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93-610: The " Mississippi Rifles " or the 155th Infantry Regiment , is Mississippi 's oldest National Guard unit. Its history predates statehood, back to June 1799, and it is the seventh oldest infantry regiment in the United States Army . They patrolled the frontiers of the Mississippi Territory, captured Aaron Burr , defended Fort Mims during the Indian Wars , and served under General Andrew Jackson in
186-618: A bombing and strafing target for military aircraft, primarily used by the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, is located on the southern portion of the post. Camp Blanding is home to the Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training , which provides unique, tuition-free military and counterdrug training for local, state, federal, and military criminal justice professionals, as well as awareness training for community leaders. Camp Blanding
279-693: A dozen Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rican universities gather to conduct a five-day field problem focusing on small-unit tactics, land navigation, and leadership development every April. It also serves as the site for the Florida Wing Summer Encampment for the Civil Air Patrol/US Air Force Auxiliary's Cadet Program each year. Camp Blanding is the primary training site for most of the Florida National Guard's military units and
372-647: A forward support company (Company I, 106th Brigade Support Battalion ) in Brookhaven . Mississippi Mississippi ( / ˌ m ɪ s ə ˈ s ɪ p i / MISS -ə- SIP -ee ) is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the southwest, and Arkansas to
465-524: A high percentage of the replacements sent to Army combat units. Japanese-American volunteers who were destined for service as infantry replacements with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team were also trained at Camp Blanding. During WWII, more than 800,000 soldiers trained at Camp Blanding. The base was a holding center for 343 Japanese , German , and Italian immigrant residents of the United States who were interned as potential security risks by
558-417: A new state constitution in 1890 specifically to "eliminate the nigger from politics", according to the state's Democratic governor, James K. Vardaman . It erected barriers to voter registration and instituted electoral provisions that effectively disenfranchised most black Mississippians and many poor whites. Estimates are that 100,000 black and 50,000 white men were removed from voter registration rolls in
651-449: A reputation in the 1960s as a reactionary state. After decades of disenfranchisement, African Americans in the state gradually began to exercise their right to vote again for the first time since the 19th century, following the passage of federal civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965, which ended de jure segregation and enforced constitutional voting rights. Registration of African-American voters increased and black candidates ran in
744-840: A trading network spanning the continent from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast. Their large earthworks, which expressed their cosmology of political and religious concepts, still stand throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. Descendant Native American tribes of the Mississippian culture in the Southeast include the Chickasaw and Choctaw . Other tribes who inhabited the territory of Mississippi (and whose names were honored by colonists in local towns) include
837-638: A whole. The state's name is derived from the Mississippi River , which flows along and defines its western boundary. European-American settlers named it after the Ojibwe word ᒥᓯ-ᓰᐱ misi-ziibi (English: great river ). Near 9500 BC Native Americans or Paleo-Indians arrived in what today is referred to as the American South . Paleo-Indians in the South were hunter-gatherers who pursued
930-519: Is Woodall Mountain at 807 feet (246 m) above sea level adjacent to the Cumberland Plateau ; the lowest is the Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi has a humid subtropical climate classification. Mississippi is known for its deep religious roots, which play a central role in its residents' lives. The state ranks among the highest of U.S. states in religiosity . Mississippi is also known for being
1023-602: Is also home to the Combating Transnational Organized Crime Center of Excellence, which provides unique, tuition-free training in support of Department of Defense strategies, and has campuses on Camp Blanding, at St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and on Camp Murray near Tacoma, Washington. Camp Blanding is also home to the annual FBI National Academy Associates Youth Leadership Academy (YLA). The YLA takes place during
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#17327649415211116-537: Is currently inaccessible due to being located inside the buffer area for the Camp Blanding Impact Range, but was an active cemetery from 1829 to 1968, well after the establishment of the impact area. At one point during the war, the camp contained the population of the fourth-largest city in Florida. It had 10,000 buildings, 125 miles (201 km) of paved roads, and the largest hospital in
1209-460: Is located immediately outside the main entrance to the installation and is open the public. It is broken down into two major sections, the museum which is located inside a restored WWII building, and the outdoor memorial park. The museum is free of charge to enter and contains displays and artifacts from Florida's military history from World War I to the present day. The outdoor memorial park is self-guided and contains vehicles and aircraft from WWII to
1302-565: The 1st Infantry Division , 29th Infantry Division , 30th Infantry Division , 31st Infantry Division , 36th Infantry Division , 43rd Infantry Division , 63rd Infantry Division , 66th Infantry Division , and 79th Infantry Division . Additionally, the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment was stood up at Camp Blanding in October 1942. In 1943, Camp Blanding became an infantry replacement training center, training soldiers to be sent to existing infantry divisions as individual replacements, providing
1395-771: The African Methodist Episcopal Church (established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 19th century) and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (established in New York City), sent missionaries to the South in the postwar years. They quickly attracted hundreds of thousands of converts and founded new churches across the South. Southern congregations brought their own influences to those denominations as well. During Reconstruction ,
1488-612: The Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 . The 155th Infantry is one of only twenty-four currently active Army National Guard units with campaign credits for the War of 1812, and one of only two from a state west of the Appalachians. It has credit for the Florida (1814) and New Orleans Campaigns. They were known as the "Mississippi Rifles" under the command of Colonel Jefferson Davis in
1581-654: The Confederate Army . Around 17,000 black and 545 white Mississippians would serve in the Union Army . Pockets of Unionism in Mississippi were in places such as the northeastern corner of the state and Jones County , where Newton Knight formed a revolt with Unionist leanings, known as the "Free State of Jones". Union General Ulysses S. Grant 's long siege of Vicksburg finally gained the Union control of
1674-567: The Confederate battle flag . Mississippi became the last state to remove the Confederate battle flag as an official state symbol on June 30, 2020, when Governor Tate Reeves signed a law officially retiring the second state flag . The current flag, The "New Magnolia" flag, was selected via referendum as part of the general election on November 3, 2020. It officially became the state flag on January 11, 2021, after being signed into law by
1767-746: The Florida Army National Guard and certain nonflying activities of the Florida Air National Guard . The installation is located in Clay County, Florida , near the city of Starke in adjacent Bradford County . However, while Camp Blanding utilizes a Starke address, it is located totally within the confines of Clay County. The site measures about 73,000 acres (30,000 ha) and includes Kingsley Lake . It also hosts other Reserve, Army National Guard , Air National Guard , and some Active Component training for
1860-743: The French and Indian War ( Seven Years' War ), the French surrendered the Mississippi area to them under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763) . They also ceded their areas to the north that were east of the Mississippi River, including the Illinois Country and Quebec. After the Peace of Paris (1783) , the lower third of Mississippi came under Spanish rule as part of West Florida . In 1819
1953-653: The Mississippi Delta . Many musicians carried their music north to Chicago, where they made it the heart of that city's jazz and blues. So many African Americans left in the Great Migration that after the 1930s, they became a minority in Mississippi. In 1960 they made up 42% of the state's population. The whites maintained their discriminatory voter registration processes established in 1890, preventing most blacks from voting, even if they were well educated. Court challenges were not successful until later in
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#17327649415212046-686: The Natchez , the Yazoo , and the Biloxi . The first major European expedition into the territory that became Mississippi was that of the Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto , who passed through the northeast part of the state in 1540, in his second expedition to the New World. In April 1699, French colonists established the first European settlement at Fort Maurepas (also known as Old Biloxi), built in
2139-746: The Navy for Naval Air Station Jacksonville . The new camp was named for Albert H. Blanding , who had been commissioned in the Florida National Guard in 1899, and was then a major general and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau . In 1940, as the threat of war increased and the United States Army was built up, Camp Blanding became a federal facility housing two infantry divisions plus auxiliary units. Between 1940 and 1943, nine US Army infantry divisions trained at Camp Blanding, including
2232-598: The War Department 's new numbering scheme for regiments, the 1st Mississippi Infantry and detachments from Companies F and H, 2nd Mississippi Infantry, were combined and redesignated the 155th Infantry Regiment. The 155th served with the 39th Division in France, however, it did not see combat and was instead used as a "depot" unit along with the rest of the division, receiving, orienting, and forwarding replacements to frontline combat units. The 155th Infantry arrived at
2325-470: The megafauna that became extinct following the end of the Pleistocene age. In the Mississippi Delta , Native American settlements and agricultural fields were developed on the natural levees, higher ground in the proximity of rivers. The Native Americans developed extensive fields near their permanent villages. Together with other practices, they created some localized deforestation but did not alter
2418-466: The 1967 elections for state and local offices. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party fielded some candidates. Teacher Robert G. Clark of Holmes County was the first African American to be elected to the State House since Reconstruction. He continued as the only African American in the state legislature until 1976 and was repeatedly elected into the 21st century, including three terms as Speaker of
2511-741: The 1st Battalion were deactivated. The 1st Battalion (Combined Arms), 155th Infantry (Mechanized) is now a part of the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team (155th ABCT), Mississippi Army National Guard. The unit served in Bosnia as "Task Force Rifles" and in Iraq in 2005–06 and again in 2009–10. The battalion is headquartered in McComb and has mechanized infantry companies in Biloxi (Company A) and Poplarville (Company B), an armored (tank) company in Kiln (Company C) and
2604-474: The 1st Infantry, Mississippi National Guard (organized 1919–20 with headquarters at Vicksburg, Mississippi ) as the 155th Infantry; the headquarters was subsequently federally recognized on 25 April 1923 at Vicksburg. It was relieved from the 39th Division on 1 July 1923 and assigned to the 31st Division . The regiment, or elements thereof, was called up to perform the following state duties: the entire regiment to perform flood relief duty at communities flooded by
2697-668: The 20th century and is a Federally recognized tribe. Many slaveholders brought enslaved African Americans with them or purchased them through the domestic slave trade, especially in New Orleans . Through the trade, an estimated nearly one million slaves were forcibly transported to the Deep South , including Mississippi, in an internal migration that broke up many slave families of the Upper South, where planters were selling excess slaves. The Southerners imposed slave laws in
2790-790: The Choctaw, together with other southeastern tribes removed as a result of the Act, became known as the Trail of Tears . When cotton was king during the 1850s, Mississippi plantation owners—especially those of the Delta and Black Belt central regions—became wealthy due to the high fertility of the soil, the high price of cotton on the international market, and free labor gained through their holding enslaved African Americans. They used some of their profits to buy more cotton land and more slaves. The planters' dependence on hundreds of thousands of slaves for labor and
2883-502: The Deep South and restricted the rights of free blacks. Beginning in 1822, slaves in Mississippi were protected by law from cruel and unusual punishment by their owners. The Southern slave codes made the willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases. For example, the 1860 Mississippi case of Oliver v. State charged the defendant with murdering his own slave. Mississippi became the 20th state on December 10, 1817. David Holmes
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2976-692: The House. In 1966, the state was the last to repeal officially statewide prohibition of alcohol . Before that, Mississippi had taxed the illegal alcohol brought in by bootleggers . Governor Paul Johnson urged repeal and the sheriff "raided the annual Junior League Mardi Gras ball at the Jackson Country Club, breaking open the liquor cabinet and carting off the Champagne before a startled crowd of nobility and high-ranking state officials". The end of legal segregation and Jim Crow led to
3069-597: The Mississippi River in April–June 1927 ; 1st Battalion to perform escort duty in connection with protecting Negro prisoners against race riots at Jackson and Magnolia, Mississippi , 22–23 October 1931. The regiment conducted annual summer training at numerous state and federally-owned locations to include: Camp Williamson, near Vicksburg, Mississippi; Camp Benjamin F. McClellan, near Biloxi, Mississippi ; Camp Shelby , near Hattiesburg, Mississippi ; Camp (later Fort) McClellan , Alabama ; and Camp Beauregard. The 155th Infantry
3162-611: The Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing US$ 1.5 billion in damage (1969 dollars). Mississippi ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , in March 1984, which had already entered into force by August 1920; granting women the right to vote. In 1987, 20 years after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1967's Loving v. Virginia that a similar Virginian law
3255-453: The North. The convention adopted universal suffrage; did away with property qualifications for suffrage or for office, a change that also benefited both blacks and poor whites; provided for the state's first public school system; forbade race distinctions in the possession and inheritance of property; and prohibited limiting civil rights in travel. Under the terms of Reconstruction, Mississippi
3348-566: The Pacific Ocean. The Mississippi Territory was later twice expanded to include disputed territory claimed by both the United States and Spain. From 1800 to about 1830, the United States purchased some lands ( Treaty of Doak's Stand ) from Native American tribes for new settlements of European Americans. The latter were mostly migrants from other Southern states, particularly Virginia and North Carolina, where soils were exhausted. New settlers kept encroaching on Choctaw land, and they pressed
3441-519: The U.S. Armed Forces. Additionally, Camp Blanding serves as a training center for many ROTC units, Army, Navy and Air Force. Jacksonville University and University of South Florida NROTC Battalions continue to conduct their week-long orientation at Camp Blanding each August before the college semester starts. Camp Blanding also hosts the Audie Murphy Field Training Exercise where Army ROTC units from more than
3534-674: The United States completed the purchase of West Florida and all of East Florida in the Adams–Onís Treaty , and in 1822 both were merged into the Florida Territory . After the American Revolution (1775–83), Britain ceded this area to the new United States of America. The Mississippi Territory was organized on April 7, 1798, from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina to the United States. Their original colonial charters theoretically extended west to
3627-574: The arrival of Paleo-Indians , evolving through periods marked by the development of agricultural societies, rise of the Mound Builders , and flourishing of the Mississippian culture . European exploration began with the Spanish in the 16th century, followed by French colonization in the 17th century. Mississippi's strategic location along the Mississippi River made it a site of significant economic and strategic importance, especially during
3720-662: The ballot box and more access to credit, white planters bought out such farmers, expanding their ownership of Delta bottomlands. They also took advantage of new railroads sponsored by the state. Blacks also faced violence in the form of lynching, shooting, and the burning of churches. In 1923, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People stated "the Negro feels that life is not safe in Mississippi and his life may be taken with impunity at any time upon
3813-518: The century. After World War II, African-American veterans returned with renewed commitment to be treated as full citizens of the United States and increasingly organized to gain enforcement of their constitutional rights. The Civil Rights movement had many roots in religion, and the strong community of churches helped supply volunteers and moral purpose for their activism. Mississippi was a center of activity, based in black churches, to educate and register black voters, and to work for integration. In 1954
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3906-427: The country's farm-raised catfish , and is a top producer of sweet potatoes , cotton and pulpwood . Others include advanced manufacturing, utilities , transportation , and health services . Mississippi is almost entirely within the east Gulf Coastal Plain , and generally consists of lowland plains and low hills. The northwest remainder of the state consists of the Mississippi Delta . Mississippi's highest point
3999-499: The early days the French and Spanish colonists were chiefly men. Even as more European women joined the settlements, the men had interracial unions among women of African descent (and increasingly, multiracial descent), both before and after marriages to European women. Often the European men would help their multiracial children get educated or gain apprenticeships for trades, and sometimes they settled property on them; they often freed
4092-432: The ecology of the Mississippi Delta as a whole. After thousands of years, succeeding cultures of the Woodland and Mississippian culture eras developed rich and complex agricultural societies, in which surplus supported the development of specialized trades. Both were mound builder cultures. Those of the Mississippian culture were the largest and most complex, constructed beginning about 950 AD. The peoples had
4185-618: The end of the Civil War to the 1960s, Mississippi was dominated by socially conservative and segregationist Southern Democrats dedicated to upholding white supremacy . Despite progress, Mississippi continues to grapple with challenges related to health, education, and economic development, often ranking among the lowest in the United States in national metrics for wealth, health care quality, and educational attainment. Economically, it relies on agriculture , manufacturing, and an increasing focus on tourism, highlighted by its casinos and historical sites. Mississippi produces more than half of
4278-497: The entire area of present-day Florida . The British assumed control of the French territory after the French and Indian War . During the colonial era , European (chiefly French and Spanish) settlers imported enslaved Africans to work on cash crop plantations . Under French and Spanish rule, there developed a class of free people of color ( gens de couleur libres ), mostly multiracial descendants of European men and enslaved or free black women, and their mixed-race children. In
4371-410: The era of cotton plantation agriculture, which led to its wealth pre-Civil War, but entrenched slavery and racial segregation. On December 10, 1817, Mississippi became the 20th state admitted to the Union. By 1860, Mississippi was the nation's top cotton -producing state and slaves accounted for 55% of the state population. Mississippi declared its secession from the Union on January 9, 1861, and
4464-405: The falling cotton prices of the difficult years of the late 19th century. Cotton prices fell throughout the decades following the Civil War. As another agricultural depression lowered cotton prices into the 1890s, numerous African-American farmers finally had to sell their land to pay off debts, thus losing the land which they had developed by hard, personal labor. Democrats had regained control of
4557-427: The federal government to expel the Native Americans. On September 27, 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed between the U.S. Government and the Choctaw . The Choctaw agreed to sell their traditional homelands in Mississippi and Alabama, for compensation and removal to reservations in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). This opened up land for sale to European-American migrant settlement. Article 14 in
4650-459: The federal government. Additionally, between 1942 and 1946, Camp Blanding hosted a prisoner of war camp which at its peak held 1,200 Germans. It was broken down into fifteen separate smaller camps hosting between 250 and 300 prisoners each. A small cemetery is located on the grounds of the former POW camp, which formerly contained the bodies of six German prisoners who died while held at Camp Blanding between July 1944 and October 1945. In April 1946,
4743-461: The first Mississippi constitutional convention in 1868, with delegates both black and white, framed a constitution whose major elements would be maintained for 22 years. The convention was the first political organization in the state to include African-American representatives, 17 among the 100 members (32 counties had black majorities at the time). Some among the black delegates were freedmen , but others were educated free blacks who had migrated from
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#17327649415214836-603: The first half of the 20th century, African Americans became rapidly urbanized and many worked in industrial jobs. The Second Great Migration included destinations in the West , especially California , where the buildup of the defense industry offered higher-paying jobs to both African Americans and whites. Blacks and whites in Mississippi generated rich, quintessentially American music traditions: gospel music , country music , jazz , blues and rock and roll . All were invented, promulgated or heavily developed by Mississippi musicians, many of them African American, and most came from
4929-599: The integration of some churches, but most today remain divided along racial and cultural lines, having developed different traditions. After the Civil War, most African Americans left white churches to establish their own independent congregations, particularly Baptist churches, establishing state associations and a national association by the end of the 20th century. They wanted to express their own traditions of worship and practice. In more diverse communities, such as Hattiesburg , some churches have multiracial congregations. On August 17, 1969, Category 5 Hurricane Camille hit
5022-445: The joint Army/Air Force 44th Civil Support Team . The base is also a training location for several counter-drug units and law enforcement agencies in Florida and functions as the alternate Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Florida. In 2008, Camp Blanding became host to the Army's latest air assault course in response to the growing need for air assault-trained individuals for the continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also,
5115-477: The land and selling timber, and eventually advance to ownership. The new farmers included many freedmen, who by the late 19th century achieved unusually high rates of land ownership in the Mississippi bottomlands. In the 1870s and 1880s, many black farmers succeeded in gaining land ownership. Around the start of the 20th century, two-thirds of the Mississippi farmers who owned land in the Delta were African American . But many had become overextended with debt during
5208-509: The main combat arms brigade, the 53rd Infantry Brigade of the Florida Army National Guard. It is also home to the headquarters and support companies of the 3- 20th Special Forces Group , the 211th Infantry Regiment , and the 2-111th Airfield Operations Battalion of the 111th Aviation Regiment . Camp Blanding also houses several non-flying units of the Florida Air National Guard, including the 125th Regional Support Group , 202nd RED HORSE Squadron , 159th Weather Flight, 131st Training Flight, and
5301-432: The mothers and their children if enslaved, as part of contracts of plaçage . With this social capital , the free people of color became artisans, and sometimes educated merchants and property owners, forming a third class between the Europeans and most enslaved Africans in the French and Spanish settlements, although not so large a free community as in the city of New Orleans , Louisiana. After Great Britain's victory in
5394-603: The northwest. Mississippi's western boundary is largely defined by the Mississippi River , or its historical course. Mississippi is the 32nd largest by area and 35th-most populous of the 50 U.S. states and has the lowest per-capita income. Jackson is both the state's capital and largest city. Greater Jackson is the state's most populous metropolitan area , with a population of 591,978 in 2020 . Other major cities include Gulfport , Southaven , Hattiesburg , Biloxi , Olive Branch , Tupelo , Meridian , and Greenville . The state's history traces back to around 9500 BC with
5487-401: The number of members as their white Baptist counterparts. The African-American call for social equality resonated throughout the Great Depression in the 1930s and World War II in the 1940s. The Second Great Migration from the South started in the 1940s, lasting until 1970. Almost half a million people left Mississippi in the second migration, three-quarters of them black. Nationwide during
5580-411: The port of Newport News, Virginia , on 31 December 1918 on the USS Princess Matoika , and was demobilized 23 January 1919 at Camp Beauregard , Louisiana . Per the terms of the National Defense Act of 1920 , the 155th Infantry was reconstituted in the National Guard in 1921, assigned to the 39th Division, and allotted to the state of Mississippi. It was reorganized on 2 November 1921 by redesignation of
5673-402: The present day along with memorials to all the units which trained at Camp Blanding during WWII, members of the Florida National Guard who died in service, and several cenotaphs for persons who played significant roles in the history of Camp Blanding and the units associated with the installation. There is also an airpark with several fixed and rotary wing aircraft on display and "Firebase Florida"
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#17327649415215766-417: The remains were removed to Fort Benning, Georgia (now Fort Moore ) as part of a post-war consolidation along with remains from several other small POW cemeteries in the Southeast. Thereafter, the cemetery was closed, however, the original grave markers remain. Additionally five settler-era cemeteries are located on Camp Blanding property. None are maintained, and are heavily overgrown. One, Oak Grove Cemetery,
5859-459: The right to vote, relative freedom from discrimination, and better living. In the migration of 1910–1940, they left a society that had been steadily closing off opportunity. Most migrants from Mississippi took trains directly north to Chicago and often settled near former neighbors. Cotton crops failed due to boll weevil infestation and successive severe flooding in 1912 and 1913, creating crisis conditions for many African Americans. With control of
5952-459: The river in 1863. In the postwar period, freedmen withdrew from white-run churches to set up independent congregations. The majority of blacks left the Southern Baptist Convention , sharply reducing its membership. They created independent black Baptist congregations. By 1895 they had established numerous black Baptist state associations and the National Baptist Convention of black churches. In addition, independent black denominations, such as
6045-462: The same year as the federal Civil Rights Act , but ruled unconstitutional in 1967 by federal courts. Republican Governor Haley Barbour signed the bill into law. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina , though a Category 3 storm upon final landfall, caused even greater destruction across the entire 90 miles (145 km) of the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Alabama. The previous flag of Mississippi , used until June 30, 2020, featured
6138-401: The second state to declare its secession from the Union , and it was one of the founding members of the Confederate States . The first six states to secede were those with the highest number of slaves. During the war, Union and Confederate forces struggled for dominance on the Mississippi River, critical to supply routes and commerce. More than 80,000 Mississippians fought in the Civil War for
6231-489: The severe wealth imbalances among whites, played strong roles both in state politics and in planters' support for secession . Mississippi was a slave society, with the economy dependent on slavery. The state was thinly settled, with population concentrated in the riverfront areas and towns. By 1860, the enslaved African-American population numbered 436,631 or 55% of the state's total of 791,305 persons. Fewer than 1000 were free people of color . The relatively low population of
6324-504: The slightest pretext or provocation by a white man". In the early 20th century, some industries were established in Mississippi, but jobs were generally restricted to whites, including child workers. The lack of jobs also drove some southern whites north to cities such as Chicago and Detroit, seeking employment, where they also competed with European immigrants. The state depended on agriculture, but mechanization put many farm laborers out of work. By 1900, many white ministers, especially in
6417-461: The state before the American Civil War reflected the fact that land and villages were developed only along the riverfronts, which formed the main transportation corridors. Ninety percent of the Delta bottomlands were still frontier and undeveloped. The state needed many more settlers for development. The land further away from the rivers was cleared by freedmen and white migrants during Reconstruction and later. On January 9, 1861, Mississippi became
6510-520: The state had created the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission , a tax-supported agency, chaired by the Governor, that claimed to work for the state's image but effectively spied on activists and passed information to the local White Citizens' Councils to suppress black activism. White Citizens Councils had been formed in many cities and towns to resist integration of schools following the unanimous 1954 United States Supreme Court ruling ( Brown v. Board of Education ) that segregation of public schools
6603-420: The state legislature and governor. Mississippi is bordered to the north by Tennessee , to the east by Alabama , to the south by Louisiana and a narrow coast on the Gulf of Mexico ; and to the west, across the Mississippi River, by Louisiana and Arkansas . Camp Blanding Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is the primary military reservation and training base for the Florida National Guard , both
6696-595: The state legislature in 1875, after a year of expanded violence against blacks and intimidation of whites in what was called the "white line" campaign, based on asserting white supremacy . Democratic whites were well armed and formed paramilitary organizations such as the Red Shirts to suppress black voting. From 1874 to the elections of 1875, they pressured whites to join the Democrats, and conducted violence against blacks in at least 15 known "riots" in cities around
6789-426: The state over the next few years. The loss of political influence contributed to the difficulties of African Americans in their attempts to obtain extended credit in the late 19th century. Together with imposition of Jim Crow and racial segregation laws, whites increased violence against blacks, with lynchings occurring through the period of the 1890s and extending to 1930. In 1900, blacks made up more than half of
6882-565: The state to intimidate blacks. They killed a total of 150 blacks, although other estimates place the death toll at twice as many. A total of three white Republicans and five white Democrats were reported killed. In rural areas, deaths of blacks could be covered up. Riots (better described as massacres of blacks) took place in Vicksburg, Clinton, Macon, and in their counties, as well-armed whites broke up black meetings and lynched known black leaders, destroying local political organizations. Seeing
6975-419: The state with the highest proportion of African-American residents. The state's governance structure is based on the traditional separation of powers, with political trends showing a strong alignment with conservative values. Mississippi boasts a rich cultural heritage, especially in music, being the birthplace of the blues and contributing significantly to the development of the music of the United States as
7068-644: The state's population. By 1910, a majority of black farmers in the Delta had lost their land and became sharecroppers . By 1920, the third generation after freedom, most African Americans in Mississippi were landless laborers again facing poverty. Starting about 1913, tens of thousands of black Americans left Mississippi for the North in the Great Migration to industrial cities such as St. Louis , Chicago , Detroit , Cleveland , Philadelphia and New York . They sought jobs, better education for their children,
7161-720: The state. It was one of the largest training bases in the country. There were several newspapers published at the camp during the war, which helped provide insights into daily life at the camp, such as The Bulletin, the Bayonet, and the Camp Blanding Report. After the war, Camp Blanding was the headquarters of the Military District of Florida and was commanded by Brigadier General Charles S. Kilburn . An expeditionary airfield consisting of two gravel runways capable of accommodating C-130 Hercules aircraft
7254-418: The success of this deliberate " Mississippi Plan ", South Carolina and other states followed it and also achieved white Democratic dominance. In 1877 by a national compromise, the last of federal troops were withdrawn from the region. Even in this environment, black Mississippians continued to be elected to local office. However, black residents were deprived of all political power after white legislators passed
7347-541: The summer and involves a rigorous selection process of 14-16 year olds throughout Florida. YLA exposes students to top-tier law enforcement professionals from across Florida. Camp Blanding was established in 1939 on 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) as a training facility for the Florida National Guard after its previous training base, Camp Foster, on the St. Johns River near Jacksonville had been taken over by
7440-521: The towns, subscribed to the Social Gospel movement, which attempted to apply Christian ethics to social and economic needs of the day. Many strongly supported Prohibition , believing it would help alleviate and prevent many sins. Mississippi became a dry state in 1908 by an act of the state legislature . It remained dry until the legislature passed a local option bill in 1966. African-American Baptist churches grew to include more than twice
7533-661: The treaty allowed those Choctaw who chose to remain in the states to become U.S. citizens, as they were considered to be giving up their tribal membership. They were the second major Native American ethnic group to do so (some Cherokee were the first, who chose to stay in North Carolina and other areas during rather than join the removal). Today their descendants include approximately 9,500 persons identifying as Choctaw, who live in Neshoba, Newton, Leake, and Jones counties. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians reorganized in
7626-445: The vicinity of present-day Ocean Springs on the Gulf Coast. It was settled by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville . In 1716, the French founded Natchez on the Mississippi River (as Fort Rosalie ); it became the dominant town and trading post of the area. The French called the greater territory " New France "; the Spanish continued to claim part of the Gulf coast area (east of Mobile Bay ) of present-day southern Alabama , in addition to
7719-516: The war with Mexico. They acquired this nickname because the regiment was the first in American history to have an official issue rifle ( M1841 Mississippi rifle ) instead of a smoothbore musket. It was at the Battle of Buena Vista when other American units began to be overrun by the Mexicans that Col. Davis gave the order, "Stand fast, Mississippians!" The regiment stood their ground and the battle
7812-637: Was added in the 1970s along with the reactivation of the artillery training range and parachute drop zones. From 2001 until 2008, Camp Blanding was used by the Southeast Region of the Civil Air Patrol to host their Southeast Region Encampment for cadets. The Florida Wing of Civil Air Patrol continues to use Camp Blanding for their wing-level summer cadet encampments. Established in 1990 the Camp Blanding museum and Memorial Park
7905-688: Was established to challenge the all-white Democratic Party of the Solid South . Most white politicians resisted such changes. Chapters of the Ku Klux Klan and its sympathizers used violence against activists, most notably the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in 1964 during the Freedom Summer campaign. This was a catalyst for Congressional passage the following year of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . Mississippi earned
7998-590: Was eventually won. Davis' order later became the regimental motto. Instead of the standard US Army uniform, the regiment was outfitted in red shirts, white duck trousers, and black slouch hats . The unit was instrumental in winning the Battle of Monterrey , and mustered for service in the Spanish–American War . The Mississippi Rifles went with General Pershing's " Punitive Expedition " in Mexico and fought against Pancho Villa in 1916. In World War I, under
8091-535: Was inducted into active federal service at Vicksburg on 20 November 1940 and moved to Camp Blanding , Florida , where it arrived on 21 December 1940. In World War II, the regiment fought with the 31st Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater. During the Korean War the regiment was ordered into federal service but remained stateside, although many members went forward to fight. During the 1950s, all but
8184-523: Was one of the seven original Confederate States , which constituted the largest slaveholding states in the nation. Following the Civil War , it was restored to the Union on February 23, 1870. Mississippi's political and social landscape was dramatically shaped by the Civil War, Reconstruction era , and civil rights movement , with the state playing a pivotal role in the struggle for civil rights. From
8277-559: Was restored to the Union on February 23, 1870. Because the Mississippi Delta contained so much fertile bottomland that had not been developed before the American Civil War, 90 percent of the land was still frontier. After the Civil War, tens of thousands of migrants were attracted to the area by higher wages offered by planters trying to develop land. In addition, black and white workers could earn money by clearing
8370-480: Was sold through treaties until 1826, when the Choctaws and Chickasaws refused to sell more land. The combination of the Mississippi state legislature's abolition of Choctaw Tribal Government in 1829, President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act and the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830, the Choctaw were effectively forced to sell their land and were transported to Oklahoma Territory. The forced migration of
8463-506: Was the first governor. The state was still occupied as ancestral land by several Native American tribes, including Choctaw, Natchez, Houma, Creek, and Chickasaw. Plantations were developed primarily along the major rivers, where the waterfront provided access to the major transportation routes. This is also where early towns developed, linked by the steamboats that carried commercial products and crops to markets. The remainder of Native American ancestral land remained largely undeveloped but
8556-499: Was unconstitutional, Mississippi repealed its ban on interracial marriage (also known as miscegenation ), which had been enacted in 1890. It also repealed the segregationist -era poll tax in 1989. In 1995, the state symbolically ratified the Thirteenth Amendment , which had abolished slavery in 1865. In 2009, the legislature passed a bill to repeal other discriminatory civil rights laws, which had been enacted in 1964,
8649-428: Was unconstitutional. They used intimidation and economic blackmail against activists and suspected activists, including teachers and other professionals. Techniques included loss of jobs and eviction from rental housing. In the summer of 1964 students and community organizers from across the country came to help register black voters in Mississippi and establish Freedom Schools . The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
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