US President
James Monroe appointed Bibb as the first governor of the newly formed
Alabama Territory (from the larger previous
Mississippi Territory) in 1817. Alabama became the 22nd state on December 14, 1819. Bibb's primary duties were establishing the state government.
Huntsville was designated to be the site of the constitutional convention. Bibb was elected governor by defeating
Marmaduke Williams and receiving 8,342 votes to Williams's 7,140 votes. The capital was chosen to be the newly created town of
Cahawba in 1820 on the Alabama frontier but moved to
Tuscaloosa in 1826 and finally to the central city of
Montgomery in 1846. During Bibb's tenure, the Alabama state
militia was established, and the beginnings of the state judicial system, along with the organization of and appointments to the
Supreme Court of Alabama, were accomplished.
Henry Hitchcock was elected the first
Attorney General of Alabama and initially held the position of
Secretary of State of Alabama as well. However, shortly afterward,
Thomas A. Rodgers was elected as the second
Secretary of State of Alabama. The first session of the
Alabama state legislature was held from October 25, 1819, to December 17, 1819.
William R. King and
John W. Walker were chosen as the state's first
US Senators. To date, Bibb is one of only three individuals to have served as governor of a state and as a US senator from a different state. The others are
Sam Houston, who (among his other political offices) served as the sixth
Governor of Tennessee and a
US Senator from Texas (a state, like Alabama, which also had not existed when he held his governorship), and
Mitt Romney, who served as the seventieth
Governor of Massachusetts and a
US Senator from Utah. ==Death==