population has indeed resided in its countryside, its economy chiefly tied to, if not utterly dominated by, the cultivation of cotton and other cash crops—conditions that do not necessarily lend themselves to urbanization as it is typically considered. As with many topics, however, the truth of the matter is indeed more nuanced and complicated than it may otherwise appear at a first glance. Despite its long historical reliance on the agricultural sectors of the economy, Alabama has nevertheless proven to be robust enough to serve as the cradle for cities of their own unique identity and character. In the antebellum era, the state’s small coastline became the home to one of the nation’s largest and most prosperous port cities; by the start of the twentieth century, meanwhile, Alabama was host to one of the largest and most productive industrial centers in all of the United States, and by the twenty-first century 1 it has increasingly become the home of a major hub for scientific and technological development. Certainly, the cases mentioned here—those of Mobile, Birmingham,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Voting Rights in Alabama 1982-2006
    VOTING RIGHTS IN ALABAMA 1982-2006 A REPORT OF RENEWTHEVRA.ORG PREPARED BY JAMES BLACKSHER, EDWARD STILL, NICK QUINTON, CULLEN BROWN AND ROYAL DUMAS JULY 2006 VOTING RIGHTS IN ALABAMA, 1982-2006 1 2 3 4 5 JAMES BLACKSHER , EDWARD STILL , NICK QUINTON , CULLEN BROWN , ROYAL DUMAS TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction to the Voting Rights Act 1 I. The Temporary Provisions of the Voting Rights Act that Apply to Alabama 1 II. Alabama Demographics 2 III. A Brief History of Pre-1982 Voting Discrimination in Alabama 3 IV. Voting Discrimination in Alabama Since 1982 5 A. Summary of enforcement of the temporary provisions 6 1. Section 5 6 2. Observer Provisions 7 B. Intentional Discrimination in Pollworker Appointment 8 C. Intentional Discrimination in Methods of Electing Local Bodies 9 D. Intentional Discrimination in Annexations 16 E. Hale County: An Example of the Voting Rights Act at Work 17 F. The Voting Rights Act and Congressional and Legislative 20 Redistricting in Alabama G. The Persistence of Racially Polarized Voting 24 Conclusion 29 1 Civil Rights Litigator 2 Civil Rights Litigator 3 University of Alabama student 4 University of Alabama student 5 University of Alabama student INTRODUCTION TO THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT For decades, Alabama has been at the center of the battle for voting rights equality. Several of the pre-1965 voting cases brought by the Department of Justice and private parties were in Alabama. The events of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, in 1965 served as a catalyst for the introduction and passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Studies
    201 OAlabama Course of Study SOCIAL STUDIES Joseph B. Morton, State Superintendent of Education • Alabama State Department of Education For information regarding the Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies and other curriculum materials, contact the Curriculum and Instruction Section, Alabama Department of Education, 3345 Gordon Persons Building, 50 North Ripley Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36104; or by mail to P.O. Box 302101, Montgomery, Alabama 36130-2101; or by telephone at (334) 242-8059. Joseph B. Morton, State Superintendent of Education Alabama Department of Education It is the official policy of the Alabama Department of Education that no person in Alabama shall, on the grounds of race, color, disability, sex, religion, national origin, or age, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program, activity, or employment. Alabama Course of Study Social Studies Joseph B. Morton State Superintendent of Education ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STATE SUPERINTENDENT MEMBERS OF EDUCATION’S MESSAGE of the ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Dear Educator: Governor Bob Riley The 2010 Alabama Course of Study: Social President Studies provides Alabama students and teachers with a curriculum that contains content designed to promote competence in the areas of ----District economics, geography, history, and civics and government. With an emphasis on responsible I Randy McKinney citizenship, these content areas serve as the four Vice President organizational strands for the Grades K-12 social studies program. Content in this II Betty Peters document focuses on enabling students to become literate, analytical thinkers capable of III Stephanie W. Bell making informed decisions about the world and its people while also preparing them to IV Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Sense of Place in Appalachia. INSTITUTION East Tennessee State Univ., Johnson City
    DOCUMENT. RESUME ED 313 194 RC 017 330 AUTHOR Arnow, Pat, Ed. TITLE Sense of Place in Appalachia. INSTITUTION East Tennessee State Univ., Johnson City. Center for Appalachian Sttdies and Services. PUB DATE 89 NOTE 49p.; Photographs will not reproduce well. AVAILABLE FROMNow and Then, CASS, Box 19180A, ETSU, Johnson City, TN 37614-0002 ($3.50 each; subscription $9.00 individual and $12.00 institution). PUB TYPE Collected Works -Serials (022) -- Viewpoints (120) -- Creative Works (Literature,Drama,Fine Arts) (030) JOURNAL CIT Now and Then; v6 n2 Sum 1989 EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Essays; Interviews; *Novels; Photographs; Poetry; *Regional Attitudes; Regional Characteristics; *Rural Areas; Short Stories IDENTIFIERS *Appalachia; Appalachian Literature; Appalachian People; *Place Identity; Regionalism; Rural Culture ABSTRACT This journal issue contains interviews, essays, short stc-ies, and poetry focusing on sense of place in Appalachia. In iLterviews, author Wilma Dykeman discussed past and recent novels set in Appalachia with interviewer Sandra L. Ballard; and novelist Lee Smith spoke with interviewer Pat Arnow about how Appalachia has shaped her writing. Essays include "Eminent Domain" by Amy Tipton Gray, "You Can't Go Home If You Haven't Been Away" by Pauline Binkley Cheek, and "Here and Elsewhere" by Fred Waage (views of regionalism from writers Gurney Norman, Lou Crabtree, Joe Bruchac, Linda Hogan, Penelope Schott and Hugh Nissenson). Short stories include "Letcher" by Sondra Millner, "Baptismal" by Randy Oakes, and "A Country Summer" by Lance Olsen. Poems include "Honey, You Drive" by Jo Carson, "The Widow Riley Tells It Like It Is" by P. J. Laska, "Words on Stone" by Wayne-Hogan, "Reeling In" by Jim Clark, "Traveler's Rest" by Walter Haden, "Houses" by Georgeann Eskievich Rettberg, "Seasonal Pig" by J.
    [Show full text]
  • Spring/Summer 2016 No
    The Journal of Mississippi History Volume LXXVIII Spring/Summer 2016 No. 1 and No. 2 CONTENTS Introduction to Vintage Issue 1 By Dennis J. Mitchell Mississippi 1817: A Sociological and Economic 5 Analysis (1967) By W. B. Hamilton Protestantism in the Mississippi Territory (1967) 31 By Margaret DesChamps Moore The Narrative of John Hutchins (1958) 43 By John Q. Anderson Tockshish (1951) 69 By Dawson A. Phelps COVER IMAGE - Francis Shallus Map, “The State Of Mississippi and Alabama Territory,” courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The original source is the Birmingham Public Library Cartography Collection. Recent Manuscript Accessions at Mississippi Colleges 79 University Libraries, 2014-15 Compiled by Jennifer Ford The Journal of Mississippi History (ISSN 0022-2771) is published quarterly by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 200 North St., Jackson, MS 39201, in cooperation with the Mississippi Historical Society as a benefit of Mississippi Historical Society membership. Annual memberships begin at $25. Back issues of the Journal sell for $7.50 and up through the Mississippi Museum Store; call 601-576-6921 to check availability. The Journal of Mississippi History is a juried journal. Each article is reviewed by a specialist scholar before publication. Periodicals paid at Jackson, Mississippi. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Mississippi Historical Society, P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205-0571. Email [email protected]. © 2018 Mississippi Historical Society, Jackson, Miss. The Department of Archives and History and the Mississippi Historical Society disclaim any responsibility for statements made by contributors. INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction By Dennis J. Mitchell Nearing my completion of A New History of Mississippi, I was asked to serve as editor of The Journal of Mississippi History (JMH).
    [Show full text]
  • The Supreme Court of Alabama—Its Cahaba Beginning, 1820–1825
    File: MEADOR EIC PUBLISH.doc Created on: 12/6/2010 1:51:00 PM Last Printed: 12/6/2010 2:53:00 PM ALABAMA LAW REVIEW Volume 61 2010 Number 5 THE SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA— ITS CAHABA BEGINNING, 1820–1825 ∗ Daniel J. Meador I. PROCEEDINGS IN HUNTSVILLE, 1819 ....................................... 891 II. THE FIRST SEAT OF STATE GOVERNMENT—CAHABA .................. 894 III. THE SUPREME COURT JUDGES IN THE CAHABA YEARS, 1820–1825 896 IV. THE SUPREME COURT’S BUSINESS IN THE CAHABA YEARS .......... 900 V. CONCLUSION .................................................................. 905 The Supreme Court of Alabama opened its first term on May 8, 1820 at Cahaba, the site designated as the new state’s first seat of government. The court was born then and there, but it had been conceived the previous year in Huntsville, then the territorial capital.1 I. PROCEEDINGS IN HUNTSVILLE, 1819 The movement toward statehood in the Alabama Territory, created in 1817 when Mississippi was admitted as a state, formally began in March 1819 with congressional passage of the Enabling Act. That Act authorized the people of the territory to adopt a constitution and enact laws providing for a state government. Pursuant to that Act, a convention of forty-four elected delegates from throughout the territory convened in Huntsville in July to draft a state constitution.2 Huntsville, located in the Tennessee Val- ∗ James Monroe Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Virginia; member, Alabama State Bar; dean University of Alabama Law School, 1966–1970; author of At Cahaba-From Civil War to Great Depression (Cable Publishing, 2009); President, Cahaba Foundation, Inc. 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mystery of the Alabama Confederate Monument
    Devotion, Deception, and the Ladies Memorial Association, 1865-1898: The Mystery of the Alabama Confederate Monument michael panhorst he eighty-eight-foot tall Alabama Confederate Monument T(Figure 1) on Montgomery’s Capitol Hill stands in commemora- tion of the service and sacrifice of 122,000 Alabamians who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Fund-raising for the $47,000 monument began in 1865 and was largely the work of white women, as was typical of Civil War memorial patronage in the South. The Ladies Memorial Association (LMA) raised most of the money through lengthy efforts involving bazaars and appeals to private do- nors and the state government. Due to pressing post-war needs for proper burial of many Confederate bodies lying in shallow battlefield graves, and the needs of widows, orphans, and Confederate veterans during Reconstruction, plus an economy slow to recover from the war, the cornerstone was not laid until 1886. More than 5,000 people witnessed Jefferson Davis perform that ceremony with full Masonic rites near the spot where he had taken the oath of office as the only President of the Confederacy. Another twelve years passed before the monument designed by New York sculptor Alexander Doyle (1857-1922) was completed with his handsome bronze finial figure of Patriotism and bronze relief sculpture of a generic battle scene en- circling the column. Granite statuary by Frederick Barnicoat (1857- 1942) of Quincy, Massachusetts, representing the Infantry, Artillery, Cavalry, and Navy was added by the patrons to complete Doyle’s design. The elaborate dedication on December 7, 1898 (near the michael panhorst is Curator of Art at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.
    [Show full text]
  • HISTORY of PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION in ALABAMA I by STEPHEN B
    UNITED STATES BUREAU Of EDUCATION. BULLETIN, 1915, NO. 12 , WHOLE NUMBER 637 HISTORY OF PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION IN ALABAMA I By STEPHEN B. WEEKS OF THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1915 ADDITIONAL COPIES THIS PUBLICATION MAT BE PROCURED FROM T11 SUPERINTENDENT Or DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 20 CENTS 1'E11 COPY In The same series: Bulletin 1912, No. 27.History of Public School EduostIon in Arkansas. In preparation: History of Public School Education In Tennessee. , '2,90 9 (e, ktAN 11 19i5 ^ 1915 CONTENTS. 12 -23 tags. Letter of transmittal 5 ('hapter I.- Evolution of the State 7 Growth.of population of Alabama, 1800-1910 9 First centers of American settlement 11 The lines of travel and the influence of roads on settlement 12 The distribution of incoming settlers 14 Chapter 11.-Private schools before the CivilViiar 16 Schools supported from private sources- 17 Schools supported in part out of public funds 23 Chapter 111.-Administration of the sixteenth sections, 1819-1914 26 The laws of the thirties and the failure of the State bank 27 Judge Porter's bill in 1847-48 30 Proposed comnlidation, 1852-53 33 Transfer of trumagement to State superintendent, 1854 35 Auditor Reynolds's strictures, 1869 36 The law of 1881 lays foundation of a State fund 4 38 The act of 1899 and the case of Alabama r. Schmidt 39 Principal of the sixteenth sectidls fund, 1851 and 1912. 41 Chapter 1V.-The rise of public schools in Mobile.,1826-1865 42 Public schools reorganized, 1852.
    [Show full text]
  • Featured Books 2021
    FEATURED BOOKS 2021 AUTHOR TITLE PUBLISHER YEAR PRICE Smithsonian Institutioin Abbot, Charles Greeley Smithsonian Scientific Series. 12 book set 1932 140 Series, Inc. The Museum of Agee, William C. Sam Francis: Paintings 1947 - 1990 Contemporary Art, Los 1999 30 Angeles Novels of Ainsworth. 12 Volumes. Limited Edition of Ainsworth, William Harrison J. F. Taylor and Company 1903 100 1000, #22 Arnold, Eve The Unretouched Woman. 1st Edition Alfred A. Knopf 1976 30 Bailey, Corinne Ringel Alphabet Book The Saalfield Publishing Co. 20 Basler, Roy P. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. 8 Volume Set Rutgers University Press 1953 50 Bass, Florence Animal Life D.C. Heath & Co 1895 30 Benson, John Howard and Carey, McGraw-Hill Book The Elements of Lettering 1950 20 Arthur Graham Company, inc. Acoustical Society of Beranek, Leo How They Sound Concert and Opera Halls (signed) America through the 1996 25 American Institute of Physics Berkerdite, Luke and Hosley, William American Furniture Chipstone Founjdation 1995 25 N. Bernstein, C. and Woodward, B. All the President's Men Simon and Schuster 1974 30 Bernstein, C. and Woodward, B. All the President's Men. Signed by both authors Simon and Schuster 1974 20 The Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking; 3 Vol Bird, L., Rae, A. and Rogowski, G. The Taunton Press 2002 30 set Six Drawings of Norman McLaren put into Music by Jeunesses Musicales of Blackburn, Marthe 1967 130 Maurice Blackburn Canada Blake, Benjamin, Rubeck, Jack and The Kingson Trio on Record Kingston Korner, Inc. 1986 25 Shaw, Allan Hugh Lauter Levin Bonfante-Warren, Alexandra The Pitti Palace/ The Uffizi Gallery 2006 30 Associates, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Alabama Statehood
    Alabama Statehood 201 years ago, Alabama officially became a state. However, the history of Alabama's land goes back centuries before it became a state. In the 16th century, Spanish explorers sought to settle on Alabama land, and clashed with Indigenous peoples. After Alabama became a state, its economy was driven by agriculture. Right before the Civil War, Alabama seceded from the Quick Facts union and was home to the first capital of the Confederacy. Flower: Camellia Following the Civil War, Alabama Capital: Montgomery slowly rebuilt itself throughout Reconstruction and became a central Tree: Longleaf Pine place of the Civil Rights Movement. Nickname: Alabama has a long history of strong- “The Heart of Dixie” willed people with deep convictions. Motto: Learn more about Alabama history "We dare defend our rights!" through the Bicentennial commission Bird: and our Creek War issue guide! Yellowhammer Woodpecker A Brief Timeline of Alabama History Spanish Exploration, 1500s Hernando de Soto and his men explored what is now Alabama and clashed with Indigenous peoples. Chief Tuskaloosa earned his nickname "Black Warrior" in the Battle of Mabila against Hernando de Soto's men. Creek War, 1813-1814 This was a regional war largely between Creek Indians and Americans, and mostly took place in Alabama and along the Gulf Coast. It ended with the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which forced the Creek Indians to surrender over 21 million acres of land, opening it up for American settlement. Statehood, 1819 On December 14th, 1819, Alabama officially became a state. Throughout the 19th century, our new state’s economy was largely driven by agriculture.
    [Show full text]
  • James U. Blacksher Attorney at Law Phone: 205-591-7238 P.O. Box 636 Birmingham, AL 35201 Fax: 866-845-4395 E-Mail: Jblacksher@Ns
    James U. Blacksher P.O. Box 636 Attorney at Law Birmingham, AL 35201 Phone: 205-591-7238 Fax: 866-845-4395 E-mail: [email protected] Statement of James U. Blacksher The Subcommittee on Elections of the Committee on House Administration Field Hearing, Birmingham, AL, May 13, 2019 Voting Rights and Election Administration in Alabama My name is James Blacksher. Thank you for inviting me to testify. I am a white native of Alabama and have been practicing law in Alabama since 1971, engaged primarily in representing African Americans in civil rights and voting rights litigation. I argued – and lost – City of Mobile v. Bolden (1980) in the Supreme Court, but with the help of co-counsel we won on remand to the district court. I testified in Congressional hearings leading to enactment of the 1982 Voting Rights Amendments. Four years later the Supreme Court in Thornburg v. Gingles (1986) cited and adopted the three-prong test proposed in my Hastings Law Review article for purposes of establishing a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. With Edward Still and Larry Menefee, I represented plaintiffs in the Dillard v. Crenshaw County class action, which changed the method of electing members of over 180 local governments in Alabama. I have represented African Americans in litigation following redistricting of the Alabama House and Senate districts and Congressional districts in every decade since the 1980 census. Most recently, I represented the plaintiffs before the Supreme Court in Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama (2015), which held that many of the Alabama House and Senate districts were racially gerrymandered.
    [Show full text]
  • Alabama NAACP V Alabama.DCT Opinion
    Case 2:16-cv-00731-WKW-SMD Document 181 Filed 02/05/20 Page 1 of 210 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHERN DIVISION ALABAMA STATE CONFERENCE ) OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION ) FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF ) COLORED PEOPLE, SHERMAN ) NORFLEET, CLARENCE ) MUHAMMAD, CURTIS TRAVIS, ) and JOHN HARRIS, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) CASE NO. 2:16-CV-731-WKW ) [WO] STATE OF ALABAMA and JOHN H. ) MERRILL, in his official capacity as ) Alabama Secretary of State, ) ) Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION — 4 II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE —10 III. BACKGROUND — 11 IV. STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR BENCH TRIALS —19 V. DISCUSSION — 20 A. Section 2 Vote Dilution — 20 1. Section 2: The Statute — 20 Case 2:16-cv-00731-WKW-SMD Document 181 Filed 02/05/20 Page 2 of 210 2. Burden of Proof — 21 3. The Meaning of Section 2 — 23 a. Legislative History — 23 b. Gingles Preconditions and Totality-of-Circumstances Test — 25 4. Section 2 and At-Large Judicial Elections — 29 a. Nipper v. Smith and Later Eleventh Circuit Caselaw Developments — 35 i. The Importance of a State’s Interests — 36 ii. Nipper’s Applicability to Appellate Judicial Elections — 40 iii. The Role of Causation in the § 2 Vote Dilution Analysis — 41 b. Summary — 44 5. Analysis of the Gingles Preconditions — 45 a. Introduction — 45 b. The First Gingles Precondition — 46 i. The Inextricably Intertwined Nature of Liability and Remedy in the Eleventh Circuit — 47 ii. Factors Governing the First Gingles Precondition — 48 iii. Plaintiffs’ Illustrative Plans for Alabama’s Appellate Courts — 54 iv.
    [Show full text]
  • Alabama Research Outline
    Alabama Research Outline Table of Contents Records Of The Family History Library Family History Library Catalog Archives and Libraries Bible Records Biography Cemeteries Census Church Records Court Records Directories Divorce Records Emigration and Immigration Gazetteers Genealogy History Land and Property Maps Military Records Minorities Native Races Naturalization and Citizenship Newspapers Obituaries Periodicals Probate Records Societies Taxation Vital Records Voting Registers For Further Reading Comments and Suggestions RESEARCH OUTLINE Alabama This outline describes major sources of FamilySearch. A few FamilySearch resource information about families from Alabama. As you files—for example, the U.S. Social Security Death read this outline, study the United States Research Index and the U.S. Military Index—are found on Outline (30972), which will help you understand the Family History Library and Family History the terminology, contents, and uses of genealogical Center version of FamilySearch, but not on the records. FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service. RECORDS OF THE FAMILY Family History Library and Family History Center computers with FamilySearch do not have access HISTORY LIBRARY to the Internet or computer on-line services, networks, or bulletin boards. Those services are The Family History Library has many of the available at many public libraries, college libraries, records listed in this outline. The major holdings and private locations. Limited access to the include cemetery, census, land, marriage, military, Internet is available on a few computers in the and probate records. The library has microfilm Automated Resource Center in the Family History copies of county records from all counties, Library. although several county courthouses have burned or had records partially destroyed.
    [Show full text]