The history of Mississippi and how it made it today. Mississippi has had a big effect now. There have been many events in Mississippi's history that are still the same today. Mississippi was known for many disasters. There were wars, the first war was between the Indians and the French, the French won and took the land from the Indians, the land on the east side of the Mississippi was given to the English who then lost it to the United States in 1783 after the Revolutionary War. Then there was the Battle of Vicksburg, which marked a very important date in the history of the state of Mississippi. It pays homage to the forces that fought the Confederate Army for 47 consecutive days. Vicksburg National Military Park illustrates the facts to current visitors with many memorials. In 1969, Mississippi and Louisiana were devastated by Camille, one of the worst hurricanes of the century, in 1973 the Mississippi River reached record levels in the state, and in 2005, Mississippi and Louisiana suffered widespread devastation, even greater than that of Camille, when Hurricane Katrina hit both states. Hundreds of people were killed. In 1929 and 1939 there was the Great Depression, many farmers lost their land, this was a major downfall in the history of the state of Mississippi. This left many in poverty. It has pushed Mississippians, predominantly poor and rural, to the point of desperation, and the state's agricultural economy to the brink of disaster. By 1932, cotton fell to five cents a pound, and a quarter of the state's farmland was confiscated for nonpayment of taxes. World War II unleashed the forces that would eventually revolutionize Mississippi's economic, social, and political order, leading the state to its first prosperity in a century. Many farmers were replaced... in the middle of paper... by technological development in fields such as medicine and space exploration. The world's first heart and lung transplants have been performed at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, while the space shuttles' powerful main engines are being tested at the John C. Stennis Space Center on the Mississippi Golf Coast. After all the issues and problems that Mississippi has been through, the state has built itself up over the years. Mississippi has made billions in exports. Mississippi still remains one of the most rural states in the Union. The state has the lowest cost of living in the nation. It has the lowest per capita personal income of any state. Mississippi still has some racial problems today, and African Americans still make up a large portion of the population. Works Cited www.answers.com www.infoplease.com www.destination 360.com www.encyclopedia.com www.e-referencedesk.com