Editing Huntsville, Alabama (section)

===Emerging industries===
Huntsville's initial growth was based on wealth generated by the sale of [[cotton]] from [[Plantation complexes in the Southern United States|plantations]], for which there was international demand, and trade associated with [[railroad]] industries. Many wealthy planters moved into the area from [[Virginia]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and [[the Carolinas]] to develop new cotton plantations.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Snow |first=Whitney Adrienne |date=October 1, 2010 |title=Cotton Mill City: The Huntsville Textile Industry, 1880-1989 |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=00024341&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA241619803&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=The Alabama Review |language=English |volume=63 |issue=4 |pages=243–282|doi=10.1353/ala.2010.0006 |s2cid=154931802}}</ref> The invention of the [[cotton gin]] in the late eighteenth century meant that uplands areas could be profitably cultivated with short-staple cotton, which could be grown in a much larger area than the long-staple cotton of the Sea Islands and Low Country. The increased use of cotton meant an increased use of [[slave labor]] throughout the South as well.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Kenneth E. |last2=Roberts |first2=Janet |title=Cotton |url=http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1491 |access-date=December 18, 2022 |website=Encyclopedia of Alabama |language=en}}</ref>

Like [[History of slavery in Alabama|the rest of Alabama]], Huntsville was involved in the [[Slave trade in the United States|slave trade]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Rohr |first=Nancy |title=Free People of Color in Madison County, Alabama |url=https://huntsvillehistorycollection.org/hhc/showhpg.php?id=307&a=article |access-date=May 26, 2023 |website=Huntsville History Collection}}</ref> Slaves worked in factories and on cotton plantations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Austin |first=Daniel B. |date=1971 |title=The Life of the Negro Slave in Alabama |url=https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=etds_theses |access-date=May 26, 2023 |publisher=[[Jacksonville State University]] |page=45}}</ref> Many cotton mills in the area relied on slave labor, most notably the Bell Factory, where slaves ran textile machinery. The factory was known throughout Alabama for its high levels of production.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hebert |first=Keith S. |date=August 5, 2009 |title=Slavery |url=https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/slavery/ |access-date=May 26, 2023 |website=Encyclopedia of Alabama |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":10" /> Cotton mills grew Huntsville and the South's economies greatly, becoming 60% of all U.S. exports and connecting Huntsville to major cotton markets in Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" /> An 1822 census showed that out of the 1,300 inhabitants of Huntsville, 448 were slaves, making up 36% of the city's population.<ref name=":9" />

In 1819, Huntsville hosted a constitutional convention in Walker Allen's large cabinet-making shop. The 44 delegates wrote a constitution for the new state of Alabama. In accordance with the new state constitution, Huntsville became Alabama's first capital when the state was admitted to the Union. This was a temporary designation for one legislative session only. The capital was moved to more central cities in the state; to [[Cahaba, Alabama|Cahaba]], then to [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]], and finally to [[Montgomery, Alabama|Montgomery]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ahc.alabama.gov/AlabamaStateCapitolHistoryFacts.aspx |title=History of the Alabama State Capitol |work=Alabama Historical Commission |access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref>

In 1855, the [[Memphis and Charleston Railroad]] was constructed through Huntsville, becoming the first railway to link the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic seacoast]] with the lower [[Mississippi River]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Harper's Encyclopædia of United States History from 458 A.D. to 1905: Based Upon the Plan of Benson John Lossing ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LotMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA526 |year=1906 |publisher=Harper & brothers |page=526}}</ref>