POWERGRAMS

43 The value of Alabama's citizens knowing the history of their state was expressed as early as the 1840s. The first history of Alabama was published 165 years ago by an Autauga County planter and attorney, Albert James Pickett. This North Carolinian moved to Alabama in 1818, during the territorial period. In writing his history, Pickett concentrated on the early years, the Indians and Hernando de Soto's journey through the Southeast, which included land that became part of Alabama. Pickett ended his story in 1820. Nelle Harper Lee, known for her award- winning novel, "To Kill A Mockingbird," which was set in a fictional version of her hometown of Monroeville, wrote that Pickett's account was her favorite history of Alabama. It has been in and out of print since 1851. Lee noted that many of the stories Pickett wrote about came from interviews he had with early settlers and Indians. She suggested that without Pickett, we might have lost our understanding of Indian life and practices, the war traits of the Chickasaw, accounts of Alabama's ancient mounds and fortifications, and stories such as Capt. Sam Dale, Jere Austill and "the noble Caesar," struggling against Indians in a famous canoe fight in the middle of the Alabama River. In the 1890s, books were published that were written for Alabama's children to know the stories of their state. A professor at the State Normal College at Florence in 1892 advocated that to "become intelligent citizens of the state," the children of Alabama needed to be taught "more of its history and government than is the custom in most schools." For many years, the social studies curriculum required Alabama history in the fourth grade and a half-semester of Alabama history and government in the ninth grade. Although the fourth-grade Alabama history course of study remains, in 1998, the one-half semester of ninth-grade Alabama history was eliminated, and "Alabama Moments in U.S. History" was included in the standard American history courses in 10th grade (discovery to Civil War) and 11th grade (Reconstruction to 1990s). For decades in the 20th century, the standard adult history of the state was University of Alabama professor Albert Burton Moore's 1934 "History of Alabama." His last chapter of 21 pages, "Trends Since 1900," was all that college students and Alabama citizens were offered in a general history to study Alabama's 20th century. In 1994, a new scholarly history of Alabama was published by the University of Alabama Press, "Alabama History of a Deep South State," and since that time has served as the textbook for college courses covering Alabama history. Although an updated bicentennial edition of this history will be released this year, Alabama has never had a brief adult survey history of Alabama, with maps and generous illustrations, printed in four-color and written for general readers. Now it does. The author is the long-time director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Edwin C. Bridges, who has been retired for several years. "Alabama: The Making of an American State" was released in October 2016 by the University of Alabama Press and published in cooperation with the Alabama Bicentennial Commission. The illustrations in this book are breathtaking and informative. The concise prose reflects an understanding and an appreciation of Alabama's history, even in those areas of our state's story that are difficult for us to study today because they are not pleasant or positive, subjects such as slavery, the Civil War and segregation. Yet, we can't possibly comprehend how our history and our current challenges evolved without coming to terms with all areas of Alabama's past. We need to know and understand the background, the history, of our present challenges to assist us in solving problems and moving forward. Although the book's most significant contribution is found in its brevity, the background and the scope are well told and explained. For those preparing themselves and their families for Alabama's bicentennial celebration and its activities, this book is a good introduction or refresher course in the state's history for a general audience. For me, as a historian of electricity in Alabama and of Alabama Power Company's significant role in this technological advancement in the early 20th century, it is exciting to read the recognition of electricity's importance in Alabama's industrial growth. The significance of Alabama Power's hydroelectric dam at Lock 12 on the Coosa River and its construction of transmission and distribution lines and backup generation are covered for the first time in a general history of Alabama in the book's section on "Years of Innovation and Growth." Available in hardback or paper cover, "Alabama: The Making of an American State" would be an excellent gift for any family, but especially for parents who have children soon headed to fourth- grade Alabama history studies and high school students working their way through U.S. history with its components of Alabama history. by Leah Rawls Atkins HISTORY book

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