If slavery was the corner stone of the Confederacy, cotton was its foundation. At home its social and economic institutions rested upon cotton; abroad its diplomacy centered around the well-known dependence of Europe…upon an uninterrupted supply of cotton from the southern states.
Frank L. Owsley Jr.
The service of African Americans with the Confederate army during the American Civil War has long intrigued historians and Civil War buffs. Were these men soldiers or servants? Did they get shot? Why did they serve, and what was the nature of the relationship between Bblack servants and their White masters in uniform? The answers to these questions may never be completely understood, but one thing is clear from a variety of sources: African Americans were an integral part of the Confederate war effort.
When Mississippi became a United States territory in 1798, its first government was made up of a territorial governor, a secretary to the governor, and three judges. Washington, Mississippi, served as the territorial capital. That is where the first Mississippi Constitution was drafted and sent to the United States Congress for the territory’s admittance in the Union as a state. On December 10, 1817, Mississippi became the twentieth state, and since then, Mississippi’s citizens and officials shaped state government into what it is today.
The election year cycle brings extra attention every four years to statewide government offices. How those offices affect our lives between elections is the focus of this lesson plan.
Mississippi Studies Framework: Competencies 1, 4, and 5
Grades 6 (with modifications) through 12
The Mississippi History Now profiles on Mississippi’s governors offer brief summaries of the personal and political lives of each of the state’s chief executives. Although students usually are aware of the current governor and perhaps can name others who have served in the position, rarely is there enough time in the classroom to permit them a more personal glimpse into the lives of those who have served in the state’s highest elected position. Students can use these gubernatorial biographies in a variety of ways.
By the spring of 1863, the only major city on the Mississippi River still under the control of the Confederacy was the city of Vicksburg. Maintaining control of Vicksburg was essential to the unity of the Confederate states. Confederate troops, as well as Vicksburg citizens, heroically held out for 47 days before surrendering to Union forces. It was during this 47-day siege that the citizens of Vicksburg, while the city was under steady shelling, were forced to live in caves.
In the 19th century, a large seafood industry developed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast due in large part to new canning methods, production of commercial ice, financial investors, and the development of the railroad in the region. By the early 1900s, the coastal city of Biloxi became known as the “Seafood Capital of the World.” Workers migrated to the city for seasonal work in the factories, settled in the area, and added to the cultural landscape.
As many people in the United States in the 1840s believed in the country’s Manifest Destiny — to expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean — many Mississippians answered the call of duty in order to achieve this American goal by volunteering for the Mexican-American War.