List of Illustrations vii

Preface and Acknowledgments xi

Map: Mississippi's Place in the United States xiii

Map: The State of Mississippi xiv

1 Mississippi: The Name and the Place 1

2 Two Worlds Collide: Spanish Explorers and American Indians 10

3 French Colonies 23

4 The British Period, 1763-1781 37

5 Spanish Rule, 1781-1798 45

6 The Territorial Period, 1798-1817 54

7 The New State, 1817-1832 69

8 Antebellum Politics 89

9 Antebellum Life 100

10 Mounting Sectional Strife 121

11 Secession and Civil War 132

12 Reconstruction in Mississippi 152

13 Bourbons and Populists 169

14 Into the Twentieth Century: Economic and Social Trends 187

15 Progressive "Rednecks" 205

16 A New Era: The 1920s 219

17 The Depression Years 234

18 A Rich Cultural Heritage 247

19 The World War II Era 269

20 The 1950s 282

21 Religious Life 296

22 The Second Reconstruction 308

23 Times of Transition 330

24 The Social Environment 350

25 Recent Political Trends 365

26 Tumultuous Trends in Education 380

27 Recent Economic Trends 400

28 Into the Twenty-First Century 424

29 Living in the Twenty-First Century 442

Appendix I: European Rulers with Relation to Mississippi During the Colonial and Territorial Periods 463

Appendix II: Members of the U.S. Congress, 1817-1861 467

Appendix III: Mississippi Symbols and Facts 481

Appendix IV: Total Population, 1800-2010 482

Appendix V: Racial Population Changes, 1800-2010 483

Selected Bibliography of Mississippi History 485

Index 496