A leading agricultural state, famous for its "king" cotton, Mississippi has emerged as an important industrial state. Yet Mississippi preserves its rich tradition of stately antebellum mansions, fragrant gardens, moss-draped oaks, bayous, and the many shrines that memorialize its Old South charm and customs. Its Native American name comes from the great river that forms the state's western boundary. Mississippi is an Algonquian word that means Father of Rivers. Located in the deep south, Mississippi is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Alabama on the east. Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and on the west the state is separated from Louisiana and Arkansas by the Mississippi and Pearl rivers. Its nickname is The Magnolia State which comes from the flowering magnolia tress that bloom throughout the state. Estimated population now exceeds 2.7 million. The University of Mississippi and Mississippi State head an impressive list of colleges and universities. Some famous Mississippians are Noble Prize novelist William Faulkner, Pulitzer Prize playwright Tennessee Williams, novelists Ben Ames Williams and Eudora Welty; and Pulitzer Prize journalist Hodding Carter.

Mississippi has two main land regions. The Mississippi Alluvial Plain, or Yazoo Basin, is one of the world's most fertile regions, famous for its cotton; it covers the western edge of the state which is commonly called the Delta. The East Gulf Coastal Plain, a hilly region that covers most of the state, extending the length of Mississippi east of the Alluvial Plain, includes the Black Belt grassy prairie which is ideal for livestock. Active conservation programs deal primarily with soil erosion, water pollution, reforestation, wetlands, and flood control. Its warm moist summers and brief, mild winters make Mississippi a popular all-year playground. The state has a 44-mile coastline along the Gulf. Its largest bays are St. Louis, Biloxi, and Pascagoula. Popular coastal resort towns are Gulfport, Biloxi, Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis, and Ocean Springs. Mississippi Sound separates the mainland from a chain of islands. Important rivers, in addition to the Mississippi, are the Yazoo, Sunflower, Coldwater, and Tallahatchie in the west and north; Pearl, Pascagoula, and Tombigbee to the east; the Tennessee in the northeast. Principal cities are historic Vicksburg and Natchez (oldest town on the Mississippi River), Greenwood (a typical Delta town), Greenville, Hattiesburg, Biloxi, Gulfport, and Jackson (the capital and largest city).

Though farms cover 60 percent of the state, where the main crops are cotton, grains, soybeans, sweet potatoes, manufacturing has become the main economic factor. Other major contributors are poultry and dairy products, livestock, commercial fishing, shipyards, petroleum and natural gas, and tourism. Diversified manufacturing includes seafood and vegetable canneries, food processing, transportation equipment, clothing and textiles, electronics, metal fabrication, plastics, telecommunications, aerospace. The region is served by the Jackson International Airport, modern rail and highway systems, deepwater ports, the Gulf of Mexico, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the state's many rivers, notably the Mississippi.

Popular attractions are the Old Capitol at Jackson; Beauvoir, home of Jefferson Davis; Vicksburg National Military Park; Winterville Mounds, site of a prehistoric ceremonial center of Native American civilization, 1000-1450 A.D.; Old Spanish Fort at Pascagoula; the Cairo, a restored Civil War gunboat; Biloxi Lighthouse; Fort Massachusetts, designed by Jefferson Davis in 1858; the Wildlife Museum at Biloxi; the Mississippi Museum of Art, State Historic Museum, Museum of Natural Science, and Museum of Agriculture and Forestry; Stanton Hall and other beautiful plantation homes in the Natchez area; exciting casino resorts along the Gulf Coast; and many National Forests and State Parks, with abundant opportunities for camping, hunting, boating, swimming, and fishing. Annual events include the Biloxi Shrimp Festival, the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage, the Mississippi Arts Festival, and the Mississippi Sky Parade of hot-air balloons.

Before the white settlers arrived, the area was controlled by three powerful Indian tribes: the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, and the Natchez. The Spanish were the first Europeans to the explore the region, led by Hernando de Soto who discovered the Mississippi River in 1541. The French explorer Sieur de la Salle traveled down the Mississippi in 1682, claimed the Mississippi Valley for France, and named it Louisiana. The first French settlement was established in 1699 at Old Biloxi (present day Ocean Springs). By treaty ending the French and Indian War in 1763, France surrendered its land east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain. Following the Revolutionary War the United States acquired the region, and Congress organized the Territory of Mississippi in 1798. On December 10, 1817, Mississippi was admitted to the Union as the 20th state.