The Mississippi River is 2,350 miles long, making it the second longest river in the United States. The Mississippi River was very important to western farmers. Agriculture in Mississippi is a 7.45 billion-dollar industry. Western farmers relied heavily on the Mississippi River to transport their wheat and corn. There were several reasons why Thomas Jefferson believed it was important for the United States to control the Mississippi River. The average size farm is composed of 299 acres.Agriculture makes a significant contribution to all 82 counties. Prior to the Louisiana Purchase, the Mississippi River acted as the western border for the United States. ...” in History if there is no answer or all answers are wrong, use a search bar and try to find the answer among similar questions. Opening the Mississippi River to commerce was especially important to fisheries, loggers, yeoman, farmers, and manufacturers. Once steamboats were invented, the Mississippi River became an important mode of transportation that revolutionized river commerce. The part of the basin east of the Mississippi River largely relies on rain to grow crops; farmers on the west side irrigate much, much more. Dallas, Jerry W. “The Delta and Providence Farms: A Mississippi Experiment in Cooperative Farming and Racial Cooperation, 1936-1956.” Mississippi Quarterly 4 (1987): 283-308. Agriculture is Mississippi’s number one industry, employing approximately 29% of the state’s workforce either directly or indirectly. Ithaca, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1967. River - River - Significance to trade, agriculture, and industry: The historical record includes marked shifts in the appreciation of rivers, numerous conflicts in use demand, and an intensification of use that rapidly accelerated during the 20th century. Daniels, Jonathan. Fringes also touch upon the Rocky and Appalachian mountain systems and upon the rim of the Canadian (Laurentian) Shield to the north. TRUE. Mississippi River - Mississippi River - Physical features: The geology and physical geography of the Mississippi drainage area are essentially those of the Interior Lowlands and Great Plains of North America. Spain control the New Orleans Port which was vital in the transportation of goods. Mississippi was important because back in older days travel by land was expensive and the farmers states in the middle used water-travel to export their crops they produced. Because they floated there crops down the river. Why was control of the Mississippi River important to the United States? Get an answer to your question “Why were the city of new orleans and the mississippi river important to farmers in the early 1800s? The Forgotten Farmers: The Story of Sharecroppers in the New Deal. so if someone took over New Orleans they would control what goes out of the river. save your answer? there they loaded the crops onto ships bound for Europe or for cities on the easy coast. The water way was first used for trade with Indian tribes when fur pelts were floated down the river from Ohio. Why were the city of New Orleans and the Mississippi River important to farmers in the early 1800s? There are approximately 34,700 farms in the state covering 10.4 million acres. External freight trade became concentrated in estuarine ports rather than in inland ports when oceangoing vessels increased in size.