Mississippi

The second edition of Mississippi: A History features a series of revisions and updates to its comprehensive coverage of Mississippi state history from the time of the region’s first inhabitants into the 21st century.

• Represents the only available comprehensive textbook on Mississippi history specifically for use in college-level courses
• Features an engaging narrative mix of topical and chronological chapters
• Includes chapter objectives that may be used by professors and students
• Offers coverage of Mississippi’s major political, economic, social, and cultural developments
• Presents two entirely new chapters on important 21^st-century developments in Mississippi
• Contains expanded coverage of slavery in Mississippi history
• Includes completely up-to-date chapter sources, selected bibliography, and subject index

List of Illustrations vii

Preface and Acknowledgments xi

Map: Mississippi’s Place in the United States xiii

Map: The State of Mississippi xiv

1 Mississippi: The Name and the Place 1

2 Two Worlds Collide: Spanish Explorers and American Indians 10

3 French Colonies 23

4 The British Period, 1763–1781 37

5 Spanish Rule, 1781–1798 45

6 The Territorial Period, 1798–1817 54

7 The New State, 1817–1832 69

8 Antebellum Politics 89

9 Antebellum Life 100

10 Mounting Sectional Strife 121

11 Secession and Civil War 132

12 Reconstruction in Mississippi 152

13 Bourbons and Populists 169

14 Into the Twentieth Century: Economic and Social Trends 187

15 Progressive “Rednecks” 205

16 A New Era: The 1920s 219

17 The Depression Years 234

18 A Rich Cultural Heritage 247

19 The World War II Era 269

20 The 1950s 282

21 Religious Life 296

22 The Second Reconstruction 308

23 Times of Transition 330

24 The Social Environment 350

25 Recent Political Trends 365

26 Tumultuous Trends in Education 380

27 Recent Economic Trends 400

28 Into the Twenty-First Century 424

29 Living in the Twenty-First Century 442

Appendix I: European Rulers with Relation to Mississippi During the Colonial and Territorial Periods 463

Appendix II: Members of the U.S. Congress, 1817–1861 467

Appendix III: Mississippi Symbols and Facts 481

Appendix IV: Total Population, 1800–2010 482

Appendix V: Racial Population Changes, 1800–2010 483

Selected Bibliography of Mississippi History 485

Index 496

Westley F. Busbee, Jr., whose Mississippi ancestors predate statehood, is Chair of the Department of History and Political Science and the Division of Humanities at BelhavenUniversity. Dr. Busbee is a member of the Southern Historical Association and past president and Board of Directors member of the Mississippi Historical Society.

Continuing the legacy of its well-received predecessor, the revised and updated second edition of Mississippi: A History remains the only survey history of the state written exclusively for use in college-level courses. In his sweeping coverage of Mississippi’s dramatic story—from the region’s diverse Native peoples through colonial Mississippi, statehood, and into the 21st century— Dr. Westley F. Busbee, Jr. deftly combines narrative and topical chapters to address the major political, economic, social, and cultural developments that have shaped Mississippi’s engaging but complex history. Updates include enhanced coverage of Mississippi’s legacy of slavery, the state’s contributions to American music and literature, characters and events that influence outsiders’ perceptions of Mississippi, and the importance of religion and community sports. New concluding chapters consider contemporary problems faced by Mississippians, including environmental change, the on-going legacies of Katrina and the BP oil spill, and the hot-button political issues of abortion, race relations, and education. Busbee separates out myths and legends to tangibly connect Mississippi’s richly textured past to its 21st-century modernity. Mississippi: A History offers illuminating insights into the rich cavalcade of people, places, and events that continue to shape the Magnolia State’s complex and colourful past.