Mississippi Flood Dbq

The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was of the most powerful natural disasters of the 1900’s in 11 states along the Mississippi River from Illinois to Louisiana. The flood lasted from the beginning of April, through May, June and July and finally ended in August. During the flood, the river got to be as wide as 80 miles in some places and submerged residential areas in as much as 30 feet of water. The flood affected multiple states and the country in countless ways. Some of the ways it changed the country was in a social and political way. It brought the continuous mistreatment of African Americans once again apparent. It also devastated many states in economic and personal ways. Homes and businesses were destroyed, loved ones were lost and

Another effect that the Great Flood had was a political and social effect. This was caused because of how the African Americans were treated in the relief efforts after the flood. In the aftermath, authorities were all rigorously chastised for favoring the white population over the black in the rescue and relief efforts. Thousand of African American plantation workers were forced to work in atrocious conditions. As the waters rose, they were left stranded without food or water while white women and children were toted away to safety. Refugee camps were established, families slept in makeshift tents of quilts and material that was brought with them from their houses. Even though the African Americans were also devastated by the flood, they were forced to be a part of the relief efforts and had to clean up flooded areas. The National Guard was called to patrol the refugee camps but soon began to rob, assult, raoe and even murder African Americans that were held on the levee. More than one African American man was shot for refusing to work. This caused a huge uproar and rebellion and soon Greenville was at a standoff. Even though the African Americans were no longer slaves, they were basically treated as such and it became a more apparent issue after the flood. As a result, many African Americans moved north and changed their political views, which caused a big change in the

All things considered, even though the Great Flood caused a lot of damage and devastation, it was also the cause of a major political change which in the long run was probably better. The flood changed the way that many states provided relief from natural disasters and the responsibility of government in assisting the victims that were affected by the disasters. The flood also changed the way that people lived, due to the fact that it destroyed multiple houses and towns. The Great Flood of 1927 is classified as one of the worst natural disasters of the 1900’s because of how many towns it destroyed and displaced when the MIssissippi overflowed into 11 states from Illinois to Louisiana. The flood was especially terrible because of how long it lasted, which was about 4 months. When the flood finally ended on August 31, 1927, lives were destroyed along with houses, stores and even towns. I think this was a very important part of our history because of the ways that it affected our