This Yea, Alabama historical series explores the narrative of the storied University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the United States, in a way not previously published. Years of research into primary documents, many only recently discovered or rediscovered, bring to the fore many new facts, new stories, new characters, new revelations, and new photos that offer the fullest picture of the University yet. This history of bringing higher education to what was just a few years earlier the American western frontier is filled with enthralling human interest stories that, just in volume one (1819-1871), include:
• dramatic intergenerational rivalries (wilderness-influenced, wealthy young men challenging professors and presidents whom the students consider to be of a lower social class) that on more than one occasion force the University to close its doors and try again;
• political power and intrigue that often bring the school to its knees;
• town versus gown issues that sometimes explode onto the pages of history;
• a fateful decision that brings the University into the crosshairs of the Union, ultimately resulting in the near total destruction of the institution;
• the University’s multiyear post-bellum effort to reopen that witnesses major confrontations between the people of Alabama and the radical state government;
• the never-before-told story of the University of Alabama, African Americans, and slavery.
