C HAPTER 4: P OLITICS, S LAVERY AND A NTEBELLUM S OCIETY Titan Blaster #3: Complete the four “It’s Your Turn” questions on page 80.

P OLITICS Politics cause divisions within societies. Antebellum means before the war. In Mississippi, politics of opinion led to the capital being moved from Natchez to Washington even though most Mississippians lived near Natchez.

P OLITICS Shortly after moving to Washington, the legislature believed it was too small. Jackson was created specifically to be our state capital in The original name of Jackson was LeFleur’s Bluff. It was renamed after Andrew Jackson. All the streets were planned out.

T HE C ONSTITUTION OF 1832 Property ownership was erased as a requirement to vote. Any adult white male could vote and hold office. Poor and uneducated whites usually elected rich whites into office.

T HE C ONSTITUTION OF 1832 An example of this was Andrew Jackson. He was not born wealthy and had little education. He became a lawyer, a wealthy land owner and was the hero of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

T HE C ONSTITUTION OF 1832 Most state officials were elected. The importing of slaves was banned if they were going to be sold. This was made a law but never enforced.

T HE C ONSTITUTION OF 1832 The Constitution of 1832 showed that slavery was a troubling issue, but necessary to Mississippi’s economy. Some people did not think owning other people was right (immoral). Some feared slave revolt. Other people knew there was two white classes: wealthy slave owners and the poor.

L OCAL G OVERNMENT County government met most of the needs of the citizens. After 1832, an elected board of police ran each county. The board levied taxes, imposed special taxes to build courthouses and jails and to support the poor. The board appointed supervisors to build and maintain roads and bridges. It gave licenses to sell alcohol and run motels. It supported schools for white children. County sheriffs enforced the law.

C HAPTER 4: P OLITICS, S LAVERY AND A NTEBELLUM S OCIETY Titan Blaster #4: List four things that the board of police were responsible for running in each county.

A CQUIRING I NDIAN L ANDS In order for the new state to prosper and grow, the land and people had to be civilized. That meant the removal of the Indians who lived here. Traders opposed this. The US government had a theory called assimilation. If the Indians could adjust to farming rather than just hunting, they would need less land. The Native Americans could not adjust as quickly as was required.

A CQUIRING I NDIAN L ANDS Shawnee chief Tecumseh tried to unite all Native Americans to resist white movement into Indian lands. Choctaw chief Pushmataha convinced his people not to join. Shortly thereafter, Tecumseh was killed and the organized Indian threat was over.

T REATIES TO ACQUIRE I NDIAN LANDS Treaty of Fort Adams – Choctaw ceded 3 million acres of land. The US built the Natchez Trace. The Treaty of Mount Dexter – Choctaw ceded 4 million more acres in MS. They had their debts voided and pensions given to Indian leaders. Treaty of Doak’s Stand – Choctaw gave more land including Jackson area, but were not happy with the land out west that they were to receive.

T REATIES TO ACQUIRE I NDIAN LANDS Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek – Ceded the last 10 million acres and agreed to move to Oklahoma. The voyage to OK was called the Trail of Tears. Treaty of Pontotoc Creek – Removed the Chickasaw from North MS.

C HAPTER 4: P OLITICS, S LAVERY AND A NTEBELLUM S OCIETY Titan Blaster #5 – Turn in all 5: Complete the three “It’s Your Turn” questions on page 85.

S LAVERY IN M ISSISSIPPI Slaves were introduced to Mississippi by the French. The Black Code of 1724 gave the rules for owning slaves to the Louisiana/MS territory.

S LAVERY IN M ISSISSIPPI The code restricted slaves from owning anything, traveling, and assembling together. It did not address voting. They just couldn’t vote.

S LAVERY IN M ISSISSIPPI Slaves were generally kept on plantations or large farms. More slaves came to MS during the American Revolution because English loyalists escaped down here.

S LAVERY IN M ISSISSIPPI Slaves were used to grow and collect the cotton crops. The only slaves with any education were the skilled laborers.

T HE S LAVE C OMMUNITY According to the laws of Mississippi, slaves were the property of their masters. They had no rights.

T HE S LAVE C OMMUNITY Families could be broken up at any time. Slaves were forbidden from learning to read or write, although many did.

T HE S LAVE C OMMUNITY Many slaves adopted Christianity. Slave owners saw religion as a way to control slaves. Slaves saw it as a path to freedom. Many owners and overseers were poisoned.

T HE S LAVE C OMMUNITY There were no slave rebellions in MS. Slaves could only be freed if their owners gave them enough money to leave the state.

F REE B LACKS Not all blacks in Mississippi were slaves. William Johnson of Natchez was a barber who owned lots in town, a farm, and slaves. He was murdered by a white man in the presence of more than two dozen slaves. No one was charged since there were no witnesses. Slaves could not testify in court.

C HAPTER 4: P OLITICS, S LAVERY AND A NTEBELLUM S OCIETY Titan Blaster #1: Complete the three “It’s Your Turn” questions on page 98.

An interview with Fountain Hughes, a 101- year old former slave, taken in 1949.

A NTEBELLUM M ISSISSIPPI S OCIETY The state’s population grew faster than the nation’s when the Native Americans left. Land was cheap. Banks gave out more paper money than they had specie, gold and silver, to cover it.

A NTEBELLUM M ISSISSIPPI S OCIETY President Jackson was popular in MS, but his policies were destroying our economy. Jackson had all the federal money moved to “pet banks” because they were state owned and friendly to him.

T HE P ANIC OF 1837 State banks were required to pay debts in specie. When they did not have enough, they folded. Cotton prices fell and banks closed.

T RANSPORTATION, EDUCATION AND RELIGION The most successful line was the Vicksburg-Jackson line. The main service of the railroads was moving cotton to ports. The railroad came to Mississippi making Meridian a major city.

T RANSPORTATION, EDUCATION AND RELIGION Original schools in Mississippi only had terms of three months. Only 1/3 of the white children attended. Ole Miss was opened in 1840, but closed during the Civil War because most of the students and teachers joined the Confederate army. Most people were Baptists and Methodists.