{"id":11995,"date":"2023-10-29T02:10:15","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T01:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=11995"},"modified":"2023-10-29T02:10:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-29T01:10:15","slug":"is-mississippi-river-capitalize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/is-mississippi-river-capitalize\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Mississippi River Capitalize"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Introduction<\/h2>\n

The Mississippi River is one of the longest winding rivers in the world, and is one of the most expressive and romantic rivers in the United States. It’s been immortalized by music, books, and films, and its many historical and environmental features have made it one of the most economically significant rivers the world over. However, one must question whether the Mississippi River should be capitalized or not.<\/p>\n

Overview<\/h2>\n

The debate over whether to capitalize the ‘M’ of Mississippi River dates as far back as the 1800s. In most cases, it’s generally accepted that certain proper nouns should always be written with a capital letter, and so most people tend to capitalize it when discussing the river either in a formal or informal context. <\/p>\n

However, there are some who believe that because the Mississippi River is not the name of a person, nor is it an officially designated title, that it should not be capitalized. Other experts point out that ocean, bay and lake are rarely capitalized, so by that same logic Mississippi River should not be capitalized either.<\/p>\n

Historical Context<\/h2>\n

It’s widely accepted that the first use of the name “Mississippi River” dates all the way back to the 16th century when both French explorers and Native Americans living in the region began referring to the river by that name. By the 19th century, the widespread use of the name almost always included a capital letter for the word “Mississippi”.<\/p>\n