The Road To Statehood

1
The Road To Statehood

• Chapter 3

2
Terms to Know

• Mound-builders Maize
• Clan Exogamy
• Polygamy Treaty
• Northwest Ordinance Sectionalism
• Constitution

3
People

• Hernando de Soto Rene Robert
  Cavelier
• Sieur de La Salle
  Henry de Tonti
• Pierre le Moyne
  Sieur deIberville
• Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur
  dBienville
• Winthrop Sargent David
  Holmes

4
Places

• Rosedale
• Fort Maurepas
• Fort Rosalie
• Natchez District
• Natchez Trace
• Washington

5
Early Mississippians

• Native Americans reached this part of North
  America tens of thousands of years ago.
• They hunted wild animals, foraged for food, and
  raised crops
• What does the fact that they farmed tell you?
• The Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Natchez were
  descendants of those early Native Americans.
• These were the largest tribes in the Mississippi
  region when Europeans and Africans began to
  arrive.
• Places like Yazoo and Biloxi are derived from
  Indian tribe names.

6
First Europeans

• The Spanish and the French were the first to
  explore Mississippi.
• Hernando de Soto discovered the Mississippi River
  but died while searching for treasure.
• The French travelled the river trading furs and
  proselytizing.

7
Settlement

• The French settled Natchez, beside the
  Mississippi River.
• Later the British, Spanish and Americans shared
  this region with the Choctaw.
• In 1798 the U.S. created the Ms Territory to
  encourage the orderly settlement of this part of
  the frontier

8
Early Native Americans

• How did they get here?
• See Handout

9
History of early Native Americans is divided into
four periods
10
Paleo Period

• Ice Age Period ended around 12,000 years ago
• Siberian land bridge vs French fishermen
• Archeologists have found few traces of Paleo
  Indians in Mississippi

11
Archaic Period

• The climate became warmer and drier
• Large animals died out
• Native Americans became less nomadic
• They hunted, fished and gathered nuts and berries
• No writing system
• Used stone tools

12
Woodland Period

• Developed highly organized societies in the
  Mississippi and Ohio River valleys
• Built burial mounds over tombs sometimes shaping
  them like birds and animals (Moundbuilders)
• Learned how to farm and used copper and stone
  tools suggesting a wide-ranging trade system
• Villages became larger and politically linked.
• Began using bow and arrow

13
Mississippian Period
14
Mississippian Period

• Continued moundbuilding tradition however,
  instead of burial mounds, they built religious
  buildings and the homes of the chiefs on top of
  their flat, rectangular mounds
• Existed between the 8th and 17th centuries
• Found all throughout the southeastern U.S.
• The second largest mound is located in Natchez
• Many others are spread across the state
• In some cases, like Natchez, mounds were built in
  stages and some were multiple mounds. One was the
  base for a temple where elders bones were buried
• Built villages surrounded by wooden fences.
• Grew corn, squash, beans

15
Mounbuilders
16
Native American Societies

• Most were very small societies (Choula,
  Pascagoula, Tunica, and Biloxi)
• The largest were the Chickasaw, Choctaw and
  Natchez
• All Mississippi Native American languages were
  similar to others in the southeast EXCEPT for the
  Biloxi
• Most southeastern Native American tribes shared
  similar religious beliefs.
• Each village governed itself and sent
  representatives to the tribal councils.
• A strict chain of command was established and
  regulated issues like seating at councils,
  titles, and even tattoos

17
Native American Societies (cont)

• The Choctaw (18th Century) had a main chief and
  six lesser chiefs. They also had the Mingo Oumu
  (War Chief) and the Tichou Mingo (Spokesperson)
• Within each village resided several clans (Groups
  of related families)
• These clans punished crimes and protected members
  of the clan
• If necessary, it sought revenge for the murder of
  other clansmen.
• The clan approved marriages which ALWAYS crossed
  clan lines. (Marrying outside ones own clan is
  called Exogamy)
• When a couple married they lived close to the
  wifes family.

18
Native American Society (cont)

• Any children were considered of the wifes clan.
• In this society the closest MALE relative of a
  child was considered to be the mothers brother
  NOT his own father.
• Men held the important political and religious
  positions in the society
• Occasionally, a man had more than one wife
  (Polygamy) and the two wives were usually
  sisters.
• They built close to rivers and streams because it
  was easier to farm and irrigate.
• Women did most of the farming, although the men
  cleared the land.
• Crops included Maize, Pumpkin, Beans, and Peas.

19
Native American Society (cont)

• Women made pottery, gathered food, farmed,
  fished, and tanned hides
• Men constructed buildings, hunted deer and bear,
  and fought other tribes.
• Religion centered on the sun and sacred fires
  which represented the sun on Earth.
• They believed in spirits and gods associated with
  nature and animals.

20
Native American Wide World of Sports

• Their sport was stickball. It was associated with
  religion also. It was called Ishtohbohl and
  accompanied by ceremonies and sometimes ritual
  sacrifice (Maya and Aztec)
• Ishtohbohl was always a contest between villages.
  
• The object was to throw or carry a ball between
  two goal posts. (Remind you of anything?
• The ball could only be touched by rackets.
• Virtually the only rule was that each team had to
  have the same number of players.
• They also played Chunky with a round stone.

21
Native American Rulers

• The Natchez lived between Warren and Wilkinson.
• Their ruler was known as the Great Sun.
• Had both political and religious authority.
• He rode around in a litter and had multiple
  wives.
• When he died, some of his wives and other members
  of the tribe were killed and buried with him.
• This unquestioned authority of the Great Sun made
  a deep impression on the French explorers who
  arrived in the New World.

22
European Explorers
23
Periods of European Expansion

• Four periods of European, overseas expansion
• Initial period of expansion
• Fifteenth through seventeenth centuries
• Colonial trade rivalry England, Spain, France
• Seventeenth through early nineteenth century
• New empires in Africa and Asia
• Nineteenth century
• Decolonization mid-twentieth century

24
European Explorers

• Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in
  1492 and sparked the European exploration of the
  Americas.
• Explorers were followed by Settlers.
• This story is full of excitement, adventure, and
  triumph, As Well As, despair, disappointment,
  defeat, catastrophe, and death.

25
(No Transcript)
26
Spanish Explorers

• The Spanish were the first to visit Mississippi
  between 1539-1542.
• Hernando de Soto explored the southeastern part
  of North America
• He was after Gold and Silver

27
Hernando de Soto

• Expeditions included six hundred soldiers, many
  on horseback.
• They brought hogs with them as a source for food.
• The Spanish introduced both hogs and horses to
  North America
• He landed near Tampa, Fl
• He explored as far North as North Carolina
• He then turned West and South
• He held Indian Chiefs hostage to secure labor,
  supplies and information
• In 1540 near Mobile he was attacked but the
  natives did not know how to fight cavalry and
  they were defeated
• He then led his forces into Mississippi.

28
Hernando de Soto

• In 1541, another attack by Native Americans
  forced the expedition further west.
• In May, the weary soldiers reached the
  Mississippi River, built boats and crossed it.
• The exact site has not been determined. Possibly
  Memphis
• He died in 1542. His men buried him and then
  tried to walk to Mexico.
• That turned out to be too difficult so they
  returned to the Mississippi River and built boats
  again.
• They were often pursued by Native Americans and
  many died
• The survivors reached the Gulf of Mexico and
  sailed along the coast to Mexico.
• Less than half survived the expedition.

29
Effects of de Soto

• The Spanish did not return.
• They found no Gold
• They were constantly harassed by the natives
• The most profound effect was unexpected...Disease
  spread to Native Americans for which they had NO
  immunity.
• The extensive trade routes spread the diseases
  quickly.
• The population of the Native Americans
  dramatically decreased because of the diseases.
• It is estimated that the population of Native
  Americans decreased by 50 in the century and a
  half after Columbus landed.

30
The Columbian Exchange

• Massive movement and interaction of biological
  organisms after Columbus
• People, plants, animals, diseases
• Between Europe, Americas, Africa
• Shapes world up to present

31
(No Transcript)
32
French Explorers

• The French were next to explore Mississippi
• They settled in Quebec in 1608.
• They utilized the rivers and lakes to explore
• Searched for a water route to the Pacific
• Were most interested in fur trading and
  proselytizing.

33
Louis Jolliet and Jaques Marquette

• In 1673, sailed down the Mississippi River.
• Reached present-day Rosedale before realizing
  that the Ms. River flowed to the Gulf NOT the
  Pacific
• They turned around once they realized this

34
Rene Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, and Henry de
Tonti

• In 1682, they came down the Ms. River and claimed
  the region for France
• They befriended the Natchez Indians near
  Vicksburg
• La Salle returned to the region and tried to
  establish a settlement at the mouth of the Ms.
  River
• He died trying

35
Tonti

• Made several trips up and down the Ms. River
  looking for La Salle, even leaving a letter for
  him with the Native Americans at the mouth of the
  Ms. River

36
Settlement

• Spain, England and France established colonial
  Settlements in Eastern North America.
• Spanish were in Florida
• English were along the East Coast from New
  Hampshire to Georgia
• French were in Canada
• These Countries competed for colonies and fought
  wars for control of the world

37
European Wars

• These wars had three major consequences
• 1. The territory of each country changed
• 2. The colonists in America sought allies among
  the Native Americans and different tribes
  supported different countries
• 3. Mississippi was ruled first by the French,
  then by the English and finally by the Spanish.
• The United States did not gain control of
  Mississippi until 1798.

38
French Settlement

• From their base in Quebec, the French tried to
  control the interior of North America
• Wanted to dominate the fur trade
• Wanted to confine the English to the East Coast
• In order to do that, they had to control the Ohio
  and Ms. River valleys

39
Sieur dIberville

• In 1699, the French sent dIberville of Canada to
  the Gulf of Mexico to establish a colony.
• Finding the Spanish firmly established in
  Pensacola, he continued west, looking for a good
  site.
• He reached Ship Island and then landed on the
  mainland on February 13, 1699.
• By March he located the mouth of the Mississippi
  River
• He travelled up river past Baton Rouge and met
  with the tribe Tonti left the La Salle letter
  with 15 years earlier.
• He sailed back to Ship Island and then built Fort
  Maurepas on the present site of Ocean Springs.
• This was the first European settlement in
  Mississippi.
• He left 80 men, his brother Jean-Baptiste le
  Moyne and Sieur dBienville.

40
Louisiana

• Iberville made several more trips to the Gulf
  Coast before dying in 1706
• On one of those trips he established Mobile.
• He abandoned Fort Maurepas because of its poor
  water supply, few trading partners, poor soil and
  no access to the interior. Basically....It
  Sucked!
• Bienville governed and defended the settlements
  while Iberville was away and established the
  settlement of New Orleans in 1718.

41
French Incursions

• French Canadians traveled up and down the Ms
  River and many were attacked along the way
• Bienville sailed up-river and took several chiefs
  hostage until the perpetrators had been captured
  and put to death.
• He built Fort Rosalie in 1716, at the present
  site of Natchez and Fort St. Pierre where the
  Yazoo River joined the Ms. River at present-day
  Vicksburg
• A small community developed around Fort Rosalie
  and prospered until 1729.

42
The Massacre at Fort Rosalie

• The local governor demanded that the Natchez
  surrender a nearby village.
• In response, they attacked the fort, killed two
  hundred French, and freed nearly 300 black slaves
• The French retaliated with the help of the
  Choctaw, destroying the Natchez as a separate
  tribe.
• Those that survived fled north to the Chickasaw.

43
Native Americans and Europeans

• The relationship between Native Americans and
  Europeans is a complex subject.
• Native Americans were NOT united among themselves
  and often at war with one another.

44
Understanding Indian Politics

• Meanwhile the French and British were almost
  always at war with one another.
• In America each side bought allies with trade
  goods, especially guns and gunpowder.
• The Choctaw sided with the French
• The Natchez, Chickasaw and Creek sided with the
  British
• The Chickasaw raided Choctaw lands, captured them
  and took them to Charlestown, SC to be sold as
  slaves.
• The Choctaw, in turn, attacked the Chickasaw near
  Tupelo with French help, but were defeated.

45
Mid 18th Century

• War again broke out between France and Great
  Britain
• However, this time, the war started in America
• Known as the French and Indian War here
  (1754-1763) was fought to see who would control
  the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys
• Most of the fighting took place north of
  Mississippi
• Although the Choctaw fought a civil war between
  supporters of the French and those of the British
• The French supporters of the Choctaw won
• France lost the greater war
• France gave up all territory east of the Ms River
  at the Treaty of Paris, 1763.

46
Definition

• Treaty
• A Formal agreement between two or more nations.

47
British Mississippi

• The British influenced Mississippi before 1763
• British traders from Charleston had travelled
  among the Choctaw and Chickasaw for decades,
  although the Choctaw preferred the French
• After 1763, Mississippi was an official part of
  the province of West Florida
• It was an unimportant and remote portion of the
  British Empire
• The Capital was Pensacola
• The colony of Georgia claimed the region
• Britain encouraged settlement in West Florida and
  the Natchez area
• Veterans of the war received land grants.

48
British Mississippi

• By 1774, 3000 settlers had taken up residence in
  the Natchez district
• Relations soured between Great Britain and her
  colonies
• July 4, 1776 the colonists declared independence
  from Britain
• Not until 1778 did it affect the Natchez district
• James Willing travelled down the Mississippi
  River and seized territory in the Natchez
  district and then continued on to New Orleans.
• Spain declared war on Great Britain and captured
  Natchez in September 1779
• In 1783, The Treaty of Paris ended the
  Revolutionary War placing the border at 31
  degrees north latitude although Spain held on to
  Natchez

49
Spanish Mississippi

• The district prospered under Spanish rule
• The population tripled between 1785-1798 (2000
  people-6,900 people)
• The Spanish Governor encouraged American
  immigration to the district and even gave
  generous land grants and was tolerant of
  Protestant religions
• Originally, the land was wooded but once cleared
  it was quite fertile
• Tobacco and indigo were important but COTTON
  became the best cash crop
• In 1800 the district exported 3 million pounds
  (1/6th the total exports of all the Americas that
  year)

50
Spanish Mississippi

• Farmers in the district grew corn, feeding people
  and animals.
• Hogs and cattle were also raised
• The cattle drives of Texas had their origins in
  Mississippi
• Spain controlled the district but the U.S.
  claimed it as its own
• This issue was known as the Right of Deposit
• Getting goods to market was a huge problem
• Traveling by road, if any existed in an area, was
  slow
• So it became important to send goods down the
  rivers to New Orleans for export

51
Pinckneys Treaty

• Also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo
• Granted the right of Americans to deposit their
  goods in New Orleans
• Spain surrendered its hold over the Natchez
  district
• The U.S. took control over the region in 1798.

52
The Mississippi Territory
53
Mississippi Territory

• When the U.S. began governing the territory
  Native Americans made up the largest segment of
  the population
• They had title to most of the land
• It was mainly wooded and home to deer, turkey and
  bear
• Many snakes, some deadly, could be found
  throughout the territory
• Roads were little more than trails
• There were no bridges
• The Natchez Trace was the Highway to Nashville
• Stands along the Trace served as stores and
  Motels for weary travelers
• Natchez was a center of trade and commerce and a
  major port for sailors and goods

54
Territorial Government

• The NorthWest Ordinance of 1787 established the
  framework for the government of the territories.
• The Ordinance provided for the admission of new
  states
• The exception was that it did NOT allow for
  slavery but the territories south of the Ohio
  River did allow slavery.

55
The Admission Process

• Had 3 Stages
• 1. The President, with Congressional approval,
  appointed a territorial governor, 3 judges and a
  secretary to the governor.
• The Governor and Judges acted as a territorial
  legislature.
• Once the population of adult, free, men reached
  5,000 phase 2 began
• 2. The voters could now elect an assembly to pass
  laws and a territorial representative to
  Congress. The governor and judges remained.
• 3. Began when the territory had 60,000 people
  (excluding Indians) Representatives were elected
  to write a state constitution. After Congress
  approved it, a new state was admitted.

56
Mississippis First Government

• Territorial Governor
• Winthrop Sargent
• Secretary to the Governor
• John Steele
• Territorial Judges
• Peter Bryan Bruin
• Daniel Tilton
• William McGuire

57
Early Problems

• Sargent almost immediately became controversial
• Disputes centered on the laws he imposed and the
  strict nature of his administration.
• The National political climate drove much of the
  controversy.
• Federalists vs Republicans
• Federalists led by Thomas Jefferson and James
  Madison
• Republicans led by John Adams and Alexander
  Hamilton
• Sargent was a federalist
• His opponents in the state were Jeffersonians
• There was also a huge rift between merchants in
  Natchez and their rural customers.

58
Change in Government

• After Jefferson won the Presidency he appointed a
  new Governor (W.C.C. Claiborne) and moved the
  Capital from Natchez to the town of Washington to
  appease the farmers. It was highly symbolic.

59
Land

• Ownership of the land in the territory was a
  major issue.
• Most of the land was owned by the Choctaw and
  Chickasaw tribes
• Pressure grew on the U.S. to acquire the land.

60
Land

• Settlers held title to the land from all three
  previous ruling countries France, Spain and
  Britain
• Others had purchased land grants from Georgia
• Often these claims overlapped causing confusion
• Many settlers were Squatters and had cleared and
  farmed the land, built homes but did not own it.
• The U.S. government had developed an orderly
  process to gain land ownership with the Land
  Ordinance of 1785.
• Land was divided into townships
• Each township was 6 miles square with 36
  sections. Each section was 640 acres
• Section 16 was given to the people to rent

61
Sectionalism

• Definition An allegiance to local interests.
• The Natchez district dominated the politics of
  the territory.
• Settlers East of the Pearle River resented the
  Natchez district and its power
• Whites in the East believed that the Natchez
  whites used their wealth and slaves to run the
  territorial government for their own benefit.
• Conflicts arose between whites and then between
  predominantly white districts and those with
  African Americans and would continue throughout
  the history of the state

62
Taking Shape

• In 1804, the territory was extended to the
  Tennessee border after Georgia gave up its
  claims.
• The southern border was extended after the U.S.
  won the war of 1812 and Spain was forced to give
  up its claims
• Mississippis territorial period only lasted
  about twenty years but was an exciting era
• Personal quarrels often led to duels and death.
• During the War of 1812 the U.S. fought the Creek
  Indians in the Eastern part of the territory.
• The Creek attack on Fort Mims resulted in the
  deaths of over 500 men, women and children.
  Settlers fled to Mobile and Natchez.
• Andrew Jackson defeated the Creeks and reopened
  the land

63
Statehood

• Dividing the state and joining the Union

64
Statehood

• Congress divided the state in two in 1817
  creating Alabama.
• Once Congress established the borders a
  constitution was written.
• Definition
• Constitution...Sets up the framework of a
  government and determines its powers and
  limitations.
• The legislative branch was given more power than
  the executive because of the territorys history
  with overzealous governors.
• Judges were appointed for life.
• Property owners could vote.
• Blacks and non-taxpaying-whites were not counted.

65
Did You Know?

• The delegates to the constitutional convention
  did not submit the new constitution to the voters
  but sent it to the federal government for
  approval.
• Upon approval, Mississippi became the 20th state
  on December 10, 1817.
• David Holmes became the first Governor.

66
End Chapter 3