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This Week In Alabama History December 2, 1865: Adhering to President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan, the Alabama legislature ratifies the thirteenth amendment abolishing slavery in the United States, but with the caveat that such an action did "not confer upon Congress the power to legislate upon the political status of freedmen in this State." The 1868 legislature, adhering to Congress's more radical Reconstruction plan, would ratify the thirteenth amendment again, but without the qualifying statement. December 5, 1919: Loraine Bedsole Bush becomes the first woman to head a state agency in Alabama when she is named director of the newly created Child Welfare Department. Long involved in state and national efforts to reform child labor laws, Bush was largely responsible for the establishment of the department. December 5, 1935: The Alabama Highway Patrol, Alabama's first statewide law enforcement agency, is created by Gov. Bibb Graves. The patrol originally consisted of 12 motorcycle officers. Today the Department of Public Safety has a staff of over 1,100 who are responsible for the highway patrol, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, driver's license administration, and other support activities. December 6, 1847: The Alabama legislature begins its first session in the new capital of Montgomery. The capitol building cost $75,000 to build and was paid for by the citizens of Montgomery. It was destroyed by fire two years later. December 9, 1873: The Colored Normal School at Huntsville is created by legislative act. Founded by ex-slave William Hooper Councill, the school educated black teachers for the public schools. It became a land-grant institution in 1891, eventually evolving into Alabama A&M University. December 11, 1919: The boll weevil monument is dedicated in Enterprise. The monument honors the insect that killed cotton plants and forced local farmers to diversify by planting more profitable crops such as peanuts. Even though the monument was in appreciation of the boll weevil, the weevil statue was not added to the monument until 30 years later. December 13-30, 1868: Thirty-eight of Alabama's sixty-seven counties were created or established during the month of December beginning with Madison County on December 13, 1808, and ending with Chilton County on December 30, 1868. Source: Alabama Dept. of Archives & History
from the Alabama Department of Archives and History
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