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74-616: The floodway has been the focus of legal opposition by residents and landowners since its inception. After the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 , the engineering policy on the Mississippi River changed from building levees high enough to withstand the greatest recorded flood to include floodways. The Flood Control Act of 1928 authorized the United States Army Corps of Engineers to construct

148-471: A bachelor's degree or higher as their highest educational attainment. Mississippi County is split in half by two different districts of the Missouri House of Representatives . The northern portion of the county is a part of House District 148 and is currently represented by State Representative Holly Rehder (R) of Sikeston . The southern portion of the county is a part of House District 149 and

222-608: A fuse plug levee. At a flood stage of 55 feet (17 m) on the Cairo gage, the levee would overtop and crevasse to divert water to the floodway. The Flood Control Act of 1928 adopted the Jadwin plan for the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway and included a provision for compensation of landowners within the floodway. President Coolidge authorized a one-time indemnity paid to landowners to flood their land and

296-596: A combination of bureaucratic resources and grassroots forces to give the tent cities the opportunity to become self-sufficient. This method presented difficulties, as rural leaders were unprepared to manage the chaotic circumstances found in large camps. This led Hoover eventually to place the relief camps under government supervision. The refugee camps also dealt with extreme racial inequality, as supplies and means of evacuation after flooding were given strictly to white citizens, with Blacks receiving only leftovers. African Americans also did not receive supplies without providing

370-532: A household in the county was $ 28,837, and the median income for a family was $ 35,554. Males had a median income of $ 26,110 versus $ 17,204 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 16,847. About 19.00% of families and 23.70% of the population were below the poverty line , including 31.70% of those under age 18 and 21.70% of those age 65 or over. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2000), Mississippi County

444-534: A larger margin, despite his convincing national defeat. As of 2020 , the county has voted Republican for five straight elections, with an increased vote share every time; the Republican vote share has not gone below 60% since 2008. Voters in Mississippi County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles but are more moderate or populist on economic issues, typical of what

518-606: A lawsuit maintaining that he would be unable to sell his land or secure loans as a result of the floodway. Judge Charles B. Davis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled in favor of the government and denied an injunction. Construction of the setback levee started in October 1929 and was completed in October 1932. Acquisition of the required flowage rights

592-614: A major blow to the $ 107 million St. John's Bayou/New Madrid Floodway Project. In ordering a halt to the floodwall's construction, Judge James Robertson said the Corps had improperly manipulated its habitat models to make it seem that the project's environmental impacts would be "compliant with the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act , when it is not." He further ordered that

666-499: A major flood in 1937. To better study and plan for future situations, Lt. Eugene Raybold proposed laying out a physical hydraulic model to simulate the basin's response to various rainfall scenarios. Land was procured at the SE edge of Clinton, Mississippi , and a 200-acre hydraulic model was constructed, matching to the river's flow from Baton Rouge to Omaha , modeling the confluence points of its major tributaries across 16 states. The work

740-706: A relief boat at gunpoint. Near Helena, Arkansas , Owen Flemming was lynched after he killed a plantation overseer, who wanted to force him to rescue the plantation owner's mules. As a result of displacements lasting up to six months, tens of thousands of local African Americans moved to the big cities of the North, particularly Chicago ; many thousands more followed in the following decades. Herbert Hoover enhanced his reputation by his achievements in directing flood relief operations as Secretary of Commerce under President Calvin Coolidge . The next year Hoover easily won

814-405: A result of flooding. Monetary damages due to flooding reached approximately $ 1 billion, which was one-third of the federal budget in 1927. If the event were to have occurred in 2023, the damages would total around $ 1.38 trillion to $ 1.48 trillion. The flood affected Missouri , Illinois , Kansas , Tennessee , Kentucky , Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Oklahoma , and Texas . Arkansas

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888-485: Is a part of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Mississippi County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (53.88%), Methodists (13.70%), and Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (7.55%). Of adults 25 years of age and older in Mississippi County, 61.1% possess a high school diploma or higher, while 9.6% hold

962-523: Is represented by State Representative Don Rone (R) of Portageville . All of Mississippi County is a part of Missouri's 25th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by State Senator Jason Bean (R). Mississippi County is included in Missouri's 8th Congressional District and is represented by Jason T. Smith (R- Salem ) in the U.S. House of Representatives . At

1036-522: Is the easternmost county in the state, as well as the easternmost county in the United States located west of the Mississippi River. Mississippi County has borders across the river with four Kentucky counties, but it has no direct highway connection between any of them due to the mile-wide barrier of the river in this area. None of the four Kentucky counties that border Missouri has any direct highway connection with Missouri. Kentucky and Missouri are

1110-679: The Cumberland River at Nashville, Tennessee , exceeded 56.2 ft (17.1 m), the second-highest recorded level (a destructive flood in 1793 had produced the record level – 58.5 ft (17.8 m)). Flooding peaked in the Lower Mississippi River near Mound Landing, Mississippi , and Arkansas City, Arkansas , and broke levees along the river in at least 145 places. The water flooded more than 27,000 square miles (70,000 km ) of land, and left more than 700,000 people homeless. Approximately 500 people died as

1184-521: The Mississippi Delta levee camps despite warnings from the NAACP about harsh living conditions and mistreatment of black laborers within the camps. By August 1927, the flood subsided. Hundreds of thousands of people had been made homeless and displaced; properties, livestock and crops were destroyed. In terms of population affected, in territory flooded, in property loss and crop destruction,

1258-679: The Mississippi River . Mississippi County is located in what was formerly known as "Tywappity Bottom," a vast floodplain area bordered by the Scott County Hills on the north, St. James Bayou on the south, the Mississippi River on the east, and Little River on the west. In 1540, the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto penetrated to the Arkansas River and perhaps well into present-day southeastern Missouri, which

1332-629: The Republican 1928 nomination for President, and the general election that year. In upstate Louisiana, anger among yeomen farmers directed at the New Orleans elite for its damage of downriver parishes aided Huey Long 's election to the governorship in 1928. Hoover was much lauded initially for his masterful handling of the refugee camps known as "tent cities". These densely populated camps required basic necessities which were difficult to attain, such as water and sanitation facilities. Hoover used

1406-535: The bootheel region in Missouri's Eighth Congressional District, sees it differently: "Flood protection is a necessity.... Last year, [100,000 acres (400 km) were flooded, and] nearly 50,000 acres (200 km) of crops were destroyed. Farmers cannot afford to sustain these preventable annual losses.". The Water Resources Development Act of 1986 authorized the St. John's Bayou-New Madrid Floodway project to augment

1480-636: The 1954 authorization to close the 1,500 feet (460 m) gap in the frontline levee and construct two pumping stations. The goal was to reduce backwater flooding at the lower end of the floodway. A 2004 lawsuit by the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Wildlife Federation resulted in an injunction that halted the work. On September 19, 2007, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dealt

1554-492: The 325,146 who occupied the relief camps were African American. In one location, over 13,000 evacuees near Greenville, Mississippi , were gathered from area farms, and evacuated to the crest of the unbroken Greenville Levee. But many were stranded there for days without food or clean water. Following the Great Flood of 1927, multiple states needed money to rebuild their roads and bridges. Louisiana received $ 1,067,336 from

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1628-729: The Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway in Missouri and the Morganza Spillway and Bonnet Carre Spillway in Louisiana . Even before its authorization, the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway was the subject of controversy. In June 1927, President Calvin Coolidge instructed the Mississippi River Commission and the Corps of Engineers to develop a plan to protect the Mississippi alluvial valley from future floods. The Commission recommended four floodways below

1702-595: The Cairo gage. The plan called for the use of explosives on the upper fuseplug section if the River reached 58 feet (18 m) at Cairo and was forecast to exceed 60 feet (18 m) After the floods of 1973, 1975, and 1979, the Mississippi River Commission again revised its plan to include four artificial crevasses: two at the upper fuseplug, one at the lower fuseplug, and one on the frontline levee opposite Hickman, Kentucky . The use of explosives

1776-483: The Civil War and freedmen afterward. There were marked adjustments as people adjusted to the free labor market. The first American settlers reached what became Charleston in 1830. Seven years later, Thankful Randol sold Joseph Moore 22½ acres of land. Moore used it to lay out a plan for the city of Charleston. Its original boundary was 12 blocks square - four north and south, and three east and west. The Original Plat

1850-585: The Mississippi River during the " project design flood " hypothetical flood event. At this flow the level of the Mississippi River will drop 7 feet (2.1 m) at Cairo. Unlike the Morganza and Bonnet Carre Spillways in Louisiana, the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway does not have floodgates. The floodway is operated by a controlled destruction of the levee, either with explosives or by overtopping. The frontline levee has an 11 miles (18 km) fuseplug section of

1924-402: The Mississippi River, was cultivated for cotton, corn, and wheat. Since the late 20th century, soybeans and rice have been important commodity crops and are grown on an industrial scale. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 429 square miles (1,110 km ), of which 412 square miles (1,070 km ) is land and 17 square miles (44 km ) (4.0%) is water. It

1998-756: The New Madrid Floodway, destroying 48,700 acres (197 km) of crops. The flood damage, the United States Department of Agriculture says, could have been greatly limited had the Floodway Project been completed. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service , however, the plan is unworkable; or per Senator John McCain 's recitation of an earlier article in The Washington Post , "absolutely ridiculous". U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson , R -MO, who represents

2072-415: The United States was well aware of flooding potential along the Mississippi, which drained 40% of the nation's area. The Mississippi River Commission was established by the federal government in 1879, with the directive to deepen the river channel, improve navigation, prevent major flooding, and increase river-based commerce. This commission recommended raising extensive levees along its channels to contain

2146-672: The already completed work on the project, tallied at $ 7 million, be undone. The decision came after environmentalist groups argued that the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act were being violated in the name of agrarian prosperity; and that the Floodway project would create no possible human benefit. "That's a bunch of nonsense," says one local official, "They can say what they want, but they don't live here." Emerson called

2220-569: The county seat of Charleston. The fourth man was killed in Belmont, Missouri in 1905. Sam Fields and Robert Coleman were lynched in Charleston on July 3, 1910, allegedly for committing murder and robbery. The joint lynching was witnessed by a crowd of about 1,000. Roosevelt Grigsby was lynched in Charleston in December 1924 by a mob of 200, who accused him of attempting to rape a woman. At

2294-486: The course of several months in early 1927. The period cost of the damage has been estimated to be between $ 246 million and $ 1 billion, which ranges from $ 4.2–$ 17.3 billion in 2023 dollars. About 500 people died and over 630,000 people were directly affected; 94% of those affected lived in Arkansas , Mississippi , and Louisiana , especially in the Mississippi Delta region. 127 people died in Arkansas , making it one of

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2368-680: The deadliest disasters ever recorded in the state. More than 200,000 African Americans were displaced from their homes along the Lower Mississippi River and had to live for lengthy periods in relief camps. As a result of this disruption, many joined the Great Migration from the South to the industrial cities of the North and the Midwest ; the migrants preferred to move, rather than return to rural agricultural labor. To prevent future floods,

2442-601: The destruction of the Caernarvon levee was unnecessary; several major levee breaks well upstream of New Orleans, including one the day after the demolitions, released major amounts of flood waters, reducing the water that reached the city. The New Orleans businessmen did not compensate the losses of people in the downriver parishes. To address the disaster, Congress passed the Mississippi Flood Control Act, which put greater stress on construction in

2516-414: The federal government built the world's longest system of levees and floodways. Then- Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover 's handling of the crisis gave him a positive nationwide reputation, helping pave the way to his election as U.S. President in 1928 . Political turmoil from the disaster at the state level aided the election of Huey Long as governor in Louisiana. By the late nineteenth century,

2590-472: The federal government for rebuilding, but it had to institute a state gasoline tax to create a $ 30,000,000 fund to pay for new hard-surfaced highways. The Corps of Engineers was charged with taming the Mississippi River. Under the Flood Control Act of 1928 , the world's longest system of levees was built. Floodways that diverted excessive flow from the Mississippi River were constructed. While

2664-426: The first state to ban same-sex marriage . (This law was overturned as unconstitutional by a US Supreme Court decision.) In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state —it failed in Mississippi County with 57.35 percent voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters; Missouri became one of

2738-452: The first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research . Despite Mississippi County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes such as increasing the minimum wage . In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $ 6.50 an hour—it passed Mississippi County with 75.66 percent of

2812-405: The flood control system protecting Cairo would fail. The first of three detonations took place in the late evening of May 2, and the following detonations were planned for May 3. Activation of the floodway resulted in the flooding of the village of Pinhook, Missouri . Due to the limited warning the village received, most of the residents lost their homes and possessions, and were unable to return and

2886-608: The flood's figures were "staggering". Great loss of life was averted by relief efforts, largely by the American Red Cross through the efforts of local workers. African Americans, comprising 75% of the population in the Delta lowlands and supplying 95% of the agricultural labor force, were most affected by the flood. Historians estimate that of the 637,000 people forced to relocate by the flooding, 94% lived in three states: Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana; and that 69% of

2960-482: The floodway recommended a number of improvements in the floodway, but these were not authorized by Congress. The purpose of the floodway is to reduce flooding at and above Cairo, Illinois, and along the east bank levee opposite the floodway during a major flood. The floodway is between 3 miles (4.8 km) and 15 miles (24 km) wide and is bounded on the east by the 56 miles (90 km) frontline levee between Bird's Point, Missouri and New Madrid, Missouri and on

3034-569: The flow, dismissing the advice of experts such as James Eads , who had directed the Saint Louis Bridge project in the 1860s. These critics predicted that compressing a swollen river between walls would increase its destructive potential. Flooding began due to heavy rainfall in summer 1926 across the river's central basin. By September, the Mississippi's tributaries in Kansas and Iowa were swollen to capacity. On Christmas Day of 1926,

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3108-400: The judge's ruling "a pause before we move forward..." 36°42′N 89°18′W  /  36.7°N 89.3°W  / 36.7; -89.3 Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with 27,000 square miles (70,000 km ) inundated in depths of up to 30 feet (9 m) over

3182-440: The levees prevented some flooding, scientists have found that they changed the flow of the Mississippi River, with the unintended consequence of increasing flooding in succeeding decades. Channeling of waters has reduced the absorption of seasonal rains by the floodplains, increasing the speed of the current and preventing the deposit of new soils along the way. The levees did not prevent recurrences of significant flooding, especially

3256-539: The mouth of the Arkansas River and, above, stronger and higher levees set back from the channel. Chief of Engineers Maj. Gen. Edgar Jadwin rejected the costly plan and submitted one of his own. Jadwin's plan included the Birds Point-New Madrid floodway with a setback levee between 3 and 10 miles (4.8–16.1 km) from the existing mainline levee. Eleven miles of the mainline levee were to be lowered by 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) to create

3330-569: The name of their white employer or voucher from a white person. In order to fully exploit black labor, Blacks were frequently forced to work against their will, and were not permitted to leave the camps. Later reports about the poor treatment in camps led Hoover to make promises of change to the African-American community, which he broke. As a result, he lost the Black vote in the North in his re-election campaign in 1932. Several reports on

3404-462: The national Democrats . Mississippi County, Missouri Mississippi County is a county located in the Bootheel of the U.S. state of Missouri , with its eastern border formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census , the population was 12,577. The largest city and county seat is Charleston . The county was officially organized on February 14, 1845, and was named after

3478-590: The number of jobs have declined, as has county population. As of the census of 2000, there were 13,427 people, 5,383 households, and 3,671 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile (12 people/km ). There were 5,840 housing units at an average density of 14 units per square mile (5.4/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 77.93% White , 20.53% Black or African American , 0.25% Native American , 0.11% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.29% from other races , and 0.89% from two or more races. Approximately 0.96% of

3552-458: The only two U.S. states to border each other, even across a major river, without a direct highway connection between them. This reflects the relatively low populations among the river counties on both sides, which are largely rural in character. In early 2016, Mississippi County was declared as the poorest county in Missouri. The rural county was at its peak of population in 1940. With changes in agriculture and mechanization requiring fewer workers,

3626-442: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 5,383 households, out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.70% were married couples living together, 17.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

3700-532: The presidential level, Mississippi County was a solidly Democratic county from its founding in 1845 through 2000 , breaking with the Democratic Party only to vote for Constitutional Unionist John Bell in 1860 and Richard Nixon in his 1972 landslide within this period. In 2004 , George W. Bush became only the second Republican ever to carry the county, despite his narrow national popular vote win, and in 2008 , John McCain carried it again, by

3774-457: The project. The Flood Control Act of 1965 authorized the increase of the frontline levee to 62 feet (19 m) on the Cairo gage and the fuseplug sections to 60 feet (18 m). The Mississippi River Commission further modified the plan to raise the fuseplug sections to 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m), the frontline levee to 62 feet 6 inches (19.05 m), and the mainline levee to 65 feet 6 inches (19.96 m) on

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3848-431: The purchase of the land adjacent to the upper fuse-plug of the frontline levee. The authorization stipulated that the fuseplug was not to be constructed until at least half of the flowage rights had been secured. [My constituents] do not want to see southeast Missouri made the dumping ground to protect Cairo, much as we love Cairo. Construction was scheduled to begin in the summer of 1929, but landowner George W. Kirk filed

3922-479: The region. Opponents of the plans, such as The Missouri Coalition for the Environment say it will not address the flooding problem, but instead, will only destroy fish habitat. On average, the Mississippi River floods Mississippi County, MO & New Madrid County, MO once every three years; or, a total of 16 times over the past 45. In the spring of 2002, flooding covered over 77,400 acres (313 km) in

3996-420: The request was refused. Following the 1983 flood, a 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (4.0 km) section of the upper fuseplug and 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (2.4 km) section of the lower fuseplug were raised and embedded with sections of polyethylene pipe to be filled with liquid explosives and detonated when the Cairo flood stage reached 61 feet (19 m). A 1990 Corps of Engineers study of alternatives to

4070-481: The safety of the city, as they had already learned of the massive scale of flooding upriver. On 29 April they arranged to set off about 30 tons of dynamite on the levee at Caernarvon, Louisiana , releasing 250,000 cu ft/s (7,000 m /s) of water. This was intended to prevent New Orleans from suffering serious damage, and it resulted in flooding much of the less densely populated St. Bernard Parish and all of Plaquemines Parish 's east bank. As it turned out,

4144-515: The same time, on Good Friday (15 April 1927), 15 inches (380 mm) of rain fell in New Orleans in 18 hours. This far exceeded the City's rainwater pumping system, and up to 4 feet (1.2 m) of water flooded some parts of the city. This local rain related flood was not connected to the Mississippi River flooding. A group of influential bankers in New Orleans met to discuss how to guarantee

4218-519: The southern states, had settled most of the present counties of southeastern Missouri. The settlers were primarily farmers who came from Illinois and the states of the Upper South: Virginia , Kentucky , and Tennessee . They were drawn by the fertile and cheap lands found in the area of present-day Charleston, Missouri . Cotton was cultivated through the 19th century, and the planters depended on enslaved African-American workers before

4292-481: The strained racial relations resulted in many African Americans joining the Great Migration from affected areas to northern and midwestern cities, a movement that had been underway since World War I . The flood waters began to recede in June 1927, but interracial relations continued to be strained. Hostilities had erupted between the races; a Black man was shot and killed by a white police officer when he refused to unload

4366-590: The terrible situation in the refugee camps, including one by the Colored Advisory Commission headed by Robert Russa Moton , were kept out of the media at Hoover's request, with the pledge of further reforms for Blacks after the presidential election in 1928. His failure to deliver followed other disappointments by the Republican Party; Moton and other influential African Americans began to encourage Black Americans to align instead with

4440-546: The turn of the 20th century, the virgin forests attracted timber barons. Following the clearing of the timber, the state assisted in the construction of levees , forming drainage districts to redevelop the land. As hundreds of miles of levees and dikes were constructed within the Little River Drainage District, thousands of acres of land were drained and "reclaimed" for agricultural use. The reclaimed land, highly fertile due to centuries of flooding from

4514-517: The upper levee and a 5 miles (8.0 km) section at the lower levee that are lower than adjacent sections. The operation of the floodway is directed by the president of the Mississippi River Commission after consultation with the Chief of Engineers. The first activation of the floodway was in January 1937. The river over-topped the levee, but did not erode it enough to activate the floodway. Dynamite

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4588-409: The village was abandoned. The state of Missouri attempted to halt the activation of the floodway by litigation ( Missouri v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ), because of the disparate impact of the action upon affected Missouri residents and property owners, but were not able to halt the action. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contends that the program is vital to the actual and economic survival of

4662-435: The vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri, with 75.94 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $ 6.50 an hour in the state. During the 2008 presidential primary, voters in Mississippi County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally. Former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D- New York ) received more votes,

4736-437: The west by a 36 miles (58 km) setback levee. The area within the floodway is approximately 130,000 acres (530 km). The frontline and setback levees end near New Madrid but do not connect, leaving a 1,500-foot (460 m) gap that functions as a drainage outlet. The gap also permits backwater flooding in the lower portion of the floodway. The floodway is designed to divert 550,000 cu ft/s (16,000 m/s) from

4810-400: Was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.30% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.70 males. The median income for

4884-455: Was activated was on May 2, 2011. Both the Ohio and Upper Mississippi rivers were experiencing an unprecedented amount of flooding. The gauge at Cairo on May 2 was over 61 feet 6 inches (18.75 m), the level at which the floodway is to be activated. The river levels had already prompted a mandatory evacuation of all but 100 citizens in Cairo due to the extreme high water and concern that

4958-466: Was completed during 1942, with some labor provided by POWs from Camp Clinton . The Corps used this model to accurately study river flows and mitigation strategies, but by 1970 it fell out of use. In the 1970s it was transferred to the city government of Jackson, and the Buddy Butts Park was created around it. It is presently little-known or recognized. The devastation of the flood and

5032-525: Was expanded to all four fuseplugs. The Mississippi River Commission and the Corps of Engineers later realized that they did not have sufficient property rights to access the levee to place and detonate explosives. In 1981, the Mississippi River Commission Memphis District commander requested entry permission from the St. John Levee and Drainage District and Levee District No. 3 of Mississippi County, Missouri , but

5106-525: Was filed on May 20, 1837. The General Assembly passed an act to incorporate the city of Charleston on March 25, 1872. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, violence increased against black Americans as the state disfranchised minority voters and enforce the Jim Crow segregation laws. Four African Americans were lynched in Mississippi County, the second-highest number in the state and tied with Callaway County . Three of these murders took place in

5180-429: Was formerly considered the white conservative Dixiecrat philosophy of southern Democrats, before African Americans regained the power to vote. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman —it overwhelmingly passed in Mississippi County with 86.87 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters; Missouri became

5254-434: Was hardest hit, with 14% of its territory covered by floodwaters extending from the Mississippi and Arkansas deltas. By May 1927, the Mississippi River below Memphis, Tennessee , reached a width of 80 miles (130 km). Without trees, grasses, deep roots, and wetlands, the denuded soil of the watershed could not do its ancient work of absorbing floodwater after seasons of intense snow and rain. In an unrelated flood at

5328-406: Was not accomplished until January 1942. The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 authorized the construction of a new levee to project grade extending across the 1,500-foot (460 m) gap at the lower end of the frontline levee. However, the inability of the St. John Levee and Drainage District to obtain the necessary easements has prevented the Corps of Engineers from initiating

5402-535: Was then populated by various Native American tribes, including the Osage . Under pressure from a constantly advancing white settlement, the Native Americans gradually retreated westward. The area of southeastern Missouri was noted for its level swampy lowlands, subject to the seasonal flooding of the Mississippi River, which had resulted in extremely fertile soil. By 1820 American pioneers, many migrating from

5476-404: Was used to destroy the levee and activate the system. The Corps rebuilt the levee back to the original standards and it was left untouched until 1983. In 1983 they upgraded the levee to what is known as a "fuse-plug design". They laid 11,000 feet (3,400 m) of pipe that they can fill with liquid explosives and detonate to open the levee and activate the floodway. The second time the floodway

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