Alabama is a state in the southern United States, admitted to the Union on December 14, 1819. It was one of the eleven states to secede and join the Confederate States of America in 1861, before being readmitted to the Union in 1868. Alabama is known for NASCAR, football culture, cotton plantations, and history of both slavery and civil rights. Alabama tends to be a target for many negative stereotypes of the south, most notably incest.
Its state capital is Montgomery, and its largest city is Huntsville. Birmingham (with the "h" pronounced, unlike with the English city it's named after) is the center of the state's largest metropolitan area.