Changes: Mississippi

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The former flag of the State of Mississippi was adopted by Mississippi in 1894, replacing the flag that had been adopted in 1861. It was the sole remaining U.S. state flag that bore the Confederate battle flag's saltire, from Georgia's adoption of a new flag in 2003 until the Mississippi flag was officially retired on June 30, 2020. As of July 1, 2020, Mississippi has yet to adopt a new flag.

Historical flags

Prior to 1861, like most states, Mississippi had no state flag. When Mississippi declared its secession from the Union on January 9, 1861 near the start of the American Civil War, spectators in the balcony handed a Bonnie Blue Flag down to the Session Convention delegates on the floor, and one was raised over the capitol building in Jackson as a sign of independence.

Flag of Mississippi (1861-1894) — 1861–1894 flag; official state flag between 1861 and 1865

The first official flag of Mississippi was known as the Magnolia Flag. It was the official flag of the state from 1861 until 1865 and it remained in use as an unofficial flag until 1894, when the current flag was adopted. On January 26 the delegates to the Secession Convention of the newly formed Sovereign Republic of Mississippi approved the report of a special committee that had been appointed to design a coat of arms and “a suitable flag.” The flag recommended by the committee was: “A Flag of white ground, a Magnolia tree in the centre, a blue field in the upper left hand corner with a white star in the centre, the Flag to be finished with a red border and a red fringe at the extremity of the Flag.” Due to time constraints and the pressure to raise “means for the defense of the state” the delegates actually neglected to officially adopt the flag in January, but did so when they reassembled in March.

The Magnolia Flag was not widely used or displayed during the Civil War, as the various Confederate flags were displayed more frequently. The Magnolia Flag remained the official state flag of Mississippi until 1865, when following the conclusion of the Civil War, a constitutional convention assembled in Jackson on August 22 began to revoke and repeal many of the actions taken by the Secession Convention of 1861. Among those repealed was the ordinance adopting a coat of arms and a state flag, leaving Mississippi without an official flag.

On April 17, 2001, a non-binding state referendum to change the flag was put before Mississippi voters. The proposal would have replaced the Confederate battle flag with a blue canton with 20 stars. The outer ring of 13 stars would represent the original Thirteen Colonies, the ring of six stars would represent the six nations that have had sovereignty over Mississippi territory, and the inner and slightly larger star would represent Mississippi itself. The 20 stars would also represent Mississippi's status as the 20th member of the United States. The new flag was soundly defeated in a vote of 64% to 36% and the old flag was retained.

In 2020, after mounting opposition to the state flag due to its inclusion of Confederate symbolism, Mississippi officially retired the flag and the state's governor announced that a new flag without Confederate imagery would be adopted. As of July 1, 2020, the state has yet to adopt a new flag.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 |NAVA rank=22nd
 |FotW=us-ms
+|caption = Former Flag of Mississippi (2001-2020)}}
-}}
 {{wikipedia|Flag of Mississippi}}
-The flag of the State of Mississippi was adopted by Mississippi in 1894, replacing the flag that had been adopted in 1861. It is the sole remaining U.S. state flag which bears the {{w|Flags of the Confederate States of America|Confederate battle flag's saltire}}, after [[Georgia (USA state)|Georgia]] adopted a new flag in 2003.
+The former flag of the State of Mississippi was adopted by Mississippi in 1894, replacing the flag that had been adopted in 1861. It was the sole remaining U.S. state flag that bore the {{w|Flags of the Confederate States of America|Confederate battle flag's saltire}}, from [[Georgia (USA state)|Georgia]]'s adoption of a new flag in 2003 until the Mississippi flag was officially retired on June 30, 2020. As of July 1, 2020, Mississippi has yet to adopt a new flag.
-On April 17, 2001, a non-binding state referendum to change the flag was put before Mississippi voters. The proposal would have replaced the Confederate battle flag with a blue canton with 20 stars. The outer ring of 13 stars would represent the original Thirteen Colonies, the ring of six stars would represent the six nations that have had sovereignty over Mississippi territory, and the inner and slightly larger star would represent Mississippi itself. The 20 stars would also represent Mississippi's status as the 20th member of the United States. The new flag was soundly defeated in a vote of 64% to 36% and the old flag was retained.
 {{Clear}}
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 The Magnolia Flag was not widely used or displayed during the Civil War, as the various {{w|Flags of the Confederate States of America|Confederate flags}} were displayed more frequently. The Magnolia Flag remained the official state flag of Mississippi until 1865, when following the conclusion of the Civil War, a constitutional convention assembled in Jackson on August 22 began to revoke and repeal many of the actions taken by the Secession Convention of 1861. Among those repealed was the ordinance adopting a coat of arms and a state flag, leaving Mississippi without an official flag.
+On April 17, 2001, a non-binding state referendum to change the flag was put before Mississippi voters. The proposal would have replaced the Confederate battle flag with a blue canton with 20 stars. The outer ring of 13 stars would represent the original Thirteen Colonies, the ring of six stars would represent the six nations that have had sovereignty over Mississippi territory, and the inner and slightly larger star would represent Mississippi itself. The 20 stars would also represent Mississippi's status as the 20th member of the United States. The new flag was soundly defeated in a vote of 64% to 36% and the old flag was retained.
+In 2020, after mounting opposition to the state flag due to its inclusion of Confederate symbolism, Mississippi officially retired the flag and the state's governor announced that a new flag without Confederate imagery would be adopted. As of July 1, 2020, the state has yet to adopt a new flag.
 ==Proposals for a New Flag of Mississippi==
-<gallery widths="200" bordercolor="#000000">
+<gallery widths="310" bordercolor="#000000" navigation="true">
 Mississippi 2001 flag proposal.svg|2001 proposal (not adopted)
 Mississippi Alternate 2.png|Alternative flag of MS, designer unknown
@@ Line 73: / Line 75: @@
 File:US-MS flag proposal Hans 4.png|{{User:HansLN/GE|p=use|d=Oct 2016|n=4}}
 us-ms-jd.png|Mississippi flag proposal by James Dignan, February 2016. Shows a magnolia between wavy blue lines representing the river.
-olemiss1.png|MS flag proposal #1 By [[User:Kiwidean|Dean Thomas]].  Based on the 1928-1994 South Africa flag, the CSA Battle Flag is replaced with three flags: The Bonnie Blue flag which was Mississippi's 'National' flag after the state seceded in January 1861, A 20-Star USA flag symbolizing that the state was the 20th to join the Union, and a 7-star CSA Stars-and-Bars, symbolizing Mississippi as one of the original 7 Confederate states.
+olemiss1.png|MS flag proposal #1 By [[User:Kiwidean|Dean Thomas]].  Based on the 1928-1994 South Africa flag, the CSA Battle Flag is replaced with three flags: The Bonnie Blue flag which was Mississippi's 'National' flag after the state seceded in January 1861, A 20-star U.S. flag symbolizing that the state was the 20th to join the Union, and a 7-star CSA Stars-and-Bars, symbolizing Mississippi as one of the original 7 Confederate states.
 File:US-MS flag proposal Tim Ritz (textless).png|Mississippi flag proposal by Tim Ritz. Textless version.
 missieBluefly.png|"MissyBlueFly" Tiny section of the battle flag re-used to make a red triangle and white chevron. Magnolia star on Bonnie Blue. Design by Rotten Ali.
@@ Line 86: / Line 88: @@
 angelmo-ms.jpg|MS flag proposal by Ray Anselmo.
 be47d7518a30368517e25a016132179.jpg|a variation on rotten ali  design, maybe a better tree
+Mississippi by JJ Smith (modified by Stephen Richard Barlow).png|This flag was proposed for Alabama, and can be seen on that state's page.  It is a design by JJ Smith of "Graphicology", modified by Stephen Richard Barlow in 2015. I re-post it here and propose it as a better fit for Mississippi. This is a beautiful flag, rich in symbolism. It would represent a clean break with the past; leaving behind political controversy and historical baggage in favor of a clean sheet design. [Posted by Ken Morton]
+Abstract - Roundel.jpg|Mississippi state flag designed by Ken Morton. This flag too would leave history and controversy behind with a mostly abstract design. The star represents Mississippi itself, while the red, white and blue roundel and stripes frame the star firmly within the symbolic traditions of American democracy.
+Mississippi Magnolia KM.jpg|My own version of a "Magnolia Flag." [Posted by Ken Morton]
+Mississippi Magnolia 2.png|Another 'Magnolia Flag', this one based upon the current Mississippi flag [Posted by Ken Morton]
+MS 1.jpg|Another proposal for a clean sheet design and another attempt at a break with history and politics. This flag is based upon an excellent design by Chris Sistrunk which I have modified by adding my own Magnolia flower and circle of twenty stars. [Posted by Ken Morton]
+Mississipi.png|Redesign by [[User:SimplisticFlags|SimplisticFlags]], based on "Bonnie Blue flag" and "Magnolia flag". January 2019. ([[User:SimplisticFlags/Flag Proposals/American States#Mississippi|details]])
+Mississippi 2.png|Perhaps a rather obvious solution to the 'problem' of the current Mississippi flag. And yet, there is much to be said for simplicity in design. Posted by Ken Morton [June 28, 2019].
+MS_PNG.png|My version of the design by Steven Abbot. The left side of the flag depicts the Mississippi River to the east. The right side of the flag depicts the green land of the state; a magnolia icon represents the state flower of the “Magnolia State.” Posted by Preston Knapp [https://vexillology.fandom.com/wiki/User:Preston_Knapp]
+Mississippi New Flag.png|MS Flag Proposal "apollohawkridge 1"
+Mississippi New Flag 2.png|MS Flag Proposal "apollohawkridge 2"
+Proposal Flag of Mississippi.svg|Proposal for a flag for Mississippi. By [[User:Qaz_Janssen|Qaz]] Dec 2019 ([[User:Qaz Janssen/Proposals/Subnational/US-ESE#Mississippi|details]])
+Proposal Flag of Mississippi magnolia.svg|Proposal for a flag for Mississippi. By [[User:Qaz_Janssen|Qaz]] Dec 2019 ([[User:Qaz Janssen/Proposals/Subnational/US-ESE#Mississippi|details]])
+Proposal Flag of Mississippi magnolia2.svg|Proposal for a flag for Mississippi. By [[User:Qaz_Janssen|Qaz]] Dec 2019 ([[User:Qaz Janssen/Proposals/Subnational/US-ESE#Mississippi|details]])
+Mississippi - Blue.png|Part of series of designs for state flags, all in blue and white. (Posted by Ken Morton)
+MS807.png|([[User:Trevor807/Proposals|details]])
+MississippiFlag_04_30_2020.png|"Oxbow Star" 2020
+MississippiFlag_04_31_2020.png|"Magnolia Cross" (Magnolia flag variation) 2020
+D030E9E-116C-40D2-BE5D-BABB8F7437B6.png|Proposed flag for Mississippi - Blue and red bisections with a magnolia signal overlaid.|link=http://fixyourdamnflag.us/
+-02-20 second sketch.png|Follow the description voiced by someone in local seat of xtate government and you get this...
+four stripes.png|maybe four stripes, ratio 3:5,  and a canton that is 1/2 height gives over 15% area to the battle flag rather than 29.6%. Design by RottenAli.
+Mississippi Heritage flag 2.jpg|Proposal for new Mississippi state flag.
+mississippi.JPG|Mississippi State Flag Proposal with official state seal that reads "In God We Trust" by Tucker B
+12101817.png|Hospitality inspired. Blue water river bend. Motto from official state seal. Retains colors of previous flag. JB/CM creation.
 </gallery>
+{{United States}}
 [[Category:Mississippi]]
 [[Category:United States state]]