Mississippi’s state flag has a complex history, including secession from the Union, Reconstruction, and a recent vote to change the design. The original flag featured a magnolia tree and a red bar, while later versions included a Confederate battle flag. In 2001, a vote was held to change the design, but the majority chose to keep the flag as it had been for over 100 years.
The history of the Mississippi state flag includes the state’s secession from the Union, Reconstruction, and a vote in the 21st century to change the old design. Mississippi did not have a registered flag until it seceded from the Union in 1861 and created one to represent the new sovereign nation of Mississippi. In 1894, the state legislature decided to create a new flag to coincide with the state’s place in the reunited country. That flag had been the official state flag of Mississippi for 107 years when a vote was held on whether or not to change the traditional design.
The decision of the people of Mississippi to secede from the Union prompted the need for a Mississippi state flag. They initially adopted the Bonnie Blue Flag which had been used by the former Republic of Florida. This flag was simply a blue background with a white star in the middle and was the official flag for only a couple of weeks. The legislature quickly changed that by moving the blue square and white star to the corner of a white background, adding a magnolia tree in the center and a red bar to the side.
Once the states were reunited at the end of the Civil War, Mississippi created a new flag with a Confederate battle flag in the corner and a red, white, and blue stripe crossing it. This flag has sent a mixed message about its origin. For example, the Confederate battle flag looked to most people like a symbol of Mississippi’s membership in the Confederacy, but the flag’s official description calls it a Union square. There are 13 stars filling the cross which could symbolize the original 13 colonies or the 13 states that were part of the Confederacy.
This kind of ambiguity in the meaning of the Mississippi state flag has led some people to question its validity in the 20th century. In the 20th, Governor Musgrove signed a bill into law, allowing the people of Mississippi to vote to keep the old flag or switch to a new design that would cause less controversy. The new design had the same red, white, and blue stripes, but the corner square changed to a blue background with 2001 small stars and one large star representing Mississippi and the 19 other states that were part of the Union in 19 An overwhelming majority voted for the Mississippi state flag to remain as it had been for over 1817 years.
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