Changes

The original Mississippi Territory created by the U.S. Congress in1798 was a strip of land extending about 100 miles north to south and from the Mississippi River to the Chattahoochee on the Georgia border. The territory was increased in 1804 and 1812 to reach from Tennessee to the Gulf. In 1817 the western part achieved statehood as Mississippi (the eastern part became the state of Alabama in 1819). Natchez, the first territorial capital, was replaced in 1802 by nearby Washington, which in turn was replaced by Jackson in 1822. This encouraged growth of the newly formed territory, because the river allowed Mississippi trading ships to sail to the Gulf of Mexico.

The original Mississippi Territory created by the U.S. Congress in1798 was a strip of land extending about 100 miles north to south and from the Mississippi River to the Chattahoochee on the Georgia border. The territory was increased in 1804 and 1812 to reach from Tennessee to the Gulf. In 1817 the western part achieved statehood as Mississippi (the eastern part became the state of Alabama in 1819). Natchez, the first territorial capital, was replaced in 1802 by nearby Washington, which in turn was replaced by Jackson in 1822. This encouraged growth of the newly formed territory, because the river allowed Mississippi trading ships to sail to the Gulf of Mexico.

In 1817, Congress divided the Mississippi Territory into the state of Mississippi and the Alabama Territory. On Dec. 10, 1817, Mississippi joined the Union and became the 20th state. Its population had almost reached 60,000 people.

In 1817, Congress divided the Mississippi Territory into the state of Mississippi and the Alabama Territory. On Dec. 10, 1817, Mississippi joined the Union and became the 20th state. Its population had almost reached 60,000 people.

The 1820s and '30s were marked by the decline of the Jeffersonian Republicans, the ascendancy of the Jacksonian Democrats, and the removal of the Indians to Oklahoma and set the stage for the Civil War. Cotton continued to grow in importance with the invention of the cotton gin in 1793. The farmers used slave labor to operate the large cotton plantations. By 1860, Mississippi's black slaves outnumbered white people 437,000 to 354,000. Slavery had become an intense debate between the Northern and Southern states. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the U.S. in 1860, many southerners feared he would end slavery in the South. Mississippi seceded on Jan. 9, 1861, the second of eleven to secede and within a year the state was in the midst of war. . These states formed the Confederate States of America.  Mississippian Jefferson Davis became the Confederacy's first and only president.

The 1820s and '30s were marked by the decline of the Jeffersonian Republicans, the ascendancy of the Jacksonian Democrats, and the removal of the Indians to Oklahoma and set the stage for the Civil War. Cotton continued to grow in importance with the invention of the cotton gin in 1793. The farmers used slave labor to operate the large cotton plantations. By 1860, Mississippi's black slaves outnumbered white people 437,000 to 354,000. Slavery had become an intense debate between the Northern and Southern states. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the U.S. in 1860, many southerners feared he would end slavery in the South. Mississippi seceded on Jan. 9, 1861, the second of eleven to secede and within a year the state was in the midst of war. . These states formed the Confederate States of America.  Mississippian Jefferson Davis became the Confederacy's first and only president.