Alabama State Flags

When did Alabama Join the Union?

Alabama is a state in the United States, located in its southeastern region. It is nicknamed as "Heart of Dixie" and the "Yellowhammer State" after the state bird. Alabama joined the Union of United States in 1819. The state did not have its own flag until its withdrawal from the union in 1861.

What is the Alabama State Flag?

On January 11 1861, the Alabama Secession Convention passed a resolution designating its official flag. This flag looked very different from the current state flag, and was designed by the women from Montgomery. It was known as "Republic of Alabama" back then.

The Alabama state flag was authorized by the Alabama Legislature on February 16, 1895, by Act number 383.

The flag of the State of Alabama shall be a crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white. The crimson cross on a white field, patterned after the Confederate Battle Flag was adopted in 1895. The bars forming the cross must not be less than six inches broad and must extend diagonally across the flag from side to side. The Alabama legislation does not specify whether the flag should be square or rectangular (only that the bars be at least 6 inches broad), and it is seen both ways.

Over the years there has been much confusion and speculation over the shape of the Alabama state flag. The current flag of Alabama State was adopted in 1895. In 1905 the legislature considered a proposal to add stars to the state flag, which would have made it even more similar to the Battle Flag; the flag was left unaltered, however.

What was the First Flag of Alabama?

From March 4, 1861 until General James H. Wilson's occupation of Montgomery in April 1865, a Confederate National Flag was flown, either the First National Flag or the Second National Flag.

The obverse side of the flag featured the "Goddess of Liberty" holding a sword in her right hand, while a small blue flag with one gold star was seen in her left. The text "Alabama" in capital letters has been written just above the gold star. In an arch above this figure were the words "Independent Now and Forever". The reverse side of the flag displayed a cotton plant and a coiled rattlesnake, with the Latin text "Noli me tangere" (Touch Me Not). This flag was removed in a month due to damage caused by severe weather, and was never flown again.

Alabama had left the Union in 1861, and used the Confederate flag, but when the state joined the Union in 1895 again, it needed to adopt a new flag for a new start.

What is the Origin of the Official Alabama Flag?

On February 4 1861, representatives from South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana met in Montgomery, Alabama, with representatives from Texas arriving later, to form the Confederate States of America. Commonly referred to as the Confederacy and the South, it was an unrecognized country in North America that existed from 1861 to 1865. The Confederacy was originally formed by seven secessionist slave-holding states in the Lower South region of the United States, whose economy was heavily dependent upon agriculture, particularly cotton, and a plantation system that relied upon the labor of African-American slaves. Each state declared its secession from the United States, which became known as the Union during the ensuing civil war, following the November 1860 election of Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln to the U.S. presidency on a platform which opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories. The state has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980, and Democrats have not seriously contested the state since.

On February 16, 1895, 76 years after being admitted to the Union, the Alabama Legislature authorized the "crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white" as its official flag in the Acts of Alabama.

What is the Meaning Alabama State Flag?

Following the Civil War, many wished to assert the identity of the state through a distinctive flag. Even though it is simple, the Alabama state flag represents the freedom of the state. The Confederate battle flag was in turn inspired by the cross of St. Andrew―a diagonal X-shaped cross on which St. Andrew, a disciple of Jesus, is said to have been crucified. The cross actually represents the battle flag. The colors on the Alabama flag stand for purity and courage. The Alabama legislation in the Act 383 does not specify whether the flag should be square or rectangular, but they were very specific about the bars being at least six inches wide. Anything less than that doesn't fit in the legal definition.

What Exactly is the Shape of the Alabama State Flag?

The flag was intended to “preserve in permanent form some of the more distinctive features of the Confederate battle flag, particularly the St. Andrew’s cross”. Furthermore, the earliest images of the state flag published soon after the adoption of the flag all depicted a rectangular flag. In 1987 the Alabama Department of Archives and History asked the Office of the Alabama Attorney General to investigate and issue an official opinion on the shape of the state flag. The opinion established that the modern Alabama state flag should be rectangular in shape.

Where can you Display the Alabama State Flag?

The Code of Alabama states that the state flag should be flown over the dome of the Capitol when the two houses of the Legislature are in session and should be used by the state on all occasions when necessary or customary to display a flag, except when the Governor determines that the national flag should be displayed. Under an Act approved September 26, 1923, the flag of the State, as well as the flag of the United States, is required to be displayed every day on which school is in session, at all schools in the State which are supported even in part by public funds. In 2001 the law was expanded to require state flags to be flown at county courthouses, state offices, and municipal buildings.

What is the Alabama Flag Salute?

Many Americans may be unaware that their state has an official pledge to the state flag. 17 states across the nation possess official state flag pledges. Below is the Alabama flag salute or pledge:

Flag of Alabama I salute thee.

To thee I pledge my allegiance,

my service, and my life.