The Mississippi Territory and the Southwest Frontier, 1795-1817

by Robert V. Haynes

Overview

Territorial Mississippi was the focus of an intense international rivalry when it became a possession of the United States following Pinckney's Treaty of 1795. The newly created American nation vied for land already claimed by Spain, as well as territory inhabited by natives who had lived on the land for centuries. These challenges, coupled with the constant threat of a British invasion from Canada, made the southwestern frontier a volatile landscape and westward expansion a harrowing struggle.

Originally occupied by numerous Native American tribes, the territory that came to be known as Mississippi has a complex history rife with violent contention. In 1540, Hernando de Soto of Spain became the first European to stumble across its borders. The French established a fort in 1699 and were promptly followed by the British; all were eager to lay claim to the region and its valuable resources. In The Mississippi Territory and the Southwest Frontier, 1795--1817, Robert V. Haynes does more than recount the history of a vital region; he explores the political and diplomatic tensions that led to the formation and expansion of the Mississippi Territory.

During this tumultuous period, the size and span of the territory changed many times, at one point encompassing the Alabama Territory. Early settlers to the newly formed region were primarily a mix of dispossessed Scottish and English -- farmers, bigamists, debtors, and criminals. Wealthy lawyers and swindlers also flooded the nascent borders, eager to exploit and capitalize upon the uncertainties of this valuable yet legally ambiguous American possession. These conflicts finally ended on December 10, 1817, when Mississippi became the twentieth state admitted to the Union.

Haynes delivers a comprehensive investigation of the critical events in Mississippi's rich and colorful history, such as years of borderland violence, the arrest of Aaron Burr within its boundaries, and the bloody Creek War of 1813--1814. Extensively researched and eloquently written, The Mississippi Territory and the Southwest Frontier promises to be the definitive work on the region's history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813173726
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	05/21/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert V. Haynes, former professor of history at Western Kentucky University, is the author of A Night of Violence: The Houston Riot of 1917. He lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Editorial Reviews

""Examines the turbulence of the territory's society in the last decades before statehood."--Chronicle of Higher Education" --

""Haynes relates the story of the Mississippi territory during the time when it was the southwest corner of the United States.... [He] writes in an engaging style that makes this accessible to general readers."--Book News" --

""This work will appeal to anyone interested in the political history of the Mississippi/Alabama area."--Choice" --

""Haynes has written a rich book, which will be of much value to historians of the region and to historians of American expansion more broadly."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society" --

""A crowning achievement for a scholar who has devoted decades to studying the region... [this book] is essential reading for anyone interested in the emergence of statehood in the Old Southwest... [and] for those interested in learning more about the difficultuies in creating a modern society in post-Revolutionary America."--Southern Historian" --

""Haynes makes the story of early Mississippi interesting.... The study fits nicely into the early political history of the South."--Journal of American History" --

""Anyone interested in the history of the frontier, early America, the early U.S. South and the history of Mississippi will find this work enjoyable and educational."--Bowling Green Daily News" --

""This book represents a rare combination of mastery of sources, clarity of analysis, and brilliant prose spiced with expressive and entertaining quotations. Haynes immerses himself so deeply into the manuscripts that he seems to read the thoughts of the people about whom he writes -- to peer into their souls, so to speak." --Journal of Mississippi History" --

""A highly detailed reconstruction of the personal quarrels, political disputes, and international tensions that inundated Mississippi Territory from 1795 to 1817...Haynes has used an array of sources to bring readers this crisply written account."--The Journal of Southern History" --

""An essential book on the complex and colorful period between the organization of the Mississippi Territory in 1795 and its division into the state of Mississippi and the Alabama Territory in 1817."--Alabama Review" --

From the Publisher