Bridging Hardship, 1928-1945

OVERVIEW

While the nation was transformed economically by the Second World War effort, individual states were changed as well. Evidence of this transformation can still be seen within Mississippi through the state’s military facilities and manufacturing companies. These types of industries were created for national defense during World War II and still impact the state’s economy today.

CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

Mississippi Studies Framework: Competencies 1, 2, 3, and 4

TEACHING LEVELS

Grades 7 through 12

OVERVIEW

1927—what a year! Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris, Babe Ruth hit sixty home runs, and the first talking movie was released. Perhaps of even more significance to citizens who lived along the Mississippi River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also had announced its certainty that the levee system along the Mississippi River would prevent future floods.

OVERVIEW

One of the primary goals of Mississippi governors and politicians of the 1930s was to stimulate economic growth in the state. Columbia's mayor, Hugh White, was elected governor of Mississippi in 1935. His political aspirations included developing the economic industrial base of the state through a plan that became known as BAWI (Balance Agriculture with Industry).  Even though few of the firms that were established under White's plan still exist, this economic vision acted as a catalyst in changing economic goals for a historically agricultural state.

OVERVIEW

It is difficult for today’s students to grasp the dire predicament of most Mississippians who lived during the Depression Era. Study of the events of that period will give students a useful historical base, but it alone cannot be expected to engender in them a deep understanding of the severity of the period. However, an examination of the lives of ordinary citizens as they shared their desperation in letters to their congressman will enable students to gain a clearer picture of the times. As students read the correspondence between Congressman William M.

OVERVIEW

In the mid-1930s, a visionary experiment in biracial living was begun in the Mississippi Delta.

OVERVIEW

In the 19th century, a large seafood industry developed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast due in large part to new canning methods, production of commercial ice, financial investors, and the development of the railroad in the region. By the early 1900s, the coastal city of Biloxi became known as the “Seafood Capital of the World.” Workers migrated to the city for seasonal work in the factories, settled in the area, and added to the cultural landscape.

OVERVIEW

Throughout the school year, students will analyze Mississippi's four constitutions to determine the various forces that influenced the writing of each one. They will identify specific examples in the documents that indicate how the writers responded to those forces. Students will seek to answer these questions:

• How do the "times" affect the writing of a constitution?
• Does it matter who writes a constitution?

CONNECTION TO STANDARDS

Mississippi Studies Framework: Competencies 1,3,4; Objectives 01, 03.

OVERVIEW

Religion and politics are topics often hotly debated by Mississippians and just as often, deliberately avoided in conversation. This lesson will explore the story of religious groups in the state, beginning with the French and Spanish periods and concluding with the current perception of Mississippi as part of a regional “Bible Belt.” Students will be encouraged to examine relationships between religious beliefs through the years and prevailing societal realities.

CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

Mississippi Studies Framework: Competencies 1 and 3.

GUIDING QUESTION

Historically, how do the voters of Mississippi vote in presidential elections?

CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

Mississippi Studies Framework Competencies:

1. Explain how politics have influenced the development of Mississippi.
2. Demonstrate the ability to use graphic tools.
3. Explain how civic responsibilities are important to Mississippians as citizens of the United States.

TEACHING LEVELS

Grades 7 through 12.

OVERVIEW

Much of the story of Mississippi’s people, both past and present, has focused on, as Willie Morris writes, her two great blood sources: Great Britain and West Africa. (Morris, My Mississippi , p.