4-24 The State of Mississippi

The great state of Mississippi became the 20^th state in the Union on December 10, 1817 .  The state capital is Jackson.  The name Mississippi is possibly from the Chippewa Indian words "mici zibi," meaning great river.

Mississippi was first explored by Hernando de Soto of Spain when he discovered the Mississippi River  in 1540.  The region was later claimed by France.  In 1699, a French group, under Sieur d'Iberville, established the first permanent settlement.  In 1763, Great Britain took over the area after the French and Indian Wars. Great Britain ceded it to the U.S. in 1783 after the Revolutionary War.

For a little more than one hundred years cotton was the undisputed king of Mississippi.  Today, agriculture continues to be a major segment of the state's economy.  The state's farmlands yield harvests of cotton, soybeans, corn, peanuts, pecans, rice, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes as well as poultry, eggs, meat animals, dairy products, feed crops, and horticultural crops.  Mississippi remains the world's leading producer of pond-raised catfish.

Emblem/Symbol	Name of Emblem/Symbol	Adopted
Motto	"Virtute et armis" - By valor and arms	1894
Nickname	Magnolia State
State Seal		1798
State Bird	Mockingbird	1944
State Flower	Magnolia	1952
State Song	"Go, Mississippi"	1962
State Tree	Magnolia	1938
State Flag		1894
State Insect	Honeybee	1980
State Butterfly	Spicebush Swallowtail	1991
State Fish	Largemouth Bass	1974
State Land Mammal	White-tailed Deer Red Fox	1974 1997
State Water Mammal	Bottlenose Dolphin	1974
State Reptile	American Alligator	2005
State Stone	Petrified Wood	1976
State Waterfowl	Wood Duck	1974

Complete the questions below.

1.  Mississippi became the 20^th state in the Union on December 10, .

2.  The Spicebush Swallowtail is the state .

3.  The state tree is the .

4.  Mississippi was first explored by of Spain.

5.  "Virtute et armis" means .

6.  The state stone is .

7.  The state flower is the .

8.  The state land mammal adopted in 1997 is the .

9.  The state nickname is the "."

10.  The state waterfowl is the .