Chapter 3 From Frontier to Statehood

The Ice Ages 1. The first “Americans” migrated from Asia during the Ice Ages, which were periods of severely cold weather when glaciers covered large parts of the earth. A migration is a group of people moving from one place to another. They developed societies based on their natural environment.

MS Early Native American Societies Mississippian Era 900 A.D. – European Explorers Woodland Era 800 – 900 A.D. Farming had become the main way of life. Rivers were used for irrigation and transportation. The societies were mound builders – they built large, flat-top, earthen mounds for religious purposes, burials and the location of village leaders houses. Early Native Americans became less nomadic and began farming. Populations grew as the Native Americans societies became more settled.

Emerald Mound Near Natchez, MS, it’s the second largest Indian mounds in the U.S.

Emerald Mound

Nanih Wayia The sacred mound of the Choctaw tribe.

Mississippi Native American Societies By the time the French arrived in MS late 1600’s, most of the large Native American societies of the Mississippian Era had disappeared. The survivors of those societies had joined together to form smaller tribes. The largest of these tribes were the Choctaw, Chickasaw and the Natchez.

The Choctaw The Choctaw were the largest of the three tribes. Led by a chief called a mingo, they were an agrarian tribe, meaning they relied on agriculture for main source of food. The Choctaw are the only tribe left in MS today.

The Chickasaw Primarily hunters, the Chickasaw were the most mobile and the most warlike of the Mississippi tribes. The Chickasaw were responsible for creating the Natchez Trace.

The Natchez The Natchez were also an agrarian tribe. Of the three largest tribes, the Natchez had the first contact with the French. The Natchez were eventually wiped out by the French.

Read pages 62-63 Create a bubble map to describe the relationship between Native Americans and Europeans

Choctaw allied with the French French and Choctaw vs. British French Lost: French gave all territory east of MS river except N.O. to Great Britain Tribes fought against each other French and Indian War 1754-1763- Fought for control of Ohio and MS River valleys Relationship Between Native Americans and Europeans French and the British fought each other Chickasaw raided Choctaw lands; Choctaw $ French attacked Chickasaw Choctaw allied with the French Natchez and Chickasaw allied with the British

The Native Americans and the French The French treated the Native Americans much better than the Spanish. The French were looking to develop trade with the Native Americans – primarily pelts, which are animal skins. The French were also looking to Christianize the Native Americans. The French learned the customs and languages of the Native Americans and some French men even took Native American women as wives.

Hernando De Soto In 1540, Hernando de Soto explored the southeastern portion of the U.S. for Spain. De Soto was very cruel to the Native American tribes he met. De Soto and the Spanish killed large numbers of Native Americans by giving them diseases that the Spanish were immune to but the Native Americans were not.

d’Iberville D’Iberville was the Frenchman who built Fort Maurepas, which was the first European settlement in MS. Fort Maurepas was located where Ocean Springs, MS, is located today. The region was known as Louisiana, named after King Louis 14th of France.

Fort Maurepas

Bienville Bienville established the French settlement of New Orleans. Bienville also sailed up the MS River and built Fort Rosalie at the present day site of Natchez, MS. Bienville encouraged French settlers to learn the language and customs of the Native Americans because it made trade easier.

The End of the Natchez As more and more French settlers arrived in MS, the relationship between the French and the Natchez became strained. On November 28, 1729, the Natchez attacked Fort Rosalie and the growing town of Natchez – about 250 were killed. In response, the French attacked the Natchez and drove them from MS. Most of the Natchez were either killed by the French or captured and sold into slavery.

The French and Indian War The French and Indian War, a war between France and England, took place between 1754 – 1763. Remember: The French and Choctaw were fighting the British! England won and gained control of all land east of the Mississippi River (except New Orleans). The Natchez District became part of British West Florida.

British Territory after the French and Indian War

The American Revolution On July 4, 1776, the British colonies in America declared their independence from Great Britain. Most of the settlers in Natchez were Loyalists and remained loyal to Great Britain during the war. 3. James Willing, a captain in the Continental Army, sailed down the Mississippi River and seized Natchez.

Spanish Mississippi In 1779, Spain entered the Revolutionary war and captured the Natchez District. After the war, Natchez became part of Spanish Florida. 3. Manuel Luis Gayoso was the Spanish governor of the region and he encouraged U.S. settlers to move into the region.

Natchez Under-the-Hill The Spanish expanded the town of Natchez to the high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. The upper town became the home of the wealthy residents of Natchez. The lower town, or Natchez Under-the-Hill, became the home of gamblers, bandits and fugitives.

Natchez Under-the-Hill

Pinckney’s Treaty Although Spain controlled Natchez, the U.S. claimed it because it had once been part of British territory. 2. Pinckney’s Treaty officially set the U.S.’s southern border at the 31st parallel, giving the U.S. control of Natchez. The treaty also gave the U.S. the right of deposit in New Orleans, allowing them to ship their goods down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, LA.

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 The U.S. government took over the land taken from France and the Northwest Ordinance set up a process to create territories and states out of the new lands. The Mississippi Territory was formed in 1798 and Winthrop Sargent was appointed by John Adams as the territorial governor. The territorial capital of MS was Natchez but was later moved to Washington, MS, which was several miles east of Natchez. (Wanted to get away from the wealthy few in Natchez!)

The Mississippi Territory

Sectionalism in MS 1. Sectionalism refers to an allegiance to local interests. More settlers were moving into eastern MS and they resented Natchez’s control over the territorial government. In 1817, the U.S. Congress divided the MS territory and MS became the 20th state. David Holmes became MS’s first governor and Natchez was the capital. 5. Once the new boundaries were set, a constitution had to be written 6. A constitution sets up the framework of a government and determines its powers and limitations

David Holmes and the state of MS

Under the first constitution: only those who owned property had the right to vote, the number of senators per county were based on the number of white taxable inhabitants and blacks and non-tax paying whites were not counted When the constitution was approved, Mississippi became the 20th state of the United States on December 10th, 1817

How a territory becomes a state President, with approval of Congress appoints a territorial governor, 3 judges, and a secretary to the governor When population reached 5000 adult free men, voters could elect an assembly to pass laws and a territorial delegate to represent them in Congress When population reached 60,000, voters elected delegates to a constitutional convention. They then wrote a constitution After Congress approves Constitution, territory becomes a state Governor and judges acted as the territory’s legislature Governor and judges still appointed