Mississippi

Mississippi is a Deep South US state along the river that shares its name, known for its agricultural heritage and as the birthplace of the blues. Its capital and largest city is Jackson. Nicknamed the Magnolia State, it holds a central place in the cultural and difficult racial history of the American South.

Mississippi is largely low and fertile, dominated by the flat, rich Mississippi Delta in the northwest, with pine forests in the south and a short Gulf of Mexico coastline. The Mississippi River forms its western boundary. The climate is humid subtropical.

Mississippi is the cradle of the blues, born in the Delta, and a deep wellspring of American literature, music and cuisine. Southern traditions, church life and a strong storytelling heritage define its culture.

Home to the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez peoples, Mississippi became the 20th state in 1817 and built a cotton economy on enslaved labor. It was a central and often violent battleground of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century.