In the last few decades of the 20th century Mississippi was uplifted by greater change than any other state. The significant efforts of government and the business community to alter the socioeconomic patterns of the past created a brighter image for the Magnolia State. A succession of progressive governors led Mississippi--once identified as a rigidly segregated closed society--into an era of urbanization, economic achievement, innovative education programs, and racial cooperation. By 1990 the exodus of disenchanted whites had almost ceased, and out-migration had declined significantly among African Americans, who were leaving the state in search of better schooling and factory jobs.
Mississippi had been held back by its reliance on an agriculture-based society, complacency toward an unusually large dependent population, and a reputation for discrimination against African Americans and violence toward outsiders. Today the state is defined by its rising standards, fresh attitudes, and new directions. In 1989 the Mississippi legislature passed four bills that represented the most aggressive economic development package offered by any state. One of the new programs in the package was the creation of tax credits for employers who provide child care and basic skills training for their workers.
The state has played a vital role in technological developments in such fields as medicine and space exploration. The world's first human heart and lung transplants were performed at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, a facility recognized for its pioneering work in cardiovascular physiology. The powerful main engines of the space shuttles are tested at the John C. Stennis Space Center on the Mississippi gulf coast, and a second facility in Mississippi has been designated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for construction of the next generation of rocket motors. At the state's university research centers breakthroughs are under way in the fields of acoustics, polymer science, electricity, oceanography, and computer science. The Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg is the principal research and development complex maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The state takes its name from the Mississippi River, which flows along the western boundary (see Mississippi River). The name itself probably comes from Native American words with various spellings that mean large waters or father of the waters. Other nicknames attached to Mississippi are the Eagle State, the Border-Eagle State, and the Bayou State. Mississippians are sometimes called Mudcats after the freshwater catfish taken from the state's streams. Mississippi could have been called the Cotton State. The 18th-century planters who settled the region found the soil well suited for cultivation of the plant, and cotton production on large slave-operated plantations was the principal activity before the American Civil War. Mississippi's rich heritage and colorful history live on in its carefully preserved Indian mounds, magnificent antebellum mansions, commemorative battlefields, and national cemeteries for both Union and Confederate casualties.
Mississippi lies in the south-central part of the United States. To the west are Arkansas and Louisiana, with the Mississippi River forming the boundary line. Louisiana is also to the southwest along 31o N. latitude and the Pearl River. In the southeast Mississippi borders the Gulf of Mexico for 88 miles (142 kilometers). To the east is Alabama and to the north, Tennessee. From north to south Mississippi's greatest length is 340 miles (547 kilometers). Across the main part of the state its greatest width is 180 miles (290 kilometers). The southern panhandle of Mississippi measures 90 miles (145 kilometers) from east to west. The state's total area is 47,689 square miles (123,514 square kilometers), including 456 square miles (1,181 square kilometers) of inland water surface.
