paragraph_text: The first USS "Sovereign" (1855) was a 336-ton steamer captured on the Mississippi River by the Union Navy during the beginning of the American Civil War.

paragraph_text: Bruce is a town situated along the Skuna River in Calhoun County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,939.

paragraph_text: Louisiana (, ) is a state in the Deep South region of the South Central United States. It is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Louisiana is bordered by the state of Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. A large part of its eastern boundary is demarcated by the Mississippi River. Louisiana is the only U.S. state with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are equivalent to counties. The state's capital is Baton Rouge, and its largest city is New Orleans.

paragraph_text: The Mississippi River is the chief river of the second - largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. The stream is entirely within the United States (although its drainage basin reaches into Canada), its source is Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota and it flows generally south for 2,320 miles (3,730 km) to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth - longest and fifteenth - largest river in the world by discharge. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

paragraph_text: Fort Ripley is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Nokasippi Rivers. The population was 69 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area.

paragraph_text: The Crawfish River is a tributary of the Rock River, long, in south-central Wisconsin in the United States. Via the Rock River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.

paragraph_text: Port Gibson is a city in Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2010 census. Port Gibson is the county seat of Claiborne County, which is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. It is the site of the Claiborne County Courthouse.

paragraph_text: The Strawberry River is a tributary of the Black River, about long, in northern Arkansas in the United States. Via the Black and White rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.

paragraph_text: Into western Arkansas, the river path works between the encroaching Boston and Ouachita Mountains, including many isolated, flat - topped mesas, buttes, or monadnocks such as Mount Nebo, Petit Jean Mountain, and Mount Magazine, the highest point in the state. The river valley then expands as it encounters much flatter land beginning just west of Little Rock, Arkansas. It continues eastward across the plains and forests of eastern Arkansas until it flows into the Mississippi River.

paragraph_text: From fewer than 6,120 white settlers in 1850, Minnesota's official population grew to over 1.7 million by 1900. Each of the next six decades saw a 15 percent increase in population, reaching 3.4 million in 1960. Growth then slowed, rising 11 percent to 3.8 million in 1970, and an average of 9 percent over the next three decades to 4.9 million in the 2000 Census.The United States Census Bureau estimates the population of Minnesota was 5,611,179 on July 1, 2018, a 5.79 percent increase since the 2010 United States Census.  The rate of population change, and age and gender distributions, approximate the national average. Minnesota's center of population is in Hennepin County.As of the 2010 Census, the population of Minnesota was 5,303,925. The gender makeup of the state was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. 24.2% of the population were under the age of 18; 9.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 27.1% were from 45 to 64; and 12.9% were 65 years of age or older.The table below shows the racial composition of Minnesota's population as of 2017.

paragraph_text: The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads that follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States. They are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. It formerly extended north into Canada, serving the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba.

paragraph_text: Red Wing (Formerly Known as Wahcoota) is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,459 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County.

paragraph_text: Mississippi ( (listen)) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Mississippi is the 32nd largest and 34th-most populous of the 50 United States. Mississippi is bordered to north by Tennessee, to the east by Alabama, to the south by the Gulf of Mexico, to the southwest by Louisiana, and to the northwest by Arkansas.  Mississippi's western boundary is largely defined by the Mississippi River.  Jackson is both the state's capital and largest city.  Greater Jackson, with an estimated population of 580,166 in 2018, is the most populous metropolitan area in Mississippi and the 95th-most populous in the United States.

paragraph_text: In 2011 the 26 states east of the Mississippi (in addition to Washington, D.C. but not including the small portions of Louisiana and Minnesota east of the river) had an estimated population of 179,948,346 or 58.28% of the total U.S. population of 308,745,358 (excluding Puerto Rico).

paragraph_text: Tana Glacier is a 17-mile-long (27 km) glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It begins at Bagley Icefield and flows northwest to its 1950 terminus near the head of the Tana River. Its name, of Alaska Native origin, was first recorded by prospectors in 1900.

paragraph_text: Louisiana  is a state in the Deep South region of the South Central United States.  It is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States.  Louisiana is bordered by the state of Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south.  A large part of its eastern boundary is demarcated by the Mississippi River. Louisiana is the only U.S. state with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are equivalent to counties.  The state's capital is Baton Rouge, and its largest city is New Orleans.

paragraph_text: The Elk River is a tributary of the Verdigris River in southeastern Kansas in the United States. Via the Verdigris and Arkansas rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.

paragraph_text: The Missouri River is the longest river in North America. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km) before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river takes drainage from a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles (1,300,000 km), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river system.

paragraph_text: In 1817 elected delegates wrote a constitution and applied to Congress for statehood. On Dec. 10, 1817, the western portion of Mississippi Territory became the State of Mississippi, the 20th state of the Union. Natchez, long established as a major river port, was the first state capital. As more population came into the state and future growth was anticipated, in 1822 the capital was moved to the more central location of Jackson.

paragraph_text: Avondale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 4,954 at the 2010 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Question: How many people were in the state where the Mississippi river begins in 1900?
Answer: 1.7 million