The History of Mississippi

The state of Mississippi is located in America's Deep South, bordered by Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas. During the 1800s, black slaves were used to tend to the farming land that was owned by Mississippi's white citizens. By 1860, these slaves accounted for 55% of the state's population. On January 9, 1861, Mississippi declared secession from the US Union and became one of America's original Confederate states. In 1865, when the Confederacy was defeated and the Civil War ended, slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The state continued to face intense interracial conflict during the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century.