Alabama

Alabama, originally part of Mississippi Territory, became a separate territory in 1817. The formation of Alabama Territory was strongly influenced by a group of Georgia politicians aligned with William Crawford. This Georgia faction, or "Broad River" group, was led by two of Georgia's senators, Charles Tait and William Wyatt Bibb. Both moved west to Alabama where they and other elite Georgians came to be known as the “Royal Party.” Bibb was appointed the first and only territorial governor by President James Madison. The territory's General Assembly, a bicameral body, was relatively weak compared to the governor, as was the case in most federal territories.

In July, 1819 forty-four delegates met in Huntsville to write Alabama’s Constitution to prepare for statehood. They created a bicameral General Assembly divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives. Members of the House served one year terms while members of the Senate served three years. The Governor served two-year terms and was limited to two terms in office. Both members of the General Assembly and the Governor were popularly elected by ballot. The suffrage was restricted to white men over the age of 21 who had resided in the state for at least one year, but there were no property requirements.

The voters of Alabama elected William Wyatt Bibb the first governor of the state where he encountered a more powerful General Assembly than he had been accustomed to in the territorial period. Legislators elected all of the heads of executive departments and they could override gubernatorial vetoes with a simple majority vote.

Formal partisan divisions played almost no role in Alabama's early political history. Because the territory and state were formed during the Era of Good Feelings after the collapse of the Federalist Party through much of the country, most of Alabama’s political leaders and voters claimed allegiance to the Republican majority. Factions in Alabama formed around the Royal Party, the elite settlers with roots in the Broad River region of Georgia, and the politicians who opposed them. Because many of the leaders aligned with the Royal Party were involved in banking in Alabama, the financial collapse associated with the Panic of 1819 sharpened political conflict and gave ammunition to their more populist-oriented opponents. Regional divisions also shaped Alabama’s factionalism, especially as politicians fought over the location of the new state capital. The territorial assembly favored Tuscaloosa, a site far enough north to make it accessible to the residents of the Tennessee Valley. William Wyatt Bibb chose Cahawba instead, a site more closely situated to his political base in central Alabama. The new state assembly accepted that decision but also granted the General Assembly power to select a permanent capital in 1825 without input from the governor. At that time the seat of government shifted to Tuscaloosa, where it remained until moving to Montgomery in the 1840s.

Bibliography and Related Sources

• Alabama Legislative History
• Alabama Department of Archives and History
• Atkins, Leah Rawls, Wayne Flynt, William Warren Rogers, and David Ward.
• Dupre, Daniel S. Transforming the Cotton Frontier: Madison County, Alabama, 1800-1840. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2001.

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Electoral College

Elector: A member of the Electoral College chosen by the several States to elect the President and Vice-President.

Oxford English Dictionary

See President of the United States for the votes cast by the Electoral College for President.

Historical Note: These elections were vastly different from modern day Presidential elections. The actual Presidential candidates were rarely mentioned on tickets and voters were voting for particular electors who were pledged to a particular candidate. There was sometimes confusion as to who the particular elector was actually pledged to. Prior to the 12th Amendment, electors were pledged to two candidates as there was no distinction made in the Electoral College between President and Vice-President.

1789 - 1824: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia

State Breakdown for Election of Members to the Electoral College:

Alabama: Legislature (1820), Popular Vote (1824)

Connecticut: Legislature (1789-1816), Popular Vote (1820, 1824)

Delaware: Popular Vote (1789), Legislature (1796-1824)

Georgia: Legislature (1789, 1792, 1800-1824), Popular Vote (1796)

Illinois: Popular Vote by District

Indiana: Legislature (1816, 1820), Popular Vote by District (1824)

Kentucky: Popular Vote by District

Louisiana: Legislature

Maine: Popular Vote by District

Maryland: Popular Vote (1789, 1792), Popular Vote by District (1796-1824)

Massachusetts: Popular Vote (1789-1796, 1804, 1824), Legislature (1800, 1808, 1816), Popular Vote by District (1812, 1820)

Mississippi: Popular Vote

Missouri: Legislature (1820), Popular Vote by District (1824)

New Hampshire: Popular Vote (1789-1796, 1804-1824), Legislature (1800)

New Jersey: Legislature (1789-1800, 1812), Popular Vote (1804, 1808, 1816-1824)

New York: Legislature

North Carolina: Legislature (1792, 1812), Popular Vote by District (1796-1808), Popular Vote (1816-1824)

Ohio: Popular Vote

Pennsylvania: Popular Vote (1789-1796, 1804-1824), Legislature (1800)

Rhode Island: Legislature (1792, 1796), Popular Vote (1800-1824)

South Carolina: Legislature

Tennessee: Popular Vote by District

Vermont: Legislature

Virginia: Popular Vote by District (1789-1796), Popular Vote (1800-1824)

Office Scope: Federal

Role Scope: State / District

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