| Montgomery is the capital,
second most populous city, and the fourth most populous metropolitan area
in the Southern U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery
County. It is located southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf
Coastal Plain. The city population was 201,568 as of the 2000 census. Montgomery
is the primary city of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area, which
had a 2000 population of 346,528, making it the fourth largest in the state.
 The
city was incorporated in 1819, as a merger of two towns situated along
the Alabama River. It became the state capital in 1846. In February 1861,
Montgomery was selected as the first capital of the Confederate States
of America, until the seat of government moved to Richmond, Virginia in
May of that year.
During the mid-20th century,
Montgomery was a primary site in the African-American Civil Rights Movement,
including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma to Montgomery marches.
Today, in addition to housing
many Alabama government agencies, Montgomery has a large military presence
due to Maxwell Air Force Base, public universities Alabama State University,
Troy University (Montgomery campus), and Auburn University-Montgomery,
private colleges/universities Faulkner University, Huntingdon College,
and ABA-accredited law school Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, high-tech
manufacturing including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, and cultural
attractions like the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Montgomery Museum
of Fine Arts.
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