From the founding of the city to the U.S. Civil War

Before the white colonization of the region, the current Jackson was inhabited by the Chocto Indian tribe. The first Europeans to study the area were the Spaniards of the Hernando de Soto expedition in 1540.

The city was founded by the French-Canadian forest ranger Louis LeFlour in 1820 on the historic Natches-Trayce trade route, originally called Parquille. In 1821, the Mississippi General Assembly, sitting in the then capital, Natchez, sent Thomas Hinds (named after Hinds County), James Patton, and William Latimore to study the state's geographic center area with a view to building a new one there the capital. It turned out that the state's precise geographical center was located in swamps unsuitable for the construction of the city, forcing the group to explore the land around the originally planned area. In their report to the General Assembly, researchers reported that the area of Pasquille was the best location for the capital, thanks to its clean water, dense forests, the navigable river and proximity to the Natchez Tray. On 28 November 1821, the Assembly approved the construction of a new capital in that location. The city was named after General Andrew Jackson, later than the seventh president of the United States, in recognition of his victory in the Battle of New Orleans.

The city's development plan was developed in April 1822 by Dutch architect Peter van Dorn, and was based on a "chess" scheme in which urban neighborhoods alternate with parks and other open spaces.

The State General Assembly met for the first time at Jackson on 23 December 1822.

In 1839, Jackson passed the Mississippi State's first city law allowing married women to own and manage their property.

The railway first connected the city to the rest of the country in 1840. Unlike Wixberg and Natchez, Jackson is not located on the Mississippi River, and river trade was not the basis of its development in the pre-war years, and the number of city dwellers grew slowly.

Despite its small population, during the civil war, Jackson became an important manufacturing center for the Confederation. In 1863, during a campaign aimed at capturing Wicksberg, General Sherman's northerners commanded the city twice (May 13 and July 16), once before the fall of Wicksberg and once after. Jackson's second fall was preceded by a three-week siege. In his usual manner, Sherman burned the city to the ground, vengeance for the resistance and for the fact that most southerners were able to retreat.

From the 1870s to the present

The postwar period was marked primarily by a bitter political conflict between white and African-American-backed occupation administrations. In 1875, the White Army established Red Shirt paramilitary units to protect the white population from black gangs and to counteract the political machine of the Republicans. The following year, the Democrats regained control of the state legislature. The new Mississippi Constitution, adopted in 1890, finally excluded the black population from political processes, making it mandatory to vote for a literacy test and tax confirmation.

Economic recovery from the war has been slow, as the abolition of slavery has severely undermined the South's economy, a highly productive commodity agriculture. However, the city was gradually rebuilt, in 1871 the tram line on the horse traction, replaced by electric line in 1899, was put into operation. In 1903, the construction of a new state capitol was completed.

City Center, 1910

In the early twentieth century, Jackson entered a period of economic growth, primarily because of his status as an important railway hub. The city is in order streets, luxury hotels, modern office and public buildings are being built. Jackson's economic development accelerated in 1930 due to the discovery of natural gas deposits in the surrounding area. Oil production, which began in 1920, has also been further developed. In 1934, 113 oil wells were operating near the city, but by 1955 the fields had been exhausted.

Jackson's story from the 1960s to the 1970s was primarily related to the struggle of the black population against segregation. The fighting was accompanied by violent incidents on both sides, and the city was martial law. By the mid-1970s, opponents of segregation had succeeded, thanks to the support of the federal government, in achieving their goal, and segregation was formally outlawed. Since that time, the mass exodus of white people to satellite cities in the north and east of Jackson has started (the share of whites decreased from 60% in 1970 to 18% in 2010). Along with white people, business leaves the city, tax revenues drop sharply, crime rose. The city government is taking some steps to improve the situation (for example, a congress center is being built in a previously abandoned business district), but the results are not yet too visible.

Geographic Information

The city is located in the upper Pearl River in the central part of the state at the intersection of the I-20 motorway and the historic Natchez-Trace road. A large Ross-Barnett reservoir has been built on the river, used to supply the city with water and rest for residents.

Jackson is the only city among state capitals, located literally on a volcano. The extinct volcano, about 65 million years ago, is located at a depth of 884 meters below the city stadium.

Climate

Jackson has a typical subtropical ocean climate, with long, hot and rainy summers and short, cool and humid winters.

According to the 2010 census, 173,514 people lived in Jackson, and there were 62,400 households.

Race composition of the population:

• white - 18% (in 1970 - 60%)
• African Americans - 79.4% (in 1970 - 36%)
• Hispanics - 1.6%
• Asians - 0.4%

City Center

Since the late 1970s, when the population of the city exceeded 200,000, the city itself has been losing population due to suburbanization and disurbanization due to the outflow of white people moving to the expanding suburbs of the north and the numerous suburbs (Clinton, Madison, Ridge land, Richland, etc.). Despite the absence of direct racial confrontation as before, tensions between white and black people persist. Discretion, discrimination, etc., are still unheard and pervasive at the household level. (both sides). Black neighborhoods (ghettos) occupy almost the whole center and west of the city and are characterized by a dangerous criminological environment.

The average annual per capita income was $17,116. The average age of urban residents is 31. The crime rate is high, 2.4 times higher than the American average and 3.4 times higher than the state average.

Skyscraper in the business center of the city

In the Jackson economy, the manufacturing sector continues to play a significant role, which is not typical of state capitals. This is due in large part to the fact that companies of the financial sector and services move to the white suburbs (it is clear that the office is much easier to move than the plant). The city has developed the production of electric equipment and metal rolled products, food semi-finished products and textiles. Jackson is also home to the headquarters of Ergon, a major manufacturer of plastics and petrochemical products.

The public administration sector also plays a significant role in the urban economy. Nearly one-third of the city's jobs are created in various federal, state, and municipal governments, as well as in their health and education institutions.

The city is serviced 9 kilometers east of the center by the IATA: JAN, ICAO: KJAN) with passenger turnover of 611 thousand people per year (2012). Regular passenger flights take place in Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Washington and Charlotte.

Jackson has an Amtrak train station, which stops daily on the Chicago-New Orleans train.

The main roads through the city are: Interstate Highways I-20 and I-55, US 49, US 51 and US 80.

Public transport in the city is provided by JATRAN, (10 bus routes, Monday - Friday from 05.00 to 19.45, Saturday from 6.00 to 19.00).

The educational needs of the African-American population are served by the Jackson State University, one of the so-called historically black universities in the United States, and the Tugalu College. White people mostly attend the private Mills College. The University of Mississippi Medical Center is the main educational and medical institution.

Jackson's agglomeration tends to grow northeast and east. Due to the complex relationship between the white and the black people of the city and the unfavorable criminological environment in the central ghetto, which is mostly populated by black people, new suburbs are being built outside the city, building better-equipped guarded cottage settlements for white, self-departing villages city. These villages are generally designated as separate cities because their predominantly white and mostly wealthy residents are reluctant to share the budget with a poor black majority, i.e., de facto racial segregation. Therefore, in the suburbs of Jackson, white make up over 60% - 90% of the population.

List of Jackson's satellite cities:

• Clinton - West
• Madison - North
• Ridgland - North
• Richland - South
• Pearl - East
• Brandon - East

• American rapper Kid Rock released a song in 2003 called "Jackson, Mississippi."
• The novel "Servants" (2009) and its one-name film (2011) takes place in Jackson in the 1960s.
• In 1968, Johnny Cash and Joon Carter presented a song called Jackson's about Jackson and his life.

• Medgar Evers

• Jackson (Mississippi) (English). Geographic Names Information System (USA), US Geological Survey.