Chapter 1

MISSISSIPPI STUDIES

Pre-Test • Get out a clean sheet of paper • Number the paper 1 through 5 and answer the following questions

1. What were two of the main Indian Tribes in Mississippi?

2. Who were the first Europeans in Mississippi? • A. Spanish B. French C. British

3. What is the average summer temperature in Mississippi?

• A. 70 B. 80 C. 90

4. Which of the following is considered the coldest month in Mississippi?

• A. November B. December C. January

5. Who discovered the Mississippi River?• A. Hernando DeSoto B. Robert de LaSalle C. D’Iberville

Early Mississippi History • Mississippi has a deep history or Native Americans• Many of our cities and counties have Native American names• Even the name Mississippi is derived from Indian words meaning Great River

Prehistoric Cultures

• Paleo Culture 10,000 B.C. – 8,000 B.C.• Archaic Culture 8,000 B.C. – 500 B.C.•Woodland Culture 500 B.C. – 1,000 A.D.•Mississippian Culture 1,000 A.D. – 1,600 A.D.

Early Mississippi History • Paleo Indians were the first people in Mississippi• It is believed they crossed the land bridge connecting Alaska

and Russia

• Mounds are the most visible legacy of the Native Americans• Uses: religious temples, homes, and burials

• Emerald Mound in Mississippi is the 2nd largest in the US• Most Native Americans live in clans• Clan – is a group of people who are related to each other

Early Native Americans• Paleo– Ice Age–Earliest Americans crossed land bridge from Siberia into Alaska

(and downward from there)

• Archaic–Climate warmer and drier–Native Americans adjusted to climate and became less nomadic

• Woodland–Highly organized societies in Mississippi and Ohio River valleys

developed–Built burial mounds over tombs–Moundbuilders – lived alongside rivers and streams (see slides

below)–Villages grew larger and tied together politically–Used bow and arrow

Mississippian

• built religious buildings and the homes of chiefs on top of their flat, rectangular mounds• Choctaw connect their early history with a mound called Nanih Waiya [Na’-na Wai’-a] along the Pearl River in southeastern Winston County

In Natchez

The Temple Mound atWinterville

Mound sites in Mississippi

• Bear Creek• Pharr• Owl Creek• Bynum•Winterville• Jaketown• Nanih Waiya• Pocahontas• Boyd• Emerald• Grand Village

Mississippi Tribes (tribes in red indicate the larger tribes)

• CHICKASAW (north Mississippi)• TAPOSA• CHAKCHIUMA• IBITOUPA• TIOU• YAZOO• HOUMA• KOROA• TUNICA• NATCHEZ (south Mississippi)• CHOCTAW (central Mississippi)• ACOLAPISSA• BILOXI• PASCAGOULA

CHOCTAW

• Connect early history with Nanih Waiya (Winston County)• Had 25 to 30 villages and each person had a voice in government• Major crop: maize (corn)• One of three largest tribes• The only major visible tribe in Mississippi today• (Choctaw Code Talkers – Choctaw nation – not just Mississippi) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y0mmVxxr3w

NATCHEZ

• “Great Sun” chief lived on top of mound here• Major crop: maize (corn)• One of three largest tribes• http://www.wlbt.com/story/15279745/emerald-mound-in-natchez

CHICKASAW

• Major crop: maize (corn)• One of three largest tribes

MISSISSIPPIAN NATIVE AMERICANS

• Smaller tribes: Choula, Pascagoula, Tunica, Biloxi• Larger tribes: Chickasaw, Choctaw, Natchez• Major crop: maize (corn)• Well organized and had developed ways of life that fit into

environment (HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION)• Each village included several clans (groups of related families)• Punished criminals• Protected individuals from violence

• Exogamy: practice of marrying outside the clan• Polygyny: having more than one wife (occasionally,

a man in tribe had two wives)• Built villages close to streams/creeks• Religious beliefs: centered on sun and the sacred fires

(represented sun on Earth); believed in many spirits

associated with nature and animals

SPANISH EXPLORERS• First to visit MS• (1539-1542) Hernando de Soto explored area searching for gold and silver• Attacked north of Mobile by Native Americans but NA did

not know how to fight soldiers so were defeated

• Introduced horses/hogs to America•MAIN OUTCOME: diseases spread from Spanish to Native Americans who had no immunity to them• Repeatedly attacked by Native Americans• Reached Gulf of Mexico and sailed to Mexico• Never returned

FRENCH EXPLORERS• Visited MS after Spaniards • Originally settled in Quebec, Canada and explored from there• 1673: Louis Jolliet (trader) and Father Jacques Marquette (missionary) sailed down MS River and reached present-day site Rosedale, MS• Turned around when they realized that river flowed into Gulf and

not Pacific Ocean

• 1682: Rene Cavelier, de La Salle, Henri de Tonti, and Father Membre traveled down MS River and claimed region for France• From 1699 to 1763, the future state of Mississippi was a part of the French colony of Louisiana. • During these years, the French explored the region, established settlements and military outposts, engaged in political and economic relations with the area’s American Indians, and sought to establish a profitable economy• Fort Maurepas – first permanent settlement in MS

French: built Fort Rosalie in 1716 (Natchez)

BRITISH MISSISSIPPI• MS officially part of province West Florida (1763) (included southern halves of Alabama and MS as well as parts of Florida)• 1783 Treaty of Paris (between US and Great Britain…peace treaty of Revolutionary War): US controlled southern boundary at 31 degrees north latitude• Spain held territory south of that line (refused to give up Natchez District which was north of line)• Spain signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo (Pinckney’s Treaty)

in 1795 in which it recognized the 31st parallel as the boundary between Spanish Florida and the United States.

SETTLEMENTS• Spain, England, and France established colonial settlements in eastern North America• First European settlement in MS – Ocean Springs• Mississippi ruled first by French, then English, and finally Spain• Mississippi Territory - after centuries of control by several European powers, the land that would become Mississippi became a part of the United States at the close of the 18th century… April 7, 1798, Congress created the Mississippi Territory

Mississippi Territory • Most Europeans living in the territory lived along the MS River • Natchez was the capital of the territory • By 1817 the Mississippi Territory applied for statehood• However the US Congress did not want to allow it to be a state because it was too large• As a result the split the territory

• December 10, 1817 MS became the 20th state of the US

MISSISSIPPI’S CLIMATE

Mississippi’s Climate • Climate – conditions of the atmosphere over a long period of time•Weather – conditions of the atmosphere over a short period of time• Humid subtropical climate (long hot summers; short mild winters)• Average yearly temperature is 62 degrees• Average summer temperature is 80 degrees• Average winter temperature is 48 degrees• January is the coldest month• Receives about 55 inches of rainfall a year• Because of MS’s climate agriculture is important to its economy• Growing season

Storms • Tornadoes • Funnel shaped clouds that cause massive destruction • Smith County in MS and the state of MS are the most likely

places in the nation to receive a tornado • MS has more deaths from tornadoes than any other state • Tornadoes are measured on the Fujita Scale • The weather channel now also uses Tor:con

TOR:CON Value Descriptions8+ Very high probability of a tornado 6 - High probability of a tornado4 - Moderate chance of a tornado nearby, but hail and/or high wind gusts possible2 - Low chance of a tornado, but hail and/or high wind gusts possible0 - Near-zero chance of a tornado or a severe thunderstorm

Storms • Hurricanes • Storms that form in the Atlantic Ocean with winds of at least

74 mph – 155 mph +• They are measured on the Saffir-Simpson scale using numbers

1-5• Usually called category

• There have been two major hurricanes in Mississippi• Camille 1969

• Katrina 2005

REGIONS Of Mississippi

Six Major Regions

1. Delta• A flat, alluvial plain that runs along the banks of the MS River from Memphis to Vicksburg• The soil allows for the growth of large cotton crops • Farming in the 1800s was based on Sharecropping

2. Loess Hills • Their economy is based on cattle, light manufacturing, and industry

3. Red Clay Hills• This area is ideal for crops especially cotton because there are few trees • Economy: trade, commerce, and industry

4. Northeast Highlands•Woodall Mountain is the highest point in the state

5. Piney Woods• This area was the center of the lumber and railroad industry at one time • As a result boom towns were created to provide for lumber

and railroad companies

• Hattiesburg and Laurel are two boom towns that are still successful today

6. Gulf Coast • MS has five barrier islands off the coast• 1. Horn Island • The largest

• Used for biological weapons testing

• 2. Cat Island• It got its name from the French who thought raccoons were cats

• Used in WWII to train dogs for military service

• Hurricane Katrina washed part of the island away

• 3. Deer Island• Closest to the coast

• It got its name because deer escaped to the island

• 4. Ship Island • Hurricane Camille split the Island into two pieces

• It is the only deep water harbor between the MS River and Mobile Bay

6. Gulf Coast Continued• 5. Petit Bois• French for Little Woods

• The Mississippi Sound is the area of water between the barrier islands and the coast• The Gulf Coast was the first area to be explored and settled• Their main economic activities are fishing and tourism