4 MISSISSIPPI INTRODUCTION Mississippi is located in the Deep South of the United States It is named after the Mississippi River which forms most of its western border The name Mississippi comes from Algonquian Indian words meaning great river or father of waters The Mississippi River is the largest river in the United States It runs through most of the central United States and empties into the Gulf of Mexico This great river is responsible for much of Mississippi’s rich soil and fertile land Mississippi’s rivers history and music attract visitors from all over the world Its nickname is the Magnolia State Beautiful magnolia trees grow throughout the region Huge and sweet-smelling flowers blossom on these trees The magnolia is both the state tree and the state flower The blossoms of the magnolia tree come in a variety of colors from white to pink yellow and purple Most blossoms are 7 to 10 inches in diameter Mississippi was the 20th state to enter the Union It was admitted into the United States on Dec 10 1817 Canoeists have much to explore when paddling down the Mississippi River The river drains 31 states Mississippians are sometimes called Mudcats after the freshwater catfish that live in the state The largest city in Mississippi is its capital Jackson Jackson is in the central part of the state Mississippi’s state waterfowl is the wood duck
INTRODUCTION 5 Four other Southern states border Mississippi Tennessee lies to the north Alabama to the east Arkansas to the west and Louisiana to the south and west The Gulf of Mexico borders southeastern Mississippi This strip of land is known as the Gulf coast Several major highways run through the Magnolia State Including all of its bays and inlets the Mississippi Gulf coast has a total length of 359 miles Mississippi’s state song is Go Mississippi The state bird is the mockingbird It is a popular bird in the South as it also represents Arkansas Florida Texas and Tennessee Mississippi covers about 48,000 square miles The state water mammal is the bottlenose dolphin Mississippi’s many waterways also make it possible to arrive by boat The main ports along the Mississippi River are Vicksburg Greenville and Natchez Pascagoula is a major Gulf coast cargo port as are Biloxi and Gulfport International airports are located in Jackson Bay St Louis and Pascagoula Passenger trains travel along the Gulf coast as well as north and south through the state Mississippi Location Map Capital Jackson Interstate highways Scale 0 0 60 97 120 Mi 193 Km Population 2,844,658 Size 47,695 square miles Highest peak Woodall Mountain 806 feet
Mississippi is probably most famous for its cotton history In the 1800s many settlers in the state became rich from growing cotton They built splendid homes some of which are still around today As a result of all the wealth that cotton brought to Mississippi the state became known as King Cotton Eventually the Civil War would bring an end to much of Mississippi’s wealth Slavery was very much a part of the Deep South at the time when Mississippi thrived Black slaves performed the backbreaking work of planting and picking the cotton When states in the North threatened to end slavery many Southern states including Mississippi were determined to keep it In the 1860s this disagreement escalated into the Civil War Even after the Civil War when slavery was abolished African Americans continued to suffer as a result of racial segregation Not until the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s did conditions begin to improve During that time the people of Mississippi played an important part in the fight for African American rights The civil rights movement employed nonviolent marches to bring equal rights to African Americans 6 MISSISSIPPI Some early plantation owners brought Victorian traditions and styles to Mississippi The Mississippi state flag still bears the Confederate markings of its past The Southern Cross displayed in the upper left hand corner was the official Confederate battle flag Mississippi’s motto is By Valor and Arms
INTRODUCTION 7 In the 20th century farm machines were invented that could do jobs once done by laborers As a result countless Mississippians were soon out of work and many left the state Despite its waterways forests fertile soil and Southern pride Mississippi became one of the poorest states in the nation Today Mississippi is in a period of great change New industries are bringing money into the state and now a wide range of other crops is grown in addition to cotton Mississippians still cherish the large mansions and Southern traditions of their past but they are now looking for new ways to improve their lives Cotton is still grown on 1 million acres of Mississippi farmland but even more land is devoted to growing soybeans Historic homes like Rosalie a mansion in Natchez are reminders of life in the Old South The state land mammal is the white-tailed deer In 1962 James Meredith became the first African American to enroll in the University of Mississippi Meredith had to be protected from protesters by federal marshals
