Explore Mississippi History While on Vacation in Mississippi

Explore Mississippi History While on Vacation in Mississippi

There really isn’t anyplace in the United States that gives a better picture of what the South is like than the beautiful state of Mississippi.  There are grand plantations, history that will keep you enthralled for days, stories of the slaves and the underground railroad, and is called the Magnolia state for good reason!

There were three Native American tribes in Mississippi when the Europeans began exploring the state.  There were the Chickasaw in the north and east, the Choctaw in the center and the Natchez in the southwest.

The entire state was claimed as belonging to France when De Soto "discovered" it in 1540. He claimed the whole Mississippi Valley (included in this is the present state of Mississippi).

The wars with the Indians finally came to a head when the French and Indian War began in 1754 and continued until 1763.  Following the war the Treaty of Paris was signed which gave England all the land east of the Mississippi River.  Mississippi was divided into two main areas, the southern section was a British province called West Florida and the remaining portion to the Georgia colony.

Following a long and tension filled number of years the state of Mississippi was admitted to the Union as the 20th state in 1817.

Mississippi seceded from the Union in 1861 to join the Confederate States of America under the leadership of Mississippian Jefferson Davis who became the Confederacy’s first and only President.

Mississippi was heavily involved in the Civil War.  They had been using slaves for years to harvest their crops and work on their plantations and the war meant that if the Union won the use of slaves would no longer be possible, thereby changing the lifestyles of the plantation owners forever.

The Battle of Vicksburg was a turning point in the War Between the States.  The battle raged for 47 days with both sides suffering many casualties.  Food was scarce, health care nearly non existent and suffering on both sides was unbelievable.  Finally, on July 4, 1863 the Confederates surrendered the city which gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.  It took another two years for the war to end and the slaves became free and were allowed (supposedly) to vote. 

For a time the blacks in the state voted and held government positions but it didn’t last long before political, social and economic pressures caused a change in the attitude of the blacks in the area.

The land in Mississippi and other parts of the Deep South underwent great devastation and by 1865 the state was broke.  It took 25 years for the state to come to terms with the emancipation but finally, in 1869, the state passed a new constitution granting black people the right to vote.  In 1870 Mississippi was allowed to rejoin the Union. 

Due to the white minority being unable to accept a biracial society based on equality of opportunity they drafted a new state constitution in 1890 which took away voting rights from most blacks.  Segregation began within schools, buses and in many public places.  It was the birth of the Ku Klux Klan where whites organized to terrorize black people.

It wasn’t until 1954 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools to be unconstitutional.  The fight for civil rights was long and often met with violence but the state of Mississippi has survived, the people worked together to make it a state where agriculture and industry co-exist and the economic and cultural stability of the state is continually improving.

Mississippi has much to offer the visitor.  It has beautiful lands, warm, friendly people, and wonderful food.

This is the state that gave the nation such greats as Jimmy Buffett, the singer, songwriter that was born in Pascagoula.  Then there was Bo Diddley an outstanding guitarist born in McComb.  You probably have heard Faith Hill sing her country songs, well, she grew up in Star.  The fabulous voice and wonderful talent of James Earl Jones also hails from the great state of Mississippi and how about Tennessee Williams who was a Pulitzer Prize winner for A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  He was born in Columbus. The football star, Brett Farve was born in Kiln.  As state that has added such talent to the world is certainly a place that you may want to visit on your Mississippi Vacation.

Related posts:

1. Mississippi Vacation
2. Vacation in Jackson, Mississippi