All About Mississippi
Mississippi is a constituent state of the United States of America. Originally part of America's Old Southwest, Mississippi became the 20th state of the Union in 1817. Its name has long been identified with many of the characteristics attributed, correctly or incorrectly, to the Deep South, but since the 1960s the state has been engaged in efforts to alter the economic and social patterns of the past. Jackson is the state capital. The name is derived from an Indian word meaning ''great waters'' or ''father of waters.''
Mississippi ranks 32nd among the U.S. states in area. Throughout most of it - from Tennessee on the north to Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico on the south, from Alabama on the east to Louisiana and Arkansas on the west - much of Mississippi's soil is rich and deep, and its low-lying landscape is laced with many rivers. Almost inevitably it became an agricultural state. The long dominance of a rural, unhurried way of life has contributed much to the problems of present-day Mississippi, just as it earlier helped to enhance the state. This way of life has also left a sense of history among some Mississippians, whose ancestors created a culture of gentility that is still evident in the many historic mansions located in such old towns as Columbus, Biloxi, Natchez, and Holly Springs.
For decades an unusually large dependent population, a predominantly agricultural economy, and a prevailing resistance to change have kept Mississippi's per capita income low and created an inadequate standard of living for many families. At least half of all Mississippians live in rural areas - but not necessarily on farms - and the state continues to rank low in many economic indexes, including per capita income, which is well below the national average. In 1965 industrial income surpassed agricultural income for the first time in the state's history. Area 47,695 square miles (123,530 square km). Pop. (1990) 2,573,216; (2000) 2,844,658.
Mississippi is a low-lying state, its highest point reaching only 806 feet (246 metres) above sea level. Except for its hilly northeast corner, Mississippi lies entirely within the eastern Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic region. It has generally low topographic elevations and extensive tracts of marshy land. Its major soil areas encompass hills, plains, prairies, river lowlands, and pine woods. In the northwest the great fertile crescent called the Delta is the old floodplain of the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers, comprising 4,000,000 acres (1,600,000 hectares) of black alluvial soil many feet deep. Once subject to disastrous floods, the land is now protected by levee and reservoir systems. Though the Delta was only sparsely settled in antebellum days, it has become a region of highly mechanized farming.
In many economic indexes Mississippi ranks low in its region and in the nation. There has been some improvement in employment, wages, and personal income; but the proportionate national and regional growth has been even greater, and the relative economic disadvantage continues. Nearly 95 percent of personal income is derived from eight sources - manufacturing, the federal government, property, farms, state and local governments, wholesale and retail trade, operation of nonfarm commercial enterprises, and personal and business services. State agencies administer regulatory functions in the area of utilities, transportation, oil, gas, insurance, and pollution. The Department of Economic Development seeks new businesses and aids in expanding existing ones by such means as loans for training and recruiting workers. It is aided by the Mississippi Research and Development Center through research in economic development. The several economic-development districts promote activities in their constituent counties. The private sector also advertises the state's advantages. Labour union membership is relatively small, although widely dispersed. Most large employers have a union membership, though Mississippi has a right-to-work law that prohibits compulsory union membership.
Mississippi's rural heritage continues to be a strong influence on the lifestyles and recreational habits of the people. Hunting, fishing, boating, camping, and other outdoor activities are among the most popular forms of leisure in the state. Some game fish can be taken throughout the year, with catfish, bream, bass, and perch the leading freshwater species. The Gulf is rich in shrimp, oysters, and fish. Mississippi maintains a system of state parks, and the U.S. Department of the Interior maintains the Vicksburg National Military Park and the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Natchez Pilgrimage is the best known of several festivals featuring antebellum homes and gardens.
The declining fortunes of rail transportation and the existence of obsolete segments of the state's highway system have created problems in transportation. The heaviest volume of traffic is along the Gulf Coast, where it merges into the flow from the numerous upstate north–south and east–west patterns. The 200-mile Natchez Trace Parkway, which extends from Natchez to Nashville, Tenn., and is part of the National Park Service, is protected from commercialization and truck traffic. Peaceful and sylvan, it preserves the natural surroundings of the old Indian trace, or trail, and encompasses many sites of historic interest. Commercial transportation, in addition to highway trucking, is diversified. Of the railways in the state, half are entirely intrastate. Most large cities have commercial airports with scheduled air service. Interstate bus lines serve almost all major cities and towns. Gulfport and Pascagoula can accommodate oceangoing ships, and low-draft oceangoing vessels can travel up the Mississippi to Natchez, Vicksburg, and Greenville. Barge traffic moves on the Mississippi, Pearl, and Yazoo rivers. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway passes just off the coast across the Mississippi Sound.
