Mississippi: A Historical Timeline

PRIOR TO 1699 PRE-EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT
	Before Europeans arrive in the area now known as Mississippi, three major Native American groups live there. In the north and the eastern parts of the state are the Chickasaw, in the central area are the Choctaw, and in the southwest live the Natchez. During the American Revolution, the Chickasaw lands in the Mississippi River area will be confiscated because of the Chickasaw’s support of the British.
1540	Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi River. Spain later claims the area and does not relinquish its claims until 1798. While exploring the area, de Soto and his men are attacked by hundreds of Chickasaw Native Americans, killing 11 Spaniards.
1673	(French explorers Father Jacques Marquette (a French missionary) and Louis Joliet (a fur trapper) begin exploring the Mississippi River on May 17. They reach Mississippi in July and explore as far south as the mouth of the Arkansas River before turning back.
1682	René-Robert Cavalier navigates the Mississippi River to its mouth and claims all the lands drained by the river for France.
1699–1799 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT
1699	Pierre le Moyne d’Iberville founds the first permanent settlement in the lower Mississippi River to establish France’s claim to the area. The settlement, Old Biloxi, is located near present-day Ocean Springs.
1716	The French first settle Natchez as Fort Rosalie. It is the dominant town and trading post in the area and remains the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi River.
1718	French officials establish rules to allow slave imports into the Biloxi area. The first slave shipments arrive the following year; most of the slaves are Caribbean Creoles.
1724	The Code Noir ("Black Code") is enacted and slavery is defined in the Mississippi territory. The code eliminates slaves’ movement and prohibits persons of color from voting, holding public office, or marrying whites.
1729	Natchez Native Americans massacre French settlers at Fort Rosalie in an effort to drive Europeans from Mississippi.
1732	The French retaliate for the massacre at Fort Rosalie, decimating the Natchez tribe.
1736	(May 26) British and Chickasaw Native Americans defeat the French at the Battle of Ackia. In northwestern Mississippi, the British-backed Chickasaw defeat a combined force of French soldiers and Chocktaw Native Americans, reopening the region to English settlement.
1763	The Treaty of Paris gives England all the land east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. British slave traders begin bringing large numbers of Jamaican-born African Caribbeans to the Natchez region.
1779	The Spanish govern the Natchez region, encouraging the slave trade by offering land grant bonuses to settlers who transport slaves.
1795	The Pinckney’s Treaty with Spain transfers the territory along the eastern bank of the Mississippi River to the U.S and guarantees the U.S. navigation rights on the river. Cotton replaces tobacco as the main cash crop, creating a demand for slave field workers.
1797	Spain yields all land in Mississippi north of the 31st parallel to the U.S., giving American control of Natchez. By 1798 Spanish withdrawal from Mississippi is complete.
1798	The original Mississippi Territory is created.
1800–1849 STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
1803	The Louisiana Purchase opens the Mississippi River to commerce. The U.S. acquires Louisiana (and 13 other eventual U.S. states) from France as part of the land purchase. President Thomas Jefferson agrees to the price of 78 million francs ($15,000,000) from French head of state Napoleon Bonaparte. The purchase is lauded by supporters and savaged by critics of President Jefferson. It more than doubles the size of the United States and is a defining moment in the expansion of U.S. territory.
1817	Congress divides the Mississippi Territory into the state of Mississippi and the Alabama Territory. (December 10) Mississippi joins the Union as the 20th state.
1822	One of the first planned cities in the nation, Jackson becomes the capital of Mississippi.
1830	The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek cedes all Choctaw territory east of the Mississippi River to the U.S. Government. Most of the Choctaws leave the state. The Treaty of Pontotoc Creek cedes northern Mississippi Native American lands to the U.S. Government, and the Chickasaws leave the state for Oklahoma.
1836	Lormas plantation owner Captain Isaac Ross dies. Ross’ will frees his slaves on the condition they agree to immigrate to Liberia, a country created in 1821 as a haven for former U.S. slaves.
1848	The state government assumes operation of a private school for the blind. It becomes the Mississippi School for the Blind, the nation’s first state-supported institution for the handicapped.
1850–1899 THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION ERAS
1850	(September) The Compromise of 1850 confines slavery to the South.
1860	The enslaved population of Mississippi reaches 55 percent of the state’s total population. Cotton plantations lead to the high number of slaves and create severe wealth imbalances.
1861	(January 9) Mississippi is the second of 11 states to secede from the Union. By the end of the Civil War in 1865, more than 80,000 Mississippians have served in the Confederate Army. (July) Union forces capture Ship Island. Its seizure gives Union forces control of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
1862	(April) The Battle of Shiloh gives Union forces control of the Tennessee River and opens the way to attack Corinth, a railroad center vital to the South. (October) At the Battle of Corinth, the Union defeats Confederate forces. The Vicksburg Campaign, a series of maneuvers and battles directed against the city of Vicksburg by General Ulysses S. Grant and his Union Army, begins. Vicksburg dominates the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River, and Grant attempt to gain control of the town Vicksburg, and thus the river by defeating Confederate Lieutenant General John Pemberton’s forces.
1863	(May 19) The Siege of Vicksburg, the final major military action of the Vicksburg Campaign, begins. The Confederacy garrison surrenders on July 4 after suffering heavy casualties, and it becomes a turning point in the war.
1866	One-fifth of the state’s revenue is spent on artificial arms and legs for Confederate veterans.
1867	After Congress rejects Mississippi’s reconstructed government, a military government is established. Congress places Mississippi under U.S. Army rule until the legal status of ex-Confederates and freedmen is resolved.
1869	A new state constitution is passed, granting African-American men the right to vote and protecting ex-Confederates from punishment.
1870	(January) Senator Hiram Revels, a minister from Natchez, becomes the first African-American senator in U.S. history. He serves as one of Mississippi’s senators until March 1871. (February 23) Mississippi becomes the ninth state to be readmitted to the Union.
1884	Phil Gilbert’s Shoe Parlor in Vicksburg develops the notion of selling paired shoes in boxes. (February 19) A series of tornadoes leaves 800 people dead in seven states, including Mississippi.
1890	A new state constitution is written that takes away voting rights from most African-American men.
1893	(October 1) The third worst hurricane in U.S. history kills 1,800 people in Mississippi.
1900–1929 EARLY 20TH CENTURY
1900s	The construction of railroads allows access to forests in southeast Mississippi, creating a boom in the lumber industry. State projects to drain many of the swampy areas in the state provide more suitable land for farming.
1902	While on a hunting expedition in Sharkey County, President Theodore Roosevelt refuses to shoot a captive bear. This act results in the creation of the world-famous "Teddy" bear.
1907	The boll weevil, which feeds off the buds and flowers of cotton, arrives in Mississippi, destroying most of the state’s cotton crop. William H. Smith organizes the first of the state’s "Corn Clubs," which leads to the formation of the 4-H Clubs of America.
1908	Mississippi adopts statewide prohibition.
1916	An illiteracy commission starts education programs for adults who cannot read or write.
1918	Mississippi is the first state to ratify the proposed 18th Amendment, which establishes Prohibition.
1922	The State Legislature authorizes a system of two-year colleges, the first in the nation.
1927	The Mississippi River floods 2,722,000 acres in the Delta. Thousands are left homeless and damages total over $204 million.
1930–1949 THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WORLD WAR II
1931	The price of cotton falls from 20 cents a pound in the 1920s to five cents a pound in 1931. Thousands across the state lose their farms.
1940	(April 23) More than 200 African Americans die in a fire at the Rhythm Night Club in Natchez. The cause of the fire, whether intentional or accidental, is not known. It remains the second deadliest fire at a nightclub in U.S. history.
1950–PRESENT MODERN MISSISSIPPI
1957	Mississippi creates the Sovereignty Commission to fight against the Civil Rights movement. The state encourages police harassment of African Americans who cooperate with civil rights groups
1962	(September 30) African-American student James Meredith succeeds on his fourth try in registering for classes at the University of Mississippi, becoming the first African American to enroll at "Old Miss." More than 13,000 Federal troops surround the university while U.S. Marshals escort him. Two people die in the mob violence that follows.
1964	Mississippi Freedom Summer is an attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible the state, which up to this time has excluded them. Over 1,000 out-of-state volunteers, alongside African-American Mississippians, register voters, teach in "Freedom Schools," and organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. (June 21) Members of the Ku Klux Klan murder three civil rights workers in Mississippi for Freedom Summer. The case captures national attention, and President Lyndon Johnson leverages the attendant outrage to pass the Civil Rights Act, which is signed July 2.
1966	More Mississippians now work in manufacturing than in agriculture.
1969	The Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing $1.5 billion in damage.
1984	(March 22) Mississippi becomes the 48th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, a full 64 years after its passage. The state initially rejected it in 1920.
1990	The Mississippi Legislature passes the Mississippi Gaming Control Act, allowing casinos in counties along the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast.
1991	Mississippi becomes the 21st state to allow its citizens to register to vote by mail.
1995	Mississippi formally ratifies the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. The state passes a "truth-in-sentencing" law that requires all felons to serve 85 percent of their sentences.
1997	Mississippi settles its tobacco litigation, requiring tobacco companies to pay the state about $4 billion over the next 25 years. It is the first state to settle its tobacco suit, less than one week before the first scheduled trial.
1998	After a 21-year court fight, the state unseals over 124,000 pages of secret files of the Sovereignty Commission, revealing the numerous illegal methods used to thwart civil rights workers in the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s.
2001	Voters decide to retain the Confederate emblem on the state flag by a margin of nearly 2 to 1. Governor Ronnie Musgrove signs a law that mandates public schools to display "In God We Trust" in classrooms, cafeterias, and auditoriums.
2005	Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 storm, hits the Gulf Coast. In Mississippi many of the 13 riverboat casinos in Biloxi and Gulfport smash historic homes and buildings. An estimated 230 people die in the state.
2010	(April–July) In the Gulf of Mexico near the Mississippi River Delta, an explosion on the offshore oil drilling rig called Deepwater Horizon causes 11 deaths and the largest oil spill in the petroleum industry's history. The rig's owner, BP, admits fault and commits $20 billion to a spill response fund, but many claims are initially denied, and payouts are slow. As of early 2012, an oil seep near the well persists, and the coastlines of the gulf states are still contaminated with oil.
2011	(March) Severe tornadoes sweep through the southern and midwestern United States, causing damage and death in several states including Mississippi. Two hundred tornadoes were reported in six states. At least 340 deaths in the region are attributed to the storms.