Bridging Hardship: Great Depression, New Deal, and World War II

Bridging Hardship1928–1945

The Great Depression crippled new industry in Mississippi, leaving thousands without jobs. How would people adapt to these changing times? The average Mississippian made less than ten dollars a month, so families grew their own food and hunted to survive. World War II brought further transformations as more than ten percent of the state's population signed up for military service.

  • Explore how New Deal programs put Mississippians back to work and established the first state parks.
  • Mail a postcard to your friends from the replica 1930s general store.
  • See a baseball glove owned by "Willie" Mitchell—the Mississippi native who once struck out Babe Ruth.
  • Watch an automated cotton picker in action, and learn how mechanization changed agriculture across the South.