March 1, 1817

The federal government granted authority to the Mississippi Territory to create a state government for its western lands, leading to the creation of the Alabama Territory two days later. The U.S. Congress created the Mississippi Territory in 1798 out of lands north of the 31^st parallel formerly claimed by the colony of Georgia. Congress split the territory in 1817 due to pressure from white Southerners who wanted to see two new slave states emerge. Residents in present-day Alabama also pushed for a division, claiming that the seat of government in Natchez was too far away for the territorial militia to provide protection, especially after the Fort Mims massacre several years earlier.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

A map of Mexico, Louisiana and the Missouri Territories, c. 1819. (John Narstin, H. Anderson, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division)

A map of the Mississippi Territory published ca. 1813 by Mathew Carey. The right half of the map is present-day Alabama. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama Libraries)

An 1858 engraving of the massacre at Fort Mims, an attack on settlers and allied Native Americans on Aug. 30, 1813, by the Red Stick faction of the Creeks. Public outcry sparked the initial military action against the Creek Nation that would usher in the Creek War of 1813-14. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of the History Museum of Mobile)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.