Montgomery Favorites

Favorite thing: Ok, I had to laugh about this one. I didn't know that the Red Parking Meters are only 30 minutes long and it is illegal to refeed the meters too! The Grey Meters are at least two hours, so look for those to park at.

Favorite thing: In 1926 the newly formed Alabama Arts Commission retained Roderick MacKenzie, a Scottish-born artist living in Mobile, Alabama, to design a series of murals to be installed beneath the Capitol Dome. The work was completed in July of 1930. Today the murals are as interesting for reflecting the way in which Alabama history was depicted in the early 20th century as for their intrinsic artistic merit. The themes of the eight murals are as follows:

1. Hostile Meeting of Desoto, Spanish Explorer and Tuscaloosa Indian Chieftian - 1540.
2. French Establishing First White Colony in Alabama Under Iberville and Bienville, Mobile, 1702-1711.
3. Surrender of William Weatherford, Hostile Creek Leader, to General Andrew Jackson - 1814.
4. Pioneer Home-seekers Led into the Alabama Wilderness by Sam Dale - 1816.
5. Governor William Wyatt Bibb and Committee Drafting the First State Constitution at Huntsville, 1819.
6. Wealth and Leisure Produce the Golden Period of Antebellum Life in Alabama, 1840-1860.
7. Secession and the Confederacy, Inauguration of President Jefferson Davis, 1861.
8. Prosperity Follows the Development of Resources Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, 1874-1930.

Favorite thing: Located on the north end of the Capitol Building, this Memorial was erected in memory of the heroes of the Civil War. Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, laid the cornerstone for the memorial in 1886.

Contrary to popular misconception, The south did not fight the Civil War to perpetuate slavery, but to defend its homeland against northern aggression. Whites and blacks (both free and slave) served in the Confederate Army. In 1862, Alabama authorized "colored" militia units. Conservative estimates are that more than 65,000 African-Confederates served in the war, 7 to 8% of all Confederate soliders. Approximately 13,000 of these saw combat and some died in defense of their homeland.

According to the 1860 census there were 240,747 free Negroes in the southern states, which is 15,000 more than lived in the "free" states of the north. Some of the northern states would not even allow a black, free or slave, man to live within their borders.

Black Confederate Soldiers

Favorite thing: The architectural shell of the Old Alabama State House Chamber is restored to its late 19th century appearance. Originally a plain, whitewashed space, the House Chamber - like the Senate Chamber across the rotunda - was decoratively painted in trompe l'oeil in 1869-70. At the same time, gaslighting was installed. The trompt l'oeil and the reproduction gaslight fixtures as based on period photographs and written documentation.

It was in this hall that the Alabama Legislature passed the "Ordinance of Secession", which withdrew Alabama from the Union of Soverign States, January 11, 1861. The issue was over states rights. The southern states believed strongly that the federal government should be limited in jurisdiction only to those powers specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States, and that the individual states had the right to govern themselves in all other matters.

Slavery did not become the major issue of the War Between the States until President Lincoln introduced it as a political ploy well after the War of Northern Aggression (Civil War) was under way. Before secession, the abomination of slavery was already being strongly opposed by many influential southerners and would have soon ended without the unspeakable added horror of the War. The Confederate Constitution outlawed the African slave trade, and in 1864, President Jefferson Davis proposed a plan to end slavery altogether.

Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army, was one of the southern leaders who was opposed to slavery. Five years before secession he wrote that slavery was a "Moral and political evil." On the other hand Ulysses S. Grant, who led the Union Army, was married to a slave owner and worked her family's slaves on his own farm. During the Civil War Grant stated that if he "...thought this was to abolish slavery, I would resign my commission and offer my sword to the other side."

In Defense of the Confederacy

Favorite thing: On the south lawn of the Alabama State Capitol building is a half-moon shaped walkway along which are displayed flags of the fifty United States. A Plaque reads:

THIS MEMORIAL WAS DEDICATED ON APRIL
6, 1918, AFTER A PARADE THROUGH DOWNTOWN
MONTGOMERY BY 30,000 PREDOMINATELY
OHIO TROOPS STATIONED AT NEARBY CAMP
SHERIDAN. THE ORIGINAL FLAGPOLE WAS
PURCHASED WITH THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE
SCHOOL CHILDREN OF ALABAMA. THE ADDITION
OF THE FLAGS OF THE FIFTY STATES OF THE
UNION GIVES ADDED SIGNIFICANCE TO THIS
MEMORIAL TO THE HEROS FROM ALABAMA WHO
ALONG WITH PATRIOTS FROM OTHER STATES
HAVE PAID THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN
DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY.

ALBERT P. BREWER
GOVERNOR OF ALABAMA
1969

Favorite thing: Since the mid-1980s the Alabama Senate and House of Representatives have convened in the Alabama State House on Union Street across from and in back of the Capitol building. In this photo a state legislator is giving an outdoor press conference in front of the State House. If he's lucky, he will appear on the evening news and gain exposure for himself and for his current legislative proposal.

Favorite thing: This statue stands in a prominent spot in front of the Alabama State Capitol. The inscription reads:

JEFFERSON DAVIS
SOLDIER - SCHOLAR - STATESMAN

A GRADUATE OF WEST POINT
MILITARY ACADEMY, HE SERVED
THE UNITED STATES AS COLONEL
OF MISSISSIPPI VOLUNTEERS
MEXICAN WAR, MEMBER OF HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATOR
AND AS SECRETARY OF WAR

INAUGURATED PRESIDENT OF
THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT
CONFEDERATE STATES OF
AMERICA, FEBRURAY 18, 1861

Favorite thing: I am keeping my tips about the State Capitol building and grounds together here in one section under "General Tips."

One of the only state capitols designated a National Historic Landmark, the Alabama State Capitol is where Jefferson Davis took the oath of office as President of the Confederate States of America and where the civil rights March ended with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering a moving speech from the top of its steps.

The historic Senate and House of Representatives Chambers, the old Supreme Court Chambers and the original governor's office have all been restored to their Civil War-era appearance. Guided tours are available Mon. - Sat. Free Admission.

This picture of the Capitol Building was taken in early December as the State Christmas Tree was being decorated - a 30-foot red cedar harvested in Choctaw County.

Address:
600 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104

Telephone:
334-242-3935

www.state.al.us