Cultural Transformation in Mississippi - Article Example

Cultural Transformation in Mississippi Mississippi underwent a dramatic shift in demography and culture in the 2nd part of the 18th century and the first half of the nineteenth century. By 1850, many of the residents of Mississippi had been born elsewhere (Wyne 5). The changes in demography were due to transatlantic, continental and local changes. The change in demography was perhaps the most imperative aspect influencing cultural change in the region. The novel diplomatic and political circumstances drove away the older and native residents of Mississippi. All the while, there were forces convincing people in Europe and the United States that Mississippi offered an ideal place to start a home (Bradley 4). This paper elaborates on the cultural transformations that occurred from the period of Mississippian coalescent societies to the American civil society. By the turn of the 19th century, the Mississippi was an Indian location. Indians were the most numerous residents. Indian villages also controlled passage down the river. Indian villages were governed by chiefs. Villages such as of those of Choctaw, were autonomous and had a common language (Bradley 18). The Chickasaw had a great Chief who was consulted if community issues arose, or there were disciplinary problems that had to be met. The Indians had a unique way designing their buildings, in addition to mode of dressing (Bradley 18). Few of them still based their residences on moulds, which had been a way of life since the medieval times. Of the few white residents residing then, most were of French ancestry. Hence, cultural behavior and daily rules were derived from these two groups. Besides the particulars of French and Indian cultures, it is imperative to note that the Mississippi was a frontier. The culture of the region reflected a locality where people of diverse backgrounds collided. It also reflected a place where the systems of power and governance were uncertain. Colonial Mississippi was characterized by marked cultural differences from each kind of population. The cultural challenge during these times was to make the diverse population into a single nation. As migration mixed the population, and as improvement in communication and transportation technologies decreased the geographical barriers, the Mississippi culture began to homogenize during the colonial times (Morris 22). New residents of Mississippi developed a cultural identity that was different from their ancestral lands. Attitudes towards social class, religion, manners and slavery combined to make a distinct western culture and character (Ownby 38). The energy that drove cultural evolution in the region can be broadly categorized to two sources: local and global (Morris 6). One of the forces radiated from within the locale, where people confronted and continually changed their local environment. The other force was as a resultant of the wide and always changing world. The culture of Mississippi was also a direct result of broader diplomatic and commercial factors (Wyne 4). In spite of everything, culture and commerce worked together to shape how residents negotiated with each other. Meanwhile, particular frontier circumstances were preserved due to the lack of clear resolutions in the struggle between US, Europeans and Indians for the control of Mississippi. In the 1820s, soil exhaustion and economic problems in the East forced tens of thousands of white Americans to seek fortune in the West (Wyne 3). The Mississippi region was deemed to offer a promised land of fertile, cheap land, where the river itself assured of speedy connections to the markets. By 1850, the Mississippi river was a thoroughfare through the increasing different cultures of South and North. The culture of lower Mississippi was rested on slavery (Ownby 54). Majority of the population were enslaved. In the meantime, a different culture was emerging in Upper Mississippi. White settlers in this upper region were convinced that it was the land of respectability and opportunity. As the foreign population increased in Mississippi, dozens of small communities emerged. Most of the immigrant families tried to recreate a culture with some resemblance of the social environment from the regions they had come from (Wyne 5). It was imperative for immigrants to establish themselves as part of a community. This was because the process established their identities in the foreign land. By immigrating and settling in Mississippi (frontier), settlers had broken old ties and cast themselves socially adrift (Wyne 5). Thus, they sought to establish a sense of a community as quickly as possible. The central cultural changes in which Mississippi played a crucial part can be addressed by looking at attitudes towards manners and religion. These attitudes were imperative in the transformation of Mississippian coalescent societies to the American civil societies (Wyne 6). The Indians of Mississippi had their own religion and beliefs regarding spirituality. In the advent of colonization and immigration, protestant religion spread in the Mississippi. There was an upsurge in Christianity fielded by immigrating evangelists (Morris 6). Christianity was coached in conservative doctrinal terms. This doctrinal conservatism became extremely popular throughout Mississippi and other rural parts of the United States between 1830 and 1850. This doctrinal shift significantly transformed the region and became a locus of enlightenment rationalism. Therefore, there were crusades to reform the moral status of the society. This included campaigns to stamp out intemperate child labor, drinking among other vices. In these respect, Mississippi developed a common culture in terms of religion that persists up to this day. Different churches emerged, and while each had its own structure and social class reputation, their shared doctrine disputes kept the churches all unsettled throughout this period. Each of these Protestants churches grappled with, but failed to find a consistent, single position with regards to slavery. However, no account of the religious transformation is complete without the mention of the Roman Catholic. This catholic population was originally from French and Spanish colonial periods and was reinforced via immigration. From the slaves’ perspective, little or no religion was practiced. There was no bible baptizing, nor church going. According to one of them (Bradley 72), religion was for the white man. In other places, religion reached the enslaved. The pastors were white, and they made sure that religion served the interests of the masters. Most of the messages passed across by these pastors were centered on how the slaves should obey their masters. The disadvantages of disobeying a master were emphasized and exaggerated by these preachers. Meanwhile, there was no black preacher. Despite this, the slaves were able to build a dynamic culture, which celebrated family and religion (Bradley 66). The other aspect to consider in cultural change is the attitude towards manners. People transformed from wildness to members of a civilized society. Immigrants or settlers were anxious and took part in the democratic societal mixing. When the colonies first settled, the notion of inborn station was built into a law. Despite the real social mobility which arose far from aristocratic centers of power, social practices were dependent on feudal obligations of obedience and condescension from higher ranks. Laws were especially firm on the enslaved. This greatly influenced their cultural practices. As an example, they were not supposed to form communal gatherings or other social activities without due permission. The whites feared that these meetings would lead to uprisings and eventual liberation of slaves. One also had to obtain a pass so as to visit other members. However, by 1865, a significant number of slaves had been freed, although their social interactions and other cultural practices were still limited by law. There existed cultural differences between the wealthy whites, poor whites and the enslaved in Mississippi (Bradley 83). The differences were in terms of consumer and cosmopolitan culture. The elite derived their culture from pleasures and systems of communication pertaining to cosmopolitanism. They practiced a culture which shifted with new fashions. They ordered new goods on a regular basis, while the poor white could only expect and hope for luxury goods in rare instances. The wealthy would regularly undertake shopping trips in the cities and buy luxury goods. They did this with the desire to use appearance to strike the pose of elites. Many large slave owners derived considerable pride in regarding themselves as paternalistic and kind figures that looked after the slave’s material need. For slaves, it was not easy to spend money on luxuries. Most of their masters viewed this as being overindulgent. However, the few opportunities to spend allowed the slaves to define themselves as individuals. The common purchases of slaves were tobacco and snuff. The slaves were not allowed to assemble in an unlawful manner. They had to have had passes so as to travel or assemble. Every evening, slaves working in a farm would gather, where the older members would narrate folk stories (Bradley 86). Most would dance late into the night, where the themes in the songs would be inclined towards a cry for redemption. The slaves would also sing such songs while working in the farms. However, there were instances of harsh masters suppressing such kind of songs. Enslaved women were allowed to make clothes for the slaves. Most used this opportunity to make the clothes in a unique manner, establishing a fashion of a kind. During the civil war, a slave-based cotton culture was evident (Bradley 87). The civil war markedly influenced the culture of Mississippi residents (Gideon 12). After the civil war, the reconstruction period commenced, associated with much turbulence. A new cultural identity took shape. This cultural identity was grounded in attitudes and ideas known as the “lost cause” (Gavin 186). Various ceremonies were devised in celebrating the Lost Cause and honoring the confederate. These ceremonies were in many forms, and they included: annual religious and civil services honoring the dead; deification of Confederate military leaders; and the emergence of groups (such as United Daughters of the confederacy). The Lost Cause gave the Confederate symbols a cultural authority. The most prominent symbols were the “stars and bars”, which reflected the rebel flag (Gavin 187). In conclusion, Mississippian culture underwent transformation from the coalescent societies to the American civil societies. The forces behind this transformation include local and international causes. Immigration of foreigners from diverse region resulted in the establishment of a new homogenized culture. However, there was cultural stratification between the wealthy white, the poor white, and the enslaved. Attitudes towards religion and manners exemplify the cultural transformation that occurred, a proportion of which persists till the modern times. Works Cited Ben Wynne. Mississippi Civil War: A narrative History. Georgia: Mercer University press, 2006. Print. Bradley Bond. Mississippi: A Documentary History. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2005. Print. Christopher Morris. Becoming Sothern: The Evolution of a way of life, Warren county and Vicksburg Mississippi, 1770-1860. London: Oxford Press, 1995. Print. Gavin Steven .Mississippi Civil War: Reconstruction Revision. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1990. Print. Gideon Lincecum. A Place Called Mississippi. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1818. Print Jay Johnson. “Stone Tools, politics and the Eighteenth-Century Chickasaw in Northeast Mississippi.” American Antiquity Vol. 62 (2) 1997: 215-230. Print. Ted Ownby. American dreams in Mississippi consumers, poverty, & culture , 1830- 1998. NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999. Print. Read More