Alabama became a part of the Mississippi Territory in 1798 and more settlers began to enter the area that would become Alabama after Indian cessions in north Alabama and the opening of the federal road in south Alabama in the early 1800s. Migration increased after the end of the Creek War in 1814.
The Alabama Territory was created in 1817 and Alabama's population increased sufficiently that U.S. President Monroe signed the enabling act for statehood on March 2, 1819.
Alabama's constitutional convention met in Huntsville in July 1819 and produced the state's first constitution, a liberal document for its time that included universal white manhood suffrage and direct election of the governor by the people.
Alabama became the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.