Alabama Poem by Justin Reamer

Alabama



Oh, great state of the South,
How you will always be remembered,
For you have a long history,
Just as the other states do,
For all of you Alabamians
Have many histories, indeed,
For you can all remember the
History you have always had.

Alabama was a slave state,
And it had its many troubles,
And it had its uprisings,
And its troubles.
The masters owned the slaves,
And they had them work,
Yet the plantations ran well,
Especially for the South's economy.

Slavery contributed to racism,
Especially in the South,
For the whites thought they were better,
And smarter,
And that their ways were better.

Alabama was formed after the American Revolution,
Around the time when Jefferson
Did the Louisiana Purchase,
And those who lived in Alabama continued
To grow in prosperity.

Alabama was mainly Republican
(On Jefferson's terms, anyhow) ,
And they were involved with the Nullification Crisis.
When the Sectional Crisis came around,
The Alabamians hated the abolitionists,
And they wanted them kept out.

Eventually Alabama joined the secession from the Union
That was involved in the Civil War,
And they joined the Confederacy of America,
Which failed to win the war.

When Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president,
Began to wage war,
The Civil War began,
And many Americans died.

Alabama lost many men,
Just as the rest of the Confederacy,
And every other state in the country,
And they lost the war with the Confederacy
To the Union,
And the country stayed together.

Because Alabama lost the war,
The slaves were freed in the state,
And Alabama, having lost,
Was in economic decline.
After the Civil War,
The Republicans in the North
Wanted to 'reconstruct' the South,
And the Democrats who protested,
Did not get very far.

Alabama was one of the victims
Of the Reconstruction Era,
For they were left to the caprices of the
Northerners and whatnot.
Alabamians despised carpetbaggers and scallywags,
Who would come to the South for treasures,
And they made African Americans work as sharecroppers,
And pay off their 'debts' as they called them,
And made them live the same lifestyle over again.

However, Reconstruction did have its good things,
Such as bringing a better economy to the South,
And Alabama prospered because of that,
Yet, the Ku Klux Klan ran amok,
And many African Americans suffered,
Especially when they had to pay
A poll tax and try to pass
A literacy test.

Reconstruction ended, however,
And segregation began,
When blacks got all the bad stuff,
And whites got all the good stuff,
And African Americans were poorer than poor.
This was the way it was for many years to come.

When World War I came around,
Alabama joined in the fight,
And they fought to protect the world,
Just as the rest of America did.

When the 1920s came around,
There was a growing conservative group,
And the KKK was a political party
Representing it.

When the Depression hit,
Alabamians fell victim to the Dust Bowl,
And poverty hit them hard
As it did the rest of the country,
But FDR helped them out,
With his New Deal,
And everything worked out for the better.

When World War II came around,
Alabama sent in their men,
And they all went in to fight,
And everyone in Alabama worked to preserve energy.
They won the war,
And they came back cheering.

The 1950s were great,
And Alabama also prospered,
And all the white folks were happy,
And it was a time of prosperity,
But the blacks were not to happy,
And the Civil Rights Movement would begin.

The 1960s were infamous for Alabama,
Especially Birmingham,
Which the blacks called 'Bombingham, '
Because the Civil Rights Movement was repressed
By the racist safety commissioner Eugene 'Bull' Connor.

Yet, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr,
Fought for the rights of his people,
And he never stood down,
And JFK and LBJ all passed the Civil Rights Act,
Making things better again.

And after that, Alabama has been for better,
And, now, they are home to one of the largest
Colleges in America,
The University of Alabama,
Which is the home of the Crimson Tide.
And they continue to do well today,
And everyone lives in peace.

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Justin Reamer

Justin Reamer

Holland, Michigan
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