Then, in 1861, Mississippi became the second state to secede from the Union. With approximately 80,000 Mississippians serving in the Confederate Army, the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and Robert E. Lee's surrender on April 9th, 1865, ending the Civil War, were dramatic events for the state ("Chronological History"). These events changed the state politically and socially. In 1868, Mississippi's first bi-racial constitutional convention was formed. Deemed the 'Black and Tan' Convention, the new constitution drafted guaranteed the rights of ex-slaves as well as punished ex-Confederate soldiers. Voters in the state reject the Constitution. The next year, a modified version, not punishing ex-Confederate soldiers, is ratified. This paves the way for readmittance to the Union, on February 23rd, 1870 ("Chronological History"). The 20th century continued with many advancements and challenges for the state.

At the beginning of the century, the boll weevil made its appearance and, in 1907, most of Mississippi's cotton crop was lost to the pest. In 1923, only three years after securing the right to vote, two women join the Mississippi state legislature -- Senator Belle Kearny and Representative Nellie Nugent Somerville. To facilitate navigation of the Mississippi River, and to prevent flooding, Congress authorized a lock and dam system in 1930, which was completed ten years later (Lowry & McCardle). Mississippi's first sales tax went into effect in 1932, and the first oil well was brought in 1939, in Yazoo County. The 1960s saw the first black person, James Meredith, enter University of Mississippi, marking the beginning of the end to segregation in public colleges and university. This decade...

Finch restructured the state's savings and loan associations, which averted financial crisis for Mississippi. Like the economy, Mother Nature too was difficult for Mississippi to deal with in the 1970s. In 1979, the city of Jackson, along with many other towns south along the Pearl River, suffered from devastating flooding ("Chronological History"). However, this flooding was nothing like the devastation the country, and Mississippi, would experience in 2005.
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept across the Gulf States, including Mississippi. Along with its sister states, Louisiana and Arkansas, Mississippi was hit hard. One insurance company alone, Nationwide Insurance, paid out over $270 million in claims in Mississippi ("Nationwide"). More than one million people were displaced by the storm ("Search"). To this day, Mississippi is still trying to recover from the effects and it will continue to affect the state in the near future.

Works Cited

Aubrey, R. A History of Mississippi Baptists, 1780-1970. Jackson, MS: Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, 1971.

Chronological History of Mississippi. 2009. State Handbook & Guide Resources. December 3, 2009 .

Lowry, R. & McCardle, W. A History of Mississippi: From the Discovery of the Great River by Hernando Desoto. New York: Kessinger Publishing, 2007.

Nationwide to Reopen 500 Katrina Cases. 20 Apr 2007. Routers. December…