First Confederate Capitol | |
 The Alabama State Capitol in 2016 | |
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| Location | Montgomery, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°22′40″N 86°18′2″W / 32.37778°N 86.30056°W |
| Built | 1850–1851 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival style architecture |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000152 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[2] |
| Designated NHL | December 19, 1960[1] |
The Alabama State Capitol, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. Located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery, it was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960.[1][3] Unlike every other state capitol, the Alabama Legislature does not meet there, but at the Alabama State House. The Capitol has the governor's office and otherwise functions as a museum.[4]
Alabama has had five political capitals and four purpose-built capitol buildings during its history since it was designated as a territory of the United States. The first was the territorial capital in St. Stephens in 1817; the state organizing convention was held in Huntsville in 1819, and the first permanent capital was designated in 1820 as Cahaba. The legislature moved the capital to Tuscaloosa in 1826, where it was housed in a new three-story building. The 1826 State House in Tuscaloosa was later used as Alabama Central Female College. After it burned in 1923, the ruins were retained within Capitol Park.
Finally, in 1846, the capital was moved again, when Montgomery was designated. The first capitol building in Montgomery, located where the current building stands, burned after two years. The current building was completed in 1851, and additional wings were added over the course of the following 140 years.[5] These changes followed population growth in the state as many slave-holding European-American settlers arrived. Large parts of the state were subsequently developed for cotton cultivation.
The current capitol building temporarily served as the Confederate Capitol while Montgomery served as the first political capital of the Confederate States of America in 1861, before Richmond, Virginia was designated as the capital. Delegates meeting as the Montgomery Convention in the Senate Chamber drew up the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States on February 4, 1861. The convention also adopted the Permanent Constitution here on March 11, 1861.[6][7]
In 1965, more than one hundred years later, the third (and final) Selma to Montgomery march ended at the front marble staircase of the Capitol, with the protests and events surrounding them directly leading to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[7]
- ^ a b "First Confederate Capitol". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 11, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2007.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
- ^ Blanche Higgins Schroer (September 29, 1975) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Confederate Capitol / Alabama State Capitol, National Park Service and Accompanying 3 photos, 1 aerial and 2 exterior views, undated.
- ^ "Alabama's capitol is a crime scene. The cover-up has lasted 120 years". al. January 12, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "Capitals of Alabama". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ "Background of the Confederate States Constitution". Civil War Home. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
- ^ a b "Alabama State Capitol". Alabama Historical Commission. www.preserveala.org. Archived from the original on March 8, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2011.