Alabama Social Studies SS24.AS.8

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Origins

The Standard

Explain the impact of “Alabama Fever” on the settlement of Alabama and the growth of agriculture and slavery in the territory.

2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain why white settlers rushed to Alabama after Creek land cessions and federal land sales. They show how cotton farming grew and how enslaved people were forced into the region.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can link Creek land loss and cotton profits to rapid settlement. They can explain how growing plantations increased slavery through the forced migration of enslaved people.
Common Misconceptions: Some students think “Alabama Fever” was a disease or that the land was unoccupied. Others assume enslaved people chose to move or that cotton grew without their labor.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: In three sentences, explain why settlers moved to Alabama after the Creek War. Name one effect on cotton farming and one on enslaved people.

Lesson moves

Give pairs a Creek land cession map and an Alabama soil map; have them mark where cotton planters sought land.
Ask students to write: “Who gained land and who lost it after the Creek War?” Require one detail from a land cession map.
Hand out cards for Creek land cessions, federal land sales, cotton planting, and forced migration; students order them and draw cause arrows.
Compare a current Alabama crop map with an 1850 cotton map; have students identify one place cotton farming persisted and one change.

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