Mississippi River flood of 1927, also called Great Flood of 1927, flooding (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. of the lower Mississippi River (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. valley in April 1927, one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. . More than 23,000 square miles (60,000 square km) of land was submerged, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, and around 250 people died. However, after several months of heavy rain caused the Mississippi River to swell to unprecedented levels, the first levee (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. broke on April 16, along the Illinois (Links to an external site.) …show more content…
Thousands of plantation workers, most of them African Americans (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. , had been forced to work, in deplorable conditions, shoring up the levees near Greenville (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. , Miss. Then, as the waters rose, they were left stranded for days without food or drinking water, while white women and children were hauled to safety. Meanwhile, African Americans gathered in relief camps also were forced to participate in relief efforts, while receiving inferior provisions for themselves, and to clean up flooded areas. At least one black man was shot, reportedly for refusing to work. The flood brought about long-term social and political changes in the country. Over time, African Americans largely switched their loyalty from the historically antislavery Republican Party (the party of Pres. Calvin Coolidge (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. , in office during the disaster) to the Democratic Party. In addition, the disaster contributed to the Great Migration (Links to an external