Populations of French descent still inhabit southern Illinois and Missouri, in towns such as Prairie du Rocher, Kaskaskia, and Ste. Genevieve. In the 1950s, Cubans moved to New Orleans and the migration of Vietnamese to South Louisiana, many of whom became shrimp farmers, occurred in the 1970s. Tragedy and melodrama are popular genres in the South, and kinship and family are important themes in Delta literature.
In South Louisiana, Cajuns tended to live in family groups on prairies called coves, and informal camps consisting of a hut or cabin served as escapes to hunt, fish and relax. The Spanish left their cultural mark on life at the southern end of the Delta, even though their presence in the region was relatively short-lived. The failure of many southern states to enforce the voter registration provisions of the Civil Rights Act led to an increase in civil rights demonstrations, one of the most notable of which took place in Alabama. There is limited data when it comes to social vulnerability and resilience among vulnerable populations on the Mississippi coast. Sugar production was centered in southern Louisiana, along with rice, and later on the Arkansas Delta. The Delta covers 35,000 square miles from southern Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico, encompassing 219 counties in seven states and approximately 8.3 million people.
New Deal social engineering initiatives such as the Resettlement Administration (RA) and Agricultural Security Administration (FSA) were used in the lower Mississippi River Delta to help abandoned tenant farmers with public housing, access to health care and stores. Northerners played a major role in developing the South's economy. They forged the plows that broke the land of the South, built the steamboats that transported crops from the South, and bought the final product. Eudora Welty's stories of Southern family life evoke a strong sense of place that is often associated with Southern writers. The longest period of emigration for Southerners occurred during World War II when 1.6 million people moved north or west or joined the military. Of this number, approximately one-third were African-Americans.
Despite this movement away from the region, slavery remained a vital element of Southern society until 1808 when Congress passed a law banning it. General Winfield Scott's plan during the War of 1812 was to block off the south coast and drive along the Mississippi River to divide the south in two. As dozens of steamboats sailed upstream from New Orleans, they carried goods that helped spread Southern and Western culture throughout America. Southern Mississippi is home to a variety of unique social issues that have been shaped by its history and culture. From French populations living in small towns to Cuban migrants settling in New Orleans, there is a rich cultural heritage that has been passed down through generations. The Civil Rights Act led to an increase in civil rights demonstrations throughout the region while New Deal initiatives provided public housing and access to health care for abandoned tenant farmers.
The War of 1812 saw General Winfield Scott's plan to divide up the south with steamboats carrying goods that spread Southern culture across America. Slavery was an integral part of Southern society until 1808 when Congress passed a law banning it. This has had a lasting impact on social issues in Southern Mississippi today as there is limited data available on social vulnerability and resilience among vulnerable populations on the Mississippi coast.
