History Mississippi River

1 history

1.1 native americans
1.2 european exploration
1.3 colonization
1.4 steamboat era
1.5 civil war
1.6 20th , 21st centuries
1.7 future

history
native americans


monks mound, platform mound @ site of mississippian city of cahokia.

the area of mississippi river basin first settled hunting , gathering native american peoples , considered 1 of few independent centers of plant domestication in human history. evidence of cultivation of sunflower, goosefoot, marsh elder , indigenous squash dates 4th millennium bce. lifestyle gradually became more settled after around 1000 bce during called woodland period, increasing evidence of shelter construction, pottery, weaving , other practices. network of trade routes referred hopewell interaction sphere active along waterways between 200 , 500 ce, spreading common cultural practices on entire area between gulf of mexico , great lakes. period of more isolated communities followed, , agriculture introduced mesoamerica based on 3 sisters (maize, beans , squash) gradually came dominate. after around 800 ce there arose advanced agricultural society today referred mississippian culture, evidence of highly stratified complex chiefdoms , large population centers. prominent of these, called cahokia, occupied between 600 , 1400 ce , @ peak numbered between 8,000 , 40,000 inhabitants, larger london, england of time. @ time of first contact europeans, cahokia , many other mississippian cities had dispersed, , archaeological finds attest increased social stress.

modern american indian nations inhabiting mississippi basin include cheyenne, sioux, ojibwe, potawatomi, ho-chunk, fox, kickapoo, tamaroa, moingwena, quapaw , chickasaw.

the word mississippi comes messipi, french rendering of anishinaabe (ojibwe or algonquin) name river, misi-ziibi (great river). ojibwe called lake itasca omashkoozo-zaaga igan (elk lake) , river flowing out of omashkoozo-ziibi (elk river). after flowing lake bemidji, ojibwe called river bemijigamaag-ziibi (river traversing lake). after flowing cass lake, name of river changes gaa-miskwaawaakokaag-ziibi (red cedar river) , out of lake winnibigoshish wiinibiigoonzhish-ziibi (miserable wretched dirty water river), gichi-ziibi (big river) after confluence leech lake river, misi-ziibi (great river) after confluence crow wing river. after expeditions giacomo beltrami , henry schoolcraft, longest stream above juncture of crow wing river , gichi-ziibi named mississippi river . mississippi river band of chippewa indians, known gichi-ziibiwininiwag, named after stretch of mississippi river known gichi-ziibi. cheyenne, 1 of earliest inhabitants of upper mississippi river, called máʼxe-éʼometaaʼe (big greasy river) in cheyenne language. arapaho name river beesniicíe. pawnee name kickaátit.

the mississippi spelled mississipi or missisipi during french louisiana , known rivière saint-louis.

european exploration

discovery of mississippi de soto a.d. 1541 william henry powell depicts hernando de soto , spanish conquistadores seeing mississippi river first time.



ca. 1681 map of marquette , jolliet s 1673 expedition.

on may 8, 1541, spanish explorer hernando de soto became first recorded european reach mississippi river, called río del espíritu santo ( river of holy spirit ), in area of mississippi. in spanish, river called río mississippi.

french explorers louis jolliet , jacques marquette began exploring mississippi in 17th century. marquette traveled sioux indian named ne tongo ( big river in sioux language) in 1673. marquette proposed calling river of immaculate conception.

when louis jolliet explored mississippi valley in 17th century, natives guided him quicker way return french canada via illinois river. when found chicago portage, remarked canal of half league (less 2 miles (3.2 km), 3 km) join mississippi , great lakes. in 1848, continental divide separating waters of great lakes , mississippi valley breached illinois , michigan canal via chicago river. both accelerated development, , forever changed ecology of mississippi valley , great lakes.

in 1682, rené-robert cavelier, sieur de la salle , henri de tonti claimed entire mississippi river valley france, calling river colbert river after jean-baptiste colbert , region la louisiane, king louis xiv. on march 2, 1699, pierre le moyne d iberville rediscovered mouth of mississippi, following death of la salle. french built small fort of la balise there control passage.

in 1718, 100 miles (160 km) upriver, new orleans established along river crescent jean-baptiste le moyne, sieur de bienville, construction patterned after 1711 resettlement on mobile bay of mobile, capital of french louisiana @ time.

colonization


a home on mississippi (1871)

following britain s victory in 7 years war mississippi became border between british , spanish empires. treaty of paris (1763) gave great britain rights land east of mississippi , spain rights land west of mississippi. spain ceded florida britain regain cuba, british occupied during war. britain divided territory east , west florida.

article 8 of treaty of paris (1783) states, navigation of river mississippi, source ocean, shall forever remain free , open subjects of great britain , citizens of united states . treaty, ended american revolutionary war, britain ceded west florida spain regain bahamas, spain had occupied during war. in 1800, under duress napoleon of france, spain ceded undefined portion of west florida france. when france sold louisiana territory u.s. in 1803, dispute arose again between spain , u.s. on parts of west florida had spain ceded france, in turn decide parts of west florida u.s. property versus spanish property. these aspirations ended when spain pressured signing pinckney s treaty in 1795.

france reacquired louisiana spain in secret treaty of san ildefonso in 1800. united states secured effective control of river when bought louisiana territory france in louisiana purchase of 1803. last serious european challenge u.s. control of river came @ conclusion of war of 1812 when british forces mounted attack on new orleans – attack repulsed american army under command of general andrew jackson.

in treaty of 1818, u.s. , great britain agreed fix border running lake of woods rocky mountains along 49th parallel north. in effect, u.s. ceded northwestern extremity of mississippi basin british in exchange southern portion of red river basin.

so many settlers traveled westward through mississippi river basin, settled in it, zadok cramer wrote guide book called navigator, detailing features , dangers , navigable waterways of area. popular updated , expanded through 12 editions on period of 25 years.

shifting sand bars made navigation difficult.

the colonization of area barely slowed 3 earthquakes in 1811 , 1812, estimated @ approximately 8 on richter magnitude scale, centered near new madrid, missouri.

steamboat era

mark twain s book, life on mississippi, covered steamboat commerce took place 1830 1870 on river before more modern ships replaced steamer. book published first in serial form in harper s weekly in 7 parts in 1875. full version, including passage unfinished adventures of huckleberry finn , works other authors, published james r. osgood & company in 1885.

the first steamboat travel full length of lower mississippi ohio river new orleans new orleans in december 1811. maiden voyage occurred during series of new madrid earthquakes in 1811–12. upper mississippi treacherous, unpredictable , make traveling worse, area not mapped out or surveyed. until 1840s 2 trips year twin cities landings made steamboats suggests not profitable.

steamboat transport remained viable industry, both in terms of passengers , freight until end of first decade of 20th century. among several mississippi river system steamboat companies noted anchor line, which, 1859 1898, operated luxurious fleet of steamers between st. louis , new orleans.

italian explorer giacomo beltrami, wrote journey on virginia, first steam boat make fort st. anthony in minnesota. referred voyage promenade once journey on mississippi. steamboat era changed economic , political life of mississippi, nature of travel itself. mississippi changed steamboat era transformed flourishing tourists trade.

civil war

battle of vicksburg (ca. 1888)



mississippi river eunice, arkansas, ghost town. eunice destroyed gunboats during civil war.

control of river strategic objective of both sides in american civil war. in 1862 union forces coming down river cleared confederate defenses @ island number 10 , memphis, tennessee, while naval forces coming upriver gulf of mexico captured new orleans, louisiana. remaining major confederate stronghold on heights overlooking river @ vicksburg, mississippi, , union s vicksburg campaign (december 1862 july 1863), , fall of port hudson, completed control of lower mississippi river. union victory ending siege of vicksburg on july 4, 1863, pivotal union s final victory of civil war.

20th , 21st centuries

the big freeze of 1918–19 blocked river traffic north of memphis, tennessee, preventing transportation of coal southern illinois. resulted in widespread shortages, high prices, , rationing of coal in january , february.

in spring of 1927, river broke out of banks in 145 places, during great mississippi flood of 1927 , inundated 27,000 sq mi (70,000 km) depth of 30 feet (9.1 m).

in 1962 , 1963, industrial accidents spilled 3.5 million gallons (13,000,000 l) of soybean oil mississippi , minnesota rivers. oil covered mississippi river st. paul lake pepin, creating ecological disaster , demand control water pollution.

on october 20, 1976, automobile ferry, mv george prince, struck ship traveling upstream ferry attempted cross destrehan, louisiana, luling, louisiana. seventy-eight passengers , crew died; eighteen survived accident.

in 1988, water level of mississippi fell 10 feet (3.0 m) below 0 on memphis gauge. remains of wooden-hulled water craft exposed in area of 4.5 acres (18,000 m) on bottom of mississippi river @ west memphis, arkansas. dated late 19th 20th centuries. state of arkansas, arkansas archeological survey, , arkansas archeological society responded two-month data recovery effort. fieldwork received national media attention news in middle of drought.

the great flood of 1993 significant flood, affecting mississippi above confluence ohio river @ cairo, illinois.

two portions of mississippi designated american heritage rivers in 1997: lower portion around louisiana , tennessee, , upper portion around iowa, illinois, minnesota , missouri. nature conservancy s project called america s rivershed initiative announced report card assessment of entire basin in october 2015 , gave grade of d+. assessment noted aging navigation , flood control infrastructure along multiple environmental problems.

campsite @ river in arkansas

in 2002, slovenian long-distance swimmer martin strel swam entire length of river, minnesota louisiana, on course of 68 days. in 2005, source sea expedition paddled mississippi , atchafalaya rivers benefit audubon society s upper mississippi river campaign.

future

geologists believe lower mississippi take new course gulf. either of 2 new routes—through atchafalaya basin or through lake pontchartrain—might become mississippi s main channel if flood-control structures overtopped or heavily damaged during severe flood.

failure of old river control structure, morganza spillway, or nearby levees re-route main channel of mississippi through louisiana s atchafalaya basin , down atchafalaya river reach gulf of mexico south of morgan city in southern louisiana. route provides more direct path gulf of mexico present mississippi river channel through baton rouge , new orleans. while risk of such diversion present during major flood event, such change has far been prevented active human intervention involving construction, maintenance, , operation of various levees, spillways, , other control structures u.s. army corps of engineers.

the old river control structure complex. view east-southeast, looking downriver on mississippi, 3 dams across channels of atchafalaya river right of mississippi. concordia parish, louisiana in foreground, on right, , wilkinson county, mississippi, in background, across mississippi on left.

the old river control structure, between present mississippi river channel , atchafalaya basin, sits @ normal water elevation , ordinarily used divert 30% of mississippi s flow atchafalaya river. there steep drop here away mississippi s main channel atchafalaya basin. if facility fail during major flood, there strong concern water scour , erode river bottom enough capture mississippi s main channel. structure lost during 1973 flood, repairs , improvements made after engineers studied forces @ play. in particular, corps of engineers made many improvements , constructed additional facilities routing water through vicinity. these additional facilities give corps more flexibility , potential flow capacity had in 1973, further reduces risk of catastrophic failure in area during other major floods, such of 2011.

because morganza spillway higher , river, dry on both sides. if failed @ crest during severe flood, flood waters have erode normal water levels before mississippi permanently jump channel @ location. during 2011 floods, corps of engineers opened morganza spillway 1/4 of capacity allow 150,000 ft/sec of water flood morganza , atchafalaya floodways , continue directly gulf of mexico, bypassing baton rouge , new orleans. in addition reducing mississippi river crest downstream, diversion reduced chances of channel change reducing stress on other elements of control system.

some geologists have noted possibility course change atchafalaya exists in area north of old river control structure. army corps of engineers geologist fred smith once stated, mississippi wants go west. 1973 forty-year flood. big 1 lies out there somewhere—when structures can t release floodwaters , levee going have give way. when river s going jump banks , try break through.

another possible course change mississippi river diversion lake pontchartrain near new orleans. route controlled bonnet carré spillway, built reduce flooding in new orleans. spillway , imperfect natural levee 4–6 meters (12 20 feet) high prevents mississippi taking new, shorter course through lake pontchartrain gulf of mexico. diversion of mississippi s main channel through lake pontchartrain have consequences similar atchafalaya diversion, lesser extent, since present river channel remain in use past baton rouge , new orleans area.