Mississippi

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Mississippi
State
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  "The Magnolia State" and "The Hospitality State"
Motto(s):  Virtute et armis (Latin) (English: "By valor and arms")
Anthem: "One Mississippi"
Map of the United States with Mississippi highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Mississippi Territory (1798–1817)
Admitted to the Union	December 10, 1817 (20th)
Capital (and largest city)	Jackson
Largest metro	Greater Jackson
Government
• Governor	Tate Reeves (R)
• Lieutenant Governor	Delbert Hosemann (R)
Legislature	Legislature
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Judiciary	Supreme Court of Mississippi
U.S. senators	Roger Wicker (R) Cindy Hyde-Smith (R)
U.S. House delegation	1: Trent Kelly (R) 2: Bennie Thompson (D) 3: Michael Guest (R) 4: Mike Ezell (R) (list)
Area
• Total	48,430 sq mi (125,443 km2)
• Land	46,952 sq mi (121,607 km2)
• Water	1,521 sq mi (3,940 km2)  3%
• Rank	32nd
Dimensions
• Length	340 mi (545 km)
• Width	170 mi (275 km)
Elevation	300 ft (90 m)
Highest elevation (Woodall Mountain[1][2][a])	807 ft (246.0 m)
Lowest elevation (Gulf of Mexico[2])	0 ft (0 m)
Population  (2024)
• Total	2,943,045[3]
• Rank	35th
• Density	63.5/sq mi (24.5/km2)
• Rank	33rd
• Median household income	$54,200 (2023)[4]
• Income rank	50th
Demonym	Mississippian
Language
• Official language	English
Time zone	UTC−06:00 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−05:00 (CDT)
USPS abbreviation	MS
ISO 3166 code	US-MS
Trad. abbreviation	Miss.
Latitude	30°12′ N to 35° N
Longitude	88°6′ W to 91°39′ W
Website	ms.gov

State symbols of Mississippi

List of state symbols
Flag of Mississippi
Seal of Mississippi
Coat of arms of Mississippi
Slogan	Virtute et armis (Latin)
Living insignia
Bird	Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Butterfly	Spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus)
Fish	Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Flower	Magnolia
Insect	Western honey bee (Apis mellifera)
Mammal	White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Reptile	American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
Tree	Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
Inanimate insignia
Beverage	Milk
Color(s)	Red and blue
Dance	Square dance[5]
Food	Sweet potato
Gemstone	Emerald
Mineral	Gold
Rock	Granite
Shell	Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica)
Toy	Teddy Bear[6]
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 2002
Lists of United States state symbols

Mississippi (/ˌmɪsɪˈsɪpi/ ^ⓘ MISS-iss-IP-ee)^[7] is a state in the Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the southwest, and Arkansas to the northwest. Mississippi's western boundary is largely defined by the Mississippi River, or its historical course.^[8] Mississippi is the 32nd largest by area and 35th-most populous of the 50 U.S. states and has the lowest per-capita income. Jackson is both the state's capital and largest city. Greater Jackson is the state's most populous metropolitan area, with a population of 591,978 in 2020. Other major cities include Gulfport, Southaven, Hattiesburg, Biloxi, Olive Branch, Tupelo, Meridian, and Greenville.^[9]

The state's history traces back to around 9500 BC with the arrival of Paleo-Indians, evolving through periods marked by the development of agricultural societies, rise of the Mound Builders, and flourishing of the Mississippian culture. European exploration began with the Spanish in the 16th century, followed by French colonization in the 17th century. Mississippi's strategic location along the Mississippi River made it a site of significant economic and strategic importance, especially during the era of cotton plantation agriculture, which led to its wealth pre-Civil War, but entrenched slavery and racial segregation. On December 10, 1817, Mississippi became the 20th state admitted to the Union. By 1860, Mississippi was the nation's top cotton-producing state and slaves accounted for 55% of the state population.^[10] Mississippi declared its secession from the Union on January 9, 1861, and was one of the seven original Confederate States, which constituted the largest slaveholding states in the nation. Following the Civil War, it was restored to the Union on February 23, 1870.^[11] Mississippi's political and social landscape was dramatically shaped by the Civil War, Reconstruction era, and civil rights movement, with the state playing a pivotal role in the struggle for civil rights. From the Reconstruction era to the 1960s, Mississippi was dominated by socially conservative and segregationist Southern Democrats dedicated to upholding white supremacy.

Despite progress, Mississippi continues to grapple with challenges related to health, education, and economic development, often ranking among the lowest in the United States in national metrics for wealth, healthcare quality, and educational attainment.^{[12][13][14][15]} Economically, it relies on agriculture, manufacturing, and an increasing focus on tourism, highlighted by its casinos and historical sites. Mississippi produces more than half of the country's farm-raised catfish, and is a top producer of sweet potatoes, cotton and pulpwood. Others include advanced manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and health services.^[16] Mississippi is almost entirely within the east Gulf Coastal Plain, and generally consists of lowland plains and low hills. The northwest remainder of the state consists of the Mississippi Delta. Mississippi's highest point is Woodall Mountain at 807 feet (246 m) above sea level adjacent to the Cumberland Plateau; the lowest is the Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi has a humid subtropical climate classification.

Mississippi is known for its deep religious roots, which play a central role in its residents' lives. The state ranks among the highest of U.S. states in religiosity. Mississippi is also known for being the state with the highest proportion of African-American residents. The state's governance structure is based on the traditional separation of powers, with political trends showing a strong alignment with conservative values. Mississippi boasts a rich cultural heritage, especially in music, being the birthplace of the blues and contributing significantly to the development of the music of the United States as a whole.

Etymology

The state's name is derived from the Mississippi River, which flows along and defines its western boundary. European-American settlers named it after the Ojibwe word ᒥᓯ-ᓰᐱ misi-ziibi (English: great river).

History

This section should include only a brief summary of History of Mississippi. See Wikipedia:Summary style for information on how to properly incorporate it into this article's main text. (April 2023)

Near 9500 BC, Native Americans or Paleo-Indians arrived in what today is referred to as the American South.^[17] Paleo-Indians in the South were hunter-gatherers who pursued the megafauna that became extinct following the end of the Pleistocene age. In the Mississippi Delta, Native American settlements and agricultural fields were developed on the natural levees, higher ground in the proximity of rivers. The Native Americans developed extensive fields near their permanent villages. Together with other practices, they created some localized deforestation but did not alter the ecology of the Mississippi Delta as a whole.^[18]

After thousands of years, succeeding cultures of the Woodland and Mississippian culture eras developed rich and complex agricultural societies, in which surplus supported the development of specialized trades. Both were mound builder cultures. Those of the Mississippian culture were the largest and most complex, constructed beginning about 950 AD. The peoples had a trading network spanning the continent from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast. Their large earthworks, which expressed their cosmology of political and religious concepts, still stand throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys.

Descendant Native American tribes of the Mississippian culture in the Southeast include the Chickasaw and Choctaw. Other tribes who inhabited the territory of Mississippi (and whose names were honored by colonists in local towns) include the Natchez, the Yazoo, and the Biloxi.

The first major European expedition into the territory that became Mississippi was that of the Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, who passed through the northeast part of the state in 1540, in his second expedition to the New World.

Colonial era

Main articles: New France, Louisiana (New France), French and Indian War, Treaty of Paris (1763), New Spain, West Florida, Indian Reserve (1763), American Revolutionary War, Treaty of Paris (1783), and Spanish West Florida

In April 1699, French colonists established the first European settlement at Fort Maurepas (also known as Old Biloxi), built in the vicinity of present-day Ocean Springs on the Gulf Coast. It was settled by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. In 1716, the French founded Natchez on the Mississippi River (as Fort Rosalie); it became the dominant town and trading post of the area. The French called the greater territory "New France"; the Spanish continued to claim part of the Gulf coast area (east of Mobile Bay) of present-day southern Alabama, in addition to the entire area of present-day Florida. The British assumed control of the French territory after the French and Indian War.

During the colonial era, European (chiefly French and Spanish) settlers imported enslaved Africans to work on cash crop plantations. Under French and Spanish rule, there developed a class of free people of color (gens de couleur libres), mostly multiracial descendants of European men and enslaved or free black women, and their mixed-race children. In the early days the French and Spanish colonists were chiefly men. Even as more European women joined the settlements, the men had interracial unions among women of African descent (and increasingly, multiracial descent), both before and after marriages to European women. Often the European men would help their multiracial children get educated or gain apprenticeships for trades, and sometimes they settled property on them; they often freed the mothers and their children if enslaved, as part of contracts of plaçage. With this social capital, the free people of color became artisans, and sometimes educated merchants and property owners, forming a third class between the Europeans and most enslaved Africans in the French and Spanish settlements, although not so large a free community as in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

After Great Britain's victory in the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War), the French surrendered the Mississippi area to them under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763). They also ceded their areas to the north that were east of the Mississippi River, including the Illinois Country and Quebec. After the Peace of Paris (1783), the lower third of Mississippi came under Spanish rule as part of West Florida. In 1819 the United States completed the purchase of West Florida and all of East Florida in the Adams–Onís Treaty, and in 1822 both were merged into the Florida Territory.