The name means, simply, "big river." From northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, it flows some 2,400 miles through the heartland of America. It is the Mississippi, and its saga of adventure, conquest, disaster and riches is the story of America itself. The Mighty Mississippi journeys along the river and through its past, from St. Paul to New Orleans, from its formation during the Ice Age to the ambitious 20th century attempts to tame its waters. It is a spellbinding tapestry of cotton kings and riverboat gamblers, Native American legends and devastating floods, the tales of Mark Twain and the chords of the blues. The Mighty Mississippi would be useful for classes on American History, Maritime History, Economic History, American Culture and Geography. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

America's River

This episode of the Mighty Mississippi examines the great river in the aftermath of the Civil War through the twentieth century, including the devastating floods of 1927 and 1993. It also explores the influence of the river and the river regions on uniquely American musical forms such as jazz and the blues.

Vocabulary

• exuberance
• optimism
• insatiable
• torrential
• elude
• extract
• idyllic
• rampage
• proliferation
• overtly
• boisterous
• bordello
• sabotage
• incubator
• virtuoso
• levee
• refugees
• inundate

Discussion Questions

1. Transportation in the past century has became faster and more efficient, especially with the advent of airplanes and trucks, yet the river is still a significant highway of transportation for both goods and passengers. Why has the river's transportation survived the advance of technology?
2. The river is not only a passive actor in American history; it is also an active actor or agent. Discuss how the river influenced industrialization and how industrialization has influenced the river.
3. The Civil War released African-Americans from slavery in the South. But even after the war, African-Americans were not really free. Discuss how African-Americans were still enslaved even after emancipation. Why was white supremacy able to endure?
4. Discuss and describe the labor system of sharecropping and its affect on American history, especially African-American history and economic history.
5. Discuss the role of racism in Black and White relations in the post-Civil war era.
6. Between the years 1915 and 1940 one of the largest human migrations in history occurred in the United States. Known as the Great Migration, African-Americans left the South in droves to go north. What drove this great migration? What were African-Americans seeking in the North that they lacked in the South? Did they realize their dreams?
7. Discuss the evolution of the musical art form known as the Blues. What have been the effects of this music on American culture?
8. What were "showboats?' How were they a product of their time?
9. One of the most popular forms of entertainment in the late 19th century through the mid-20th century was the minstrel show.How did these minstrel shows indicate the society's discomfort with changes in racial hierarchy and relations?
10. Discuss how work and slavery were integral to the formation of the blues and jazz music.

Extended Activities

1. Listen to some popular blues music from the early twentieth century. How does this music differ from other musical forms popular at the time? What are the racial implications of this music? How has this music impacted other American musical forms, such as rock-n-roll?
2. Create a broadside advertisement announcing the coming of a showboat.