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In a letter dated August 27, 1863, Abraham Lincoln wrote, "the Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea," referring to General Grant's capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The sentence has all the simplicity and nobility of Lincoln's style, but Mississippi doesn't mean "Father of Waters." This colorful but false phrase first appears in print in 1812, is repeated by James Fenimore Cooper in his novel The Prairie (1827), and thereafter was in common circulation. Our name for the river has a different source. In 1666 French explorers somewhere in the western Great Lakes region recorded Messipi as their rendering of the Ojibwa name for the river they had come upon, misi-sipi, "big river." The French took the name with them as they went down Big River to its delta, and it superseded all the other names for Big River used by local Indian tribes and by earlier Spanish explorers. In 1798 Congress applied the Ojibwa name of the river to the territory of Mississippi, newly organized from lands inhabited by the Natchez, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. Still, "Father of Waters" is a happy error: "The Big River again goes unvexed to the sea" just doesn't have the right Lincolnian ring.
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What river was named father of waters?
Named by Algonkian speaking Indians, the Mississippi can be translated as Father of Waters. The Indus river in South Asia is known as the Father of Rivers
What is father of American River?
Native Americans called the mighty Mississippi river the father of waters.
What state means Father of Waters?
Mississippi.
What means father of waters?
Mississippi
What river is known as the Father of all the Rivers?
The river is actually called "Father of Waters" not the Father of All Rivers. This is the name given to the Mississippi River by Native Americans.
What river did the native Americans name the big water?
they called the Atlantic ocean the big water.they called the Mississippi the father of waters.
What two states were located east of the father of waters?
Mississippi and Alabama
Why was the Mississippi River named the Mississippi River?
The name "Mississippi" comes from the Anishinable people (Ojibwe Indians). They called the river "Messipi" or "Mee-zee-see-bee", which means "big river" or "father of waters".
What does Mississippi mean?
Mississippi is from an Indian word meaning "Father of Waters". The translation comes from the Chippewa words "mici zibi" meaning "great river" or "gathering in of all the waters" and the Algonquin and French word "Messipi".
What is in the Mississippi?
Mississippi wasn't a person be an Indian word. The native American (Indian) name meant "Father of Waters" and comes from Chippewas words "mici zibi" which means "great river" or "gathering in of all the waters" and the Algonquin word "Messipi"
How did Meridian Mississippi get its name?
Mississippi is an Indian word. Its meaning is 'great waters' or 'father of waters'. It was named this because of the Mississippi River running through it. Mississippi was the 20th state to join the union in 1817. For having the biggest part of the Mississippi river in the state.
What was the nickname of the Missouri River during the Lewis and Clark expedition?
Mississippi River: Nicknames: Due to its size and historical significance, the Mississippi probably has more nicknames than any other river. Among these are: The Father of Waters The Gathering of Waters The Big Muddy (more commonly associated with the Missouri River) Big River Old Man River The Great River Body of a Nation The Mighty Mississippi El Grande (de Soto) The Muddy Mississippi ..
