Historical Note

"Mobile"

The town of Mobile, is the third most populous city in the state of Alabama and it is the county seat of Mobile County. Mobile is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. It is frequently referenced by Scout throughout the novel as Atticus often travels there for work, and these journeys are the only time he uses his car. This fact gives us important geographical information about Maycomb’s location, in the sense that we know it is not far enough from Mobile to warrant Atticus taking the train. The city of Mobile was established in 1702 and it was the first capital of colonial French Louisiana, it gained its name from the Native American Mobilian tribe, it was named after this tribe because the French colonists found in the area of Mobile Bay. During the city’s first 108 years, Mobile was a colony for France, Britain and Spain. It was not until 1810 that the city became part of the USA with the annexation of West Florida under President James Madison. Mobile left that union in 1861 when Alabama joined the Confederate States of America, though this collapsed in 1865.
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