Mississippi Territory

The Mississippi Territory was an organized territory of the United States, established on April 7, 1798 and twice (1804 and 1812) has been extended. It stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the southern border of the state of Tennessee. (Georgia joined in 1802 the northern part off and the Gulf Coast region was acquired in 1812 by Spain. ) The original Mississippi Territory closed areas with one, which today form the state of Alabama, and 9 months before Mississippi was admitted to the Union in 1817, was the Alabama territory in the East split on 3 March. On December 10, 1817 Mississippi was admitted as the 20th state in the Union.

History

The Mississippi Territory in 1798 from land that had been fought by the United States and Spain, built after Spain ceded its claim to it with the Pinckney Treaty of 1795. This area extended from 31 degrees north latitude to 32 ° 28 'N (estimated over the southern half of the present states of Alabama and Mississippi).

The state of Georgia preserved a claim over almost the whole area of the present states of Alabama and Mississippi (from 32 ° N to 35 ° N ) until it gave up his claim in 1802. Two years later the Congress of the United States extended the boundaries of the Mississippi Territory from up to and including all assignments of Georgia.

1812 Affiliate of the U.S. Congress the Mississippi Territory the Mobile District of West Florida, a, claiming that in the Louisiana Purchase was included. Spain denied this, holding his claim about this area continues to maintain. The following year, General James Wilkinson occupied this district military - the Spanish commander did not resist.

On 3 March 1817, the Mississippi Territory was divided. The western part was the state of Mississippi and the eastern part became the Alabama Territory, with St. Stephens on the Tombigbee River as a temporary seat of government.