On This Day In Alabama History (3/3/1817): Congress Created The Alabama Territory
By Graydon Rust
Alabama 200
March 3, 1817
Congress created the Alabama Territory from the eastern half of the Mississippi Territory in an effort to appease Southern legislators wanting to create two new slave states instead of one. Passed two days after allowing Mississippi to form its own government, the act gave Alabama the authority to create a Legislature and court in the capital of St. Stephens and allowed President James Monroe to appoint a governor, a position soon given to William Wyatt Bibb from Georgia. The act did not become official, however, until Mississippi adopted a constitution and government, which occurred on Aug. 15, 1817.
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