Alabama Fever facts for kids

"Alabama Fever" was a huge rush for land that happened after 1817. Many people, including farmers and those looking to buy land, moved to Alabama. They wanted to claim new land. This happened as Native American tribes gave up their territories. This "fever" was mostly about farmers and the people they enslaved moving west. They sought new lands in states where slavery was allowed. Their goal was to find rich soil to grow cotton. It was one of America's first big land booms. Later, the California Gold Rush in 1848 became even bigger.

A Rush to Alabama

The name "Alabama Fever" was first used around 1817. This was when Alabama was still a territory, before it became a state in 1819. Most settlers came from older southern states. These included Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and eastern Georgia. In these older states, the soil had become less fertile. This made growing cotton very hard.

Alabama's population was quite small in 1810, with fewer than 10,000 people. But by 1830, it had grown to over 300,000 people! Most Native American tribes were forced to leave their lands. This happened after the United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. By 1860, Alabama's population reached 964,201 people. Of these, 435,080 were enslaved African Americans. About 2,690 were free people of color.

Why Did People Move?

There were big reasons why so many people rushed to Alabama.

The Demand for Cotton

Around the world, there was a huge demand for cotton. New machines were making textiles (cloth) in factories. This made growing cotton very profitable. By 1834, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were producing half of all the cotton in the United States. By 1859, these states, along with Georgia, grew 78% of the nation's cotton.

Tired Soil and New Lands

Growing cotton quickly used up the nutrients in the soil. This meant that cotton crops would produce less and less after a few decades. Back then, farmers did not have modern chemical fertilizers. So, they needed to keep finding new, fertile land. This made it necessary for settlers and the people they enslaved to move further west. They wanted to keep cotton production as high as possible.

Some powerful cotton growers even thought about taking over land in the Caribbean and Central America. They wanted more places to grow cotton. This idea came about because people in the northern United States were increasingly against the expansion of slavery. Also, the dry western parts of the U.S. were not good for growing cotton.