MS Studies Chapter 3
The Road To Statehood
•Native Americans
•Europeans
•Territory
•State
Early Native American Periods
• Paleo (10,000 B.C. – 8,000 B.C.)
– existed during Ice Age
– Natives crossed Land Bridge between Russia & Alaska following
food
• Archaic (8,000 B.C. – 500 B.C.)
– Climate warmed. Large animals died
– Natives became less nomadic, hunted smaller game
• Woodland – (500 B.C. – 1,000 A.D.)
–
–
–
–
–
Highly organized societies
Were Moundbuilders. Mounds were built over tombs
Were farmers, depended less on hunting.
Settled along rivers and streams
Settlements were very large
• Mississippian (1,000 A.D. – 1,600 A.D.)
– Built Mounds for burial, homes for leaders, and religious reasons
– Emerald Mound (Natchez, MS) is the largest mound in Mississippi
– Settlements were near rivers and streams
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Mississipians
• Major crops:
– Maize (corn)
– Beans
– Squash
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Paleo Period
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Archaic
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Woodland
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Native American Societies
• Large tribes were Choctaw, Chickasaw, & Natchez
• Many smaller tribes existed (Choula, Pascagoula,
Tunica, Biloxi, etc.)
• Most tribes were similar
• Each village governed itself, but had representatives
on a tribal council
• There were several Clans in each village
– Individuals had to marry outside their clan.
Children were members of their mothers clan.
• Polygamy (multiple wives) was sometimes practiced.
Wives were usually sisters
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Choctaw Village
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Native American Societies
(Cont.)
• Males
– Hunted, cleared land, warriors
• Females
– Planted, made pottery, gathered food, tanned hides
• Polytheistic (many gods)
• Most gods centered around the sun or earth in some way
• Choctaw played ishtohbohl (stick ball) which was similar
to Lacrosse
• Choctaw also played Chunky (threw spears at a rolling
stone)
• Natchez were more like the Mississippian period Indians
– Leader was the “Great Sun”
– When he died some of his wives were killed as well
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Questions
• What was the purpose of mounds?
– burial, homes for leaders, and religious
ceremonies.
– What crops did the Choctaw and Chikasaw
raise?
• Maize, pumpkins, beans, and peas.
Around what were the religious beliefs of the Indian
tribes in Mississippi centered?
sun and sacred fire
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Ishtohbohl
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Chunky
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Spanish Arrive
• Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto explored
Southeastern MS between 1539 – 1542. Had 600 soldiers
• Looking for Gold & Silver
• Gained supplies & slaves by holding Native American
chiefs hostage
• Faced many Native American attacks
• Crossed MS River in May 1542
• De Soto died in 1542
• His men floated down the MS River to the Gulf and were
pursued by Natives the entire trip.
• Spanish didn’t return, but their trip was devastating.
– This expedition introduced European diseases to
North American Natives.
– It is estimated that at least 50% of Natives in North
America died from disease during this time period.
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De Soto in MS
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French
• French settled Canada in 1608
• 1673 Marquette & Joliet explored MS
River
• 1682 Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La
Salle & Henri de Tonti sailed down MS
River to the Gulf & claim the MS River
Valley for France.
• Named this new land Louisiana (King
Louis & Queen Anna)
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LaSalle
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• Spanish – Florida, Mexico, Caribbean &
Central America
• British – East coast of present day U.S.
• French – Canada
• All three were rivals and fighting to
secure lands & Native support
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French Settlement
• French wanted to control interior of U.S.
• 1699 Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville is sent to Gulf
Coast to create colony
• Landed at Ship Island and reached mainly on Feb. 13,
1699.
• Located mouth of MS River and met with the Natchez
Indians
• Built Fort Maurepas in present day Ocean Springs
• Fort Maurepas is the first European settlement in MS.
• Iberville left many times and left his younger brother,
Jean-Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur d’Bienville in charge.
• Fort Maurepas is later abandoned and a new settlement
is created at the mouth of the MS River at New Orleans
in 1718
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Iberville
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Bienville
22
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Fort Maurepas
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French Settlement (Cont.)
• Bienville constructed Fort Rosalie at
Natchez in 1716 to protect French settlers
• Natchez prospered
• 1729 Natchez governor demanded the
Natchez give up some land. The Natchez
revolted
• They attacked the fort, killed 200 white
settlers, and freed 300 black slaves
• French & Choctaws destroyed the Natchez.
Remaining Natchez fled to live with the
Chickasaw.
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Fort Rosalie
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Native Americans & Europeans
• Native American tribes were divided
• Europeans fought for Native American Allies
with trade goods
• French won the allegiance of the Choctaw
• British won allegiance of Chickasaw,
Natchez, & Creek
• French & Indian War (1754-1763) was fought
between France & Great Britain in the
present day U.S.
• French lost the war and the Treaty of Paris
1763 was signed.
• French gave up all lands east of the MS River
(except for New Orleans) to Great Britain.
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British MS
• After Treaty of Paris MS became part of West
Florida
• Area was remote & rural
• British encouraged settlement in Natchez
• Land Grants were given in the Natchez District
• British settlers populated the area
• 1776 American Revolution began
• Natchez & other portions of West Florida were
captured by the Spanish in Sept. 1779.
• Treaty of Paris 1783 ended Amer. Rev. and made
the southern boundary of the U.S. 31°
• Spanish still controlled Natchez, but U.S. owned
it.
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British West Florida
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Spanish MS
• Natchez thrived under Spanish rule
• Fertile land allowed tobacco, indigo, and cotton
to grow well
• By 1800 cotton was the largest export of Natchez
• America and Spain quarreled over access to the
MS River (N.O. owned by Spain)
• 1795 Pinckney’s Treaty, officially the Treaty of
San Lorenzo de Real, was signed saying the U.S.
could use the port of New Orleans and Spain
would give up control of Natchez
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Pinckney’s Treaty
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MS Territory
• MS became a territory of the U.S. in 1798
• Mostly Native American and forested
• Natchez Trace was only major road. It connected the MS
Territory capital of Natchez to Nashville, TN.
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the Territorial
Government in MS
– MS given a Governor, 3 Judges, and Sec. Governor
– Pop. Reaches 5,000 free men an assembly is created
to make laws
– Pop. Reaches 60,000 free men the territory creates a
constitution and petitions for statehood
• Winthrop Sargent was first governor. He was viewed as
mean and strict. He was a Federalist, and many
Mississippians were Jeffersonian Democrats
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Natchez Trace
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MS Territory
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Winthrop Sargent
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Land Problems
• Most MS land was owned by Choctaw &
Chickasaw.
• U.S. pressured them to give up land claims
• Settlers faced many problems b/c British,
French, Spanish, & U.S. had granted land
claims and many overlapped
• Land Ordinance of 1785 divided government
land into townships.
– 6 square miles, 36 sections (1 square mile
each), 640 acres per section
– 16th section set aside for public education
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Territory Grows
• Territory became sectionalized.
• West Mississippians (Natchez) were
rich plantation owners and controlled
politics. East Mississippians
(Alabama) were small farmers and
wanted power
• 1804 territory expanded to TN line
• 1812 territory expanded between Pearl
River and Florida
• Population grew and the territory was
ready for statehood
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MS Territory
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Statehood
• MS Territory was large. Congress divided it
in 1817.
• Alabama became a new territory (state in
1819)
• MS wrote a constitution for statehood
• Legislature was given more power than the
Executive
• Constitution was not presented to the
people, but sent straight to Washington
• Dec. 10, 1817, Congress approved MS as the
20th state in the Union
• David Holmes became first governor.
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State of MS
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David Holmes
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MS Studies
Ch. 4
Politics, Slavery, and Antebellum
Society
MS Capital
• 1798 Natchez was Territorial Capital, b/c it
was most substantial settlement
• 1802 the Capital was moved to Washington
• Others wanted a more centrally located
capital
• In 1821 planners selected LeFleur’s Bluff on
the Pearl River as a central location
• The capital was named Jackson and the
legislature first met there in Dec. 1822
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Natchez, MS
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Early MS Politics
• Mississippi political views changed by 1832.
• Mississippians were Democrats & championed the
Common Man
• Constitution of 1832 reflected changing political views
– Judges elected & served terms
– Most officials elected
– Representation in legislature based on population
• County Govn’t met needs of people
– “Board of Police” governed
• Levied taxes
• Oversaw roads & construction
• Oversaw poor, education, businesses, etc.
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Native American Lands
• Native Americans occupied most
land in MS
• U.S. Govn’t tried to allow Natives to
assimilate, but many natives did not
want to. Some tribes united:
– Tecumseh united some, but
Pushmataha prevented the Choctaw
from joining
• Whites wanted Natives moved west
of the MS River to free up land.
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Native American Treaties
• Treaties were signed to acquire Native lands.
• 1801 Treaty of Fort Adams. 1st treaty between
U.S. & Choctaw
• 1805 Treaty of Mt. Dexter (U.S. & Choctaw)
• 1820 Treaty of Doak’s Stand – land swap, but
Choctaw received bad land and didn’t move.
• 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.
Choctaw ceded all remaining land to U.S. &
moved to Oklahoma.
• 1832 Treaty of Pontotoc Creek. Chickasaw
ceded their land to U.S. in land swap deal.
• Natives traveled along the “Trail of Tears” to
Oklahoma. Many died along the way.
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Dancing Rabbit Creek
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Pontotoc Creek
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Slavery
• Slaves arrived in MS with French in early
1700’s
• 1724 Bienville creates “Black Code” or laws
to govern slaves
– Many of the codes were prohibitive, but many
protected slaves
– Slavery was not as cruel during this time.
• Slave population grew under British,
Spanish, & U.S. rule
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Cotton
• Cotton production increased in MS
• 1793 Eli Whitney creates cotton gin.
– Cotton gin separates seeds from cotton
• 1795 cotton gin is created in MS by a slave
named Barclay
• Cotton was called “King Cotton” b/c it was
the primary cash crop of the South
• Cotton was perfect for MS. Good soil, long
growing season, navigable rivers
• Rush Nutt creates “Petit Gulf” cotton which is
the strain that grows best here.
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Slaves & Labor
• By 1860 9% of MS pop. owned slaves
– ½ of those owned 5 or less slaves
• Most slaves lived on plantations w/ large slave
populations
• Slaves performed many tasks, but mainly cotton
production
• Overseers usually controlled slaves
• Work day was sunrise to sunset (or later)
• Slaves could be whipped, but owners usually
tried using rewards opposed to punishment
• Slaves lived in simple homes with little luxury.
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Slaveship
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Slave ship
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Slaves picking cotton
1830’s
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Slave Community
• Slave laws tightened in the 1800’s
– Property not people. Families could be
separated at any time.
– Needed pass to leave plantation
– Could not learn to read & write, gather,
testify in court, strike a white,
• Strong family ties were forged among
slaves
• Slaves adopted Christianity & adapted
it.
– Attended church w/ owners, but also
worshipped on their own.
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Slave Community
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Slave Resistance
• MS never had a slave revolt
• Most resistance was quiet
– Slow work, poisoning, machinery broken,
fires started, etc.
• Slaves did runaway & were punished
upon return.
• Owners were paranoid about revolts
and sometimes punished slaves for
planning revolts.
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Natchez ad for a lost runaway
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Natchez ad for a lost runaway
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Free Blacks
• MS had free blacks.
• William Johnson, Barber of Natchez, was
most famous
• MS attempted to force free blacks out of
the state by 1830’s, so they could not
start revolts or riots.
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Barber of
Natchez
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Antebellum MS
• Antebellum – time period in the South just
before the Civil War
• MS pop. grew b/c of cheap land and high
cotton prices
• MS economy was booming
• Pres. Jackson withdrew federal money from
the National Bank & put it in state “Pet
Banks”
• State Banks issued more paper money and
loans than the amount of specie (hard
currency) that they had.
• This led to disaster.
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Panic of 1837
• Specie Circular Act of 1836 said govn’t land
could only be purchased with specie.
• Banks ran out of Specie and were forced to close
• This caused Panic of 1837 (led to U.S.
depression from 1837-1841)
• In MS federal govn’t foreclosed on lands, banks
closed, cotton prices plummeted,
• Property owners lost lands to the state for not
paying taxes.
• Took MS’s economy years to recover.
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Whig campaign poster of the hard times of 1837
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Transportation in MS
• No paved roads until 1900’s. Roads
travel was slow and poor
• Steamboats carried cotton up and down
MS Rivers (most went to New Orleans)
• By mid 1800’s Railroads in MS began
expanding and improved land travel
– Main (trunk) lines were laid connecting
Vicksburg, Jackson, Meridian & other cities
– Later smaller lines joined these major lines
and RR travel & trade improved.
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Simple steam engine
• a simplified
tripleexpansion
engine.
High-pressure
steam (red)
enters from the
boiler and
passes
through the
engine,
exhausting as
low-pressure
steam (blue) to
the condenser.
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Mechanics of an early steam
engine
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Education
• By 1836 Counties were funding schools
• School year was short (3 months) and
operated around harvesting of crops
• By 1860 less than 1/3 of white children
went to school
• Basics were taught
• Higher Ed. was available through
religious & private schools
• There were no schools for blacks before
the Civil War
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