Difference between revisions of "Missouri" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
(atleast 116 changes)
 
(139 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Images OK}}
+
{{Images OK}}{{Submitted}}{{Approved}}{{Copyedited}}
{{Two other uses|the U.S. state|the river|Missouri River|all other uses|Missouri (disambiguation)}}
+
{{Infobox U.S. state
{{US state |
+
| Name = Missouri
Name = Missouri |
+
| Fullname = State of Missouri
Fullname = State of Missouri|
+
| Former = Missouri Territory
Former = Missouri Territory |
+
| Flag = Flag of Missouri.svg
Flag = Flag of Missouri.svg |
+
| Seal = Seal of Missouri.svg
Flaglink = [[Flag of Missouri]] |
+
| Map = Map of USA MO.svg
Seal = Seal of Missouri.svg |
+
| Nickname = The Show-Me State (unofficial)
Map = Map of USA MO.svg |
+
| Motto = [[Salus populi suprema lex esto]] ([[Latin]])
Nickname = The Show-Me State''<br />|
+
| MottoEnglish = Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law
Motto = [[Salus populi suprema lex esto]] |
+
| Capital = [[Jefferson City, Missouri|Jefferson City]]
Capital = [[Jefferson City, Missouri|Jefferson City]] |
+
| LargestCity = [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]
LargestCity = [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] |
+
| LargestMetro = [[Greater St. Louis|Greater St Louis Area]]<ref>{{cite web|url= |title=U.S. Census 2000 Metropolitan Area Rankings; ranked by population}}</ref>
LargestMetro =[[Greater St. Louis|St Louis]]<ref>http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t29/tab03b.xls U.S. Census 2000 Metropolitan Area Rankings; ranked by population</ref> |
+
| Demonym = Missourian
Demonym = Missourian |
+
| Governor = [[Jay Nixon]] (D)
Governor = [[Matt Blunt]] (R) |
+
| Lieutenant Governor = [[Peter Kinder]] (R)
Lieutenant Governor = [[Peter Kinder]] (R) |  
+
| Legislature = [[Missouri General Assembly|General Assembly]]
Senators = [[Kit Bond]] (R)<br/>[[Claire McCaskill]] (D)<br/>|
+
| Upperhouse = [[Missouri Senate|Senate]]
PostalAbbreviation = MO |
+
| Lowerhouse = [[Missouri House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
OfficialLang = [[English language|English]]|
+
| Senators = [[Claire McCaskill]] (D)<br />[[Roy Blunt]] (R)
AreaRank = 21<sup>st</sup> |
+
| Representative = 6 Republicans, 3 Democrats
TotalAreaUS = 69,704 |
+
| PostalAbbreviation = MO
TotalArea = 180,533 |
+
| OfficialLang = None
LandAreaUS =68,886 |
+
| AreaRank = 21st
LandArea = 178,415 |
+
| TotalAreaUS = 69,704
WaterAreaUS =818 |
+
| TotalArea = 180,533
WaterArea = 2,119 |
+
| LandAreaUS = 68,886
PCWater = 1.17 |
+
| LandArea = 178,455
PopRank = 18<sup>th</sup> |  
+
| WaterAreaUS = 818
2000Pop = 5,878,415<ref>http://www.census.gov/popest/states/tables/NST-EST2007-01.csv 2007 Population Estimates</ref> |
+
| WaterArea = 2,119
DensityRank = 27<sup>th</sup> |
+
| PCWater = 1.17
2000DensityUS = 84.82|
+
| PopRank = 18th
2000Density = 31 |
+
| 2000Pop = 6,010,688 (2011 est)<ref name=PopEstUS>{{cite web|url=|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011|format=[[comma-separated values|CSV]]|work=2011 Population Estimates|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], Population Division|date=December 2011}}</ref>
MedianHouseholdIncome = $32,705 |
+
| DensityRank = 28th
  IncomeRank = 31<sup>st</sup> |
+
| 2000DensityUS = 87.3
AdmittanceOrder = 24<sup>th</sup> |
+
| 2000Density = 33.7
AdmittanceDate = August 10, 1821 |
+
| HumanDevelopmentIndex = 0.912
TimeZone = [[Central Standard Time Zone|Central]] : [[UTC]]-6/[[Daylight saving time|-5]] |
+
| MedianHouseholdIncome = $46,867
Latitude = 36° N to 40°&#8202;37′ N |
+
| IncomeRank = 35th
Longitude = 89°&#8202;6′ W to 95°&#8202;46′ W |
+
| AdmittanceOrder = 24th
WidthUS =240 |
+
| AdmittanceDate = August 10, 1821
Width = 385 |
+
| TimeZone = [[Central Standard Time Zone|Central]]: [[UTC]]-6/[[Daylight saving time|-5]]
LengthUS = 300 |
+
| Latitude = [[36th parallel north|36° N]] to 40° 37′ N
Length = 480 |
+
| Longitude = 89° 6′ W to 95° 46′ W
HighestPoint = [[Taum Sauk Mountain]]<ref name=usgs>{{cite web| year =29 April 2005 | url =http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest| title =Elevations and Distances in the United States| publisher =U.S Geological Survey| accessmonthday = November 6 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> |
+
| WidthUS = 240
HighestElevUS = 1,772 |
+
| Width = 385
HighestElev = 540 |
+
| LengthUS = 300
MeanElevUS = 800   |
+
| Length = 480
MeanElev = 240 |
+
| HighestPoint = [[Taum Sauk Mountain]]<ref name=USGS>{{cite web|url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html|title=Elevations and Distances in the United States|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|year=2001|accessdate=October 24, 2011}}</ref><ref name=NAVD88>Elevation adjusted to [[North American Vertical Datum of 1988]].</ref>
LowestPoint = [[Saint Francis River]]<ref name=usgs/> |
+
| HighestElevUS = 1,772
LowestElevUS = 230 |
+
| HighestElev = 540
LowestElev = 70 |
+
| MeanElevUS = 800
ISOCode = US-MO |
+
| MeanElev = 240
Website = www.mo.gov
+
| LowestPoint = [[Saint Francis River]] at<br>southern [[Arkansas]] border<ref name=USGS/><ref name=NAVD88/>
 +
| LowestElevUS = 230
 +
| LowestElev = 70
 +
| ISOCode = US-MO
 +
| Website = www.mo.gov
 
}}
 
}}
'''Missouri''' ({{pronEng|m<s>ɪ</s>ˈzʊri}} or {{IPA|/m<s>ɪ</s>ˈzʊrə/}}) is a [[U.S. state|state]] in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern region]] of the [[United States]]<ref>http://www.census.gov/const/regionmap.pdf</ref>  bordered by  [[Iowa]], [[Illinois]], [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], [[Arkansas]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Kansas]] and [[Nebraska]]. Missouri is the 18th most populous state. It comprises [[List of counties in Missouri|114 counties]] and one [[independent city]]. Missouri's capital is [[Jefferson City, Missouri|Jefferson City]]. The four largest [[List of United States urban areas|urban areas]] are, in descending order, [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]], and [[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]].<ref>http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/ua2k.txt</ref>  Missouri was originally acquired from [[France]] as part of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] and became defined as the [[Missouri Territory]]. Part of the Missouri Territory was admitted into the union as the 24th state in 1821.
 
  
Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the nation with a mixture of [[urban]] and [[rural]] culture. It has long been considered a political [[Missouri bellwether|bellwether state]].<ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0411030358nov03,1,6377649.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-utl&ctrack=1&cset=true]</ref>  It has both [[Midwest]]ern and [[Southern United States|Southern]] cultural influences, reflecting its history as a [[Border states (Civil War)|border state]]. It is also a transition between the eastern and western United States, as St. Louis is often called the "western-most eastern city" and Kansas City the "eastern-most western city."  Missouri's geography is highly varied. The northern part of the state lies in [[Dissected Till Plains|dissected till plains]] while the southern part lies in the [[Ozarks|Ozark Mountains]], with the [[Missouri River]] dividing the two. The [[confluence]] of the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] and Missouri rivers is located near St. Louis.<ref>[http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/mo_intro.htm Introduction to Missouri - The Show Me State Capital Jefferson City<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>
 
  
==Etymology and pronunciation==
+
'''Missouri''' is a state in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern region]] of the [[United States]]. It was acquired from [[France]] as part of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] in 1803 and was admitted into the Union as the 24th state in 1821.
The state is named after the [[Missouri River]] which in turn is named after the [[Siouan]] Indian tribe whose [[Illinois language|Illinois]] name, ''ouemessourita'' (''wimihsoorita''<ref>McCafferty, Michael. 2004. ''[http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_speech/v079/79.1mccafferty.html Correction: Etymology of Missouri] (restricted access)''. American Speech, 79.1:32</ref>), means "those who have dugout [[canoe]]s".<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/61/41/M0344100.html American Heritage Dictionary: Missouri]</ref> The etymology lies behind [http://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/Robert%20L.htm Bob Dyer]'s tribute, [http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiBIGCANOE.html "River of the Big Canoes."]
 
  
The pronunciation of the final syllable of "Missouri" is a matter of controversy, with significant numbers insisting on a relatively tense vowel (as in "meet") or lax ("mitt" or "mutt"). The most [http://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/Missouri%20Folklore%20Studies/THE%20PRONONCIATION%20OF%20MISSOURI.htm thorough study of the question] was done by dialectologist [http://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/dml.html Donald Max Lance]. From a linguistic point of view, there is no correct pronunciation, but rather, there are simply patterns of variation, diachronic as well as synchronic, according to such divisions as geography, age, education, and/or rural vs. urban location.
+
Once a battleground between [[Slavery|slave]] owners and [[Abolitionism|abolitionists]], Missouri today mirrors the demographic, economic, and political makeup of the nation, with a mixture of urban and rural culture, and has long been considered a political bellwether state. It has both [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] and [[Southern United States|Southern]] cultural influences.  
  
==Geography==
+
Missouri also marks a transition between the eastern and western United States, with [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] often called the "western-most eastern city" and [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] the "eastern-most western city." There is great diversity in Missourians' culture and character. The two largest metropolitan areas are centers of fine art, [[music]], and [[theater]], in marked contrast to the [[folk culture]] and native [[ars and craft|crafts]] of [[the Ozarks]]. Despite these differences, Missourians can generally be described as politically, socially, and religiously conservative. 
{{main article|Geography of Missouri}}
+
{{toc}}
[[Image:National-atlas-missouri.png|thumb|300px|right|Missouri, showing major cities and roads]]
+
More than 47 percent of Missouri is situated on the [[The Ozarks|the Ozarks Plateau]]. It is a region of clear-water [[lake]]s, [[mountain]] [[stream]]s and [[river]]s, towering bluffs, underground [[Cave|caverns]], and abundant [[wildlife]] that has managed largely to avoid development.
Missouri borders eight different states, as does its neighbor, Tennessee. No state in the U.S. touches more than eight states. Missouri is bounded on the north by [[Iowa]]; on the east, across the Mississippi River, by [[Illinois]], [[Kentucky]], and [[Tennessee]]; on the south by [[Arkansas]]; and on the west by [[Oklahoma]], [[Kansas]], and [[Nebraska]] (the last across the Missouri River.) The two largest Missouri rivers are the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]], which defines the eastern boundary of the state, and the [[Missouri River|Missouri]], which flows from west to east through the state, practically connecting the two largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis.
 
  
Although today the state is usually considered part of the [[Midwest (US)|Midwest]],<ref>http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/midwestus_nl.pdf</ref><ref>[http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.midwest.htm Midwest Region Economy at a Glance<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref> historically Missouri was sometimes considered a [[South (US)|South]]ern state,<ref>[http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun99/reed16.htm UNC-CH surveys reveal where the ‘real’ South lies<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>, chiefly because of the settlement of migrants from the South and its status as a slave state before the Civil War. The counties that made up "[[Little Dixie (Missouri)|Little Dixie]]" were those along the Missouri River in the center of the state, settled by Southern migrants who held the greatest concentration of slaves.
+
==Etymology and pronunciation==
 +
The state is named after the [[Missouri River]], which in turn is named after the [[Sioux|Siouan]] Indian tribe whose Illinois name, ''ouemessourita'' (''wimihsoorita''<ref>Michael McCafferty. 2004. [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_speech/v079/79.1mccafferty.html Correction: Etymology of Missouri] (restricted access). ''American Speech'' 79 (1):32</ref>), means "those who have dugout canoes".<ref> [http://www.bartleby.com/61/41/M0344100.html American Heritage Dictionary: Missouri] ''Bartleby.com''. Retrieved November 20, 2008.</ref>  
  
Residents of cities farther north and of the state's large metropolitan areas, including those where most of the state's population resides ([[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[St Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], and [[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]]), typically consider themselves Midwestern. In rural areas and cities farther south, such as ([[Cape Girardeau, Missouri|Cape Girardeau]], [[Poplar Bluff]], [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]], and [[Sikeston, Missouri|Sikeston]]), residents typically self-identify as more Southern.  
+
The pronunciation of the final syllable of "Missouri" is a matter of controversy, with significant numbers insisting on a relatively tense vowel (as in "meet") or lax ("mitt" or "mutt"). From a linguistic point of view, there is no correct pronunciation, but rather, there are simply patterns of variation.
  
===Topography===
+
==Geography==
[[Image:US mo physiographic map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A physiographic map of Missouri]]
+
[[Image:National-atlas-missouri.png|thumb|250px|right|Missouri, showing major cities and roads]]
North of the Missouri River lie the Northern Plains that stretch into Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Here, gentle rolling hills remain behind from the [[glaciation]] that once extended from the north to the Missouri River. Missouri has many large river bluffs along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramec Rivers. The [[Ozark]] foothills begin around Rolla. The Ozark plateau begins around Springfield and extends into northwestern Arkansas, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma. [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]] in southwestern Missouri lies on the most northwestern part of the Ozark plateau. Southern Missouri rises to the [[Ozark Mountains]], a [[dissected plateau]] surrounding the [[Precambrian]] [[igneous]] [[Saint Francois Mountain Range|St. Francois Mountains]].  
+
Missouri's geography is highly varied. The northern part of the state lies in dissected till plains (formed from the [[soil]] and [[rock]]s left by melting [[glacier]]s and cut by rivers and streams), while the southern part lies in the [[Ozarks|Ozark Mountains]], with the [[Missouri River]] dividing the two. The confluence of the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] and Missouri rivers is located near the city of [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]].
  
The southeastern part of the state is the [[Bootheel]] region, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain or [[Mississippi embayment]]. It is in this part of the state as well as the South Central part that speech patterns are comparable to those of Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee. This region is the lowest, flattest, and wettest part of the state, and among the poorest, as the economy is mostly agricultural.<ref>[http://ded.mo.gov/researchandplanning/community/misc/sa-1102-1.stm Income Inequality in Missouri<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref> It is also the most fertile, with cotton and rice crops predominant. The Bootheel was the epicenter of the [[New Madrid Earthquake]] of 1811&ndash;1812.
+
Missouri borders eight different states. It is bounded on the north by [[Iowa]]; on the east, across the [[Mississippi River]], by [[Illinois]], [[Kentucky]], and [[Tennessee]]; on the south by [[Arkansas]]; and on the west by [[Oklahoma]], [[Kansas]], and [[Nebraska]] (the last across the [[Missouri River]].) The sections of the state which touch Kentucky, Tennessee and Nebraska, however, are only a matter of miles. The two largest rivers in the state are the Mississippi, which defines the eastern boundary of the state, and the Missouri, which flows from west to east through the state, practically connecting the two largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis. The capital is Jefferson City, located in the center of the state.
  
===Climate===
+
Although today the state is usually considered part of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]],<ref>''Houghton Mifflin Education''. [http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/midwestus_nl.pdf US: Midwest Region] Retrieved November 20, 2008.</ref> historically Missouri was sometimes considered a [[Southern United States|Southern]] state,<ref>David Williamson. June 2, 1999. UNC-CH surveys reveal where the ‘real’ South lies ''University of North Carolina''.</ref> chiefly because of the settlement of migrants from the South and its status as a [[slavery|slave]] state before the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. The counties that made up "Little Dixie" were those along the Missouri River in the center of the state, settled by southern migrants who held the greatest concentration of slaves.  
{{main article|Climate of Missouri}}
 
Missouri generally has a humid continental climate ([[Koppen climate classification]] Dfa), with cold winters and hot and humid summers. In the southern part of the state, particularly in the Bootheel, the climate borders on a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa). Located in the interior United States, Missouri often experiences extremes in temperatures. Without high mountains or oceans nearby to moderate temperature, its climate is alternately influenced by air from the cold Arctic and the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico.
 
  
{| class="wikitable" "text-align:center;font-size:90%;"|
+
Residents of cities farther north and of the state's large metropolitan areas, including those where most of the state's population resides (Kansas City, St. Louis, and Columbia), typically consider themselves Midwestern. In rural areas and cities farther south, such as Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff, Springfield, and Sikeston, residents typically self-identify as more Southern.  
| colspan="13" style="text-align:center;font-size:120%;background:#E8EAFA;"|Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Missouri Cities
 
|-
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color: #000000" height="17" | City
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Jan
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Feb
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Mar
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Apr
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | May
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Jun
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Jul
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Aug
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Sep
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Oct
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Nov
 
! style="background: #E5AFAA; color:#000000;" | Dec
 
|-
 
! style="background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" height="16;" | Columbia
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 37/18
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 44/23
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 55/33
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 66/43
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 75/53
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 84/62
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 89/66
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 87/64
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 79/55
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 68/44
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 53/33
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 42/22
 
|-
 
! style="background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" height="16;" | Kansas City
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 36/18
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 43/23
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 54/33
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 65/44
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 75/54
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 84/63
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 89/68
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 87/66
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 79/57
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 68/46
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 52/33
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 40/22
 
|-
 
! style="background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" height="16;" | Springfield
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 42/22
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 48/26
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 58/35
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 68/44
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 76/53
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 85/62
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 90/67
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 90/66
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 81/57
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 71/46
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 56/35
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #F8F3CA; color:#000000;" | 46/26
 
|-
 
! style="background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" height="16;" | St. Louis
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 38/21
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 44/26
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 55/36
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 67/46
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 76/57
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 85/66
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 90/71
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 88/69
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 80/60
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 68/48
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 54/37
 
| style="text-align:center; background: #C5DFE1; color:#000000;" | 42/26
 
|-
 
| colspan="13" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;background:#E8EAFA;"|''[http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-missouri/]''
 
|}
 
  
{{see also|List of Missouri state parks}}
+
===Topography===
 +
[[Image:US mo physiographic map.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A physiographic map of Missouri]]
 +
North of the Missouri River lie the Northern Plains that stretch into [[Iowa]], [[Nebraska]], and [[Kansas]]. Here, gentle rolling hills remain behind from the [[glaciation]] that once extended from the north to the Missouri River. Missouri has many large river bluffs along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramec Rivers.
  
==History==
+
Southern Missouri rises to the [[Ozark Mountains]], a dissected plateau surrounding the [[Precambrian]] [[igneous]] St. Francois Mountains. The Ozark plateau begins around Springfield and extends into northwestern [[Arkansas]], southeastern Kansas, and northeastern [[Oklahoma]]. Springfield in southwestern Missouri lies on the most northwestern part of the Ozark plateau.
{{main|History of Missouri}}
 
{{see also|Missouri in the American Civil War}}
 
  
{{US state insignia |
+
The southeastern part of the state, known as the Bootheel because of its shape, is part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. This region is the lowest, flattest, and wettest part of the state, as well as among the poorest, as the economy is mostly [[agriculture|agricultural]]. It is also the most fertile, with [[cotton]] and [[rice]] crops predominant.
  Name  = Missouri |
 
  Motto  = ''Salus populi suprema lex esto''<br/>([[Latin]], "The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law") |
 
  Slogan = ''Show Me'' |
 
  Bird  = [[Eastern Bluebird|Bluebird]] |
 
  Animal = [[Missouri Mule]] (1995) |
 
  Fish  = [[Channel Catfish]] (1997) |
 
  Insect = [[Western honey bee|Honey bee]] (1985) |
 
  Flower = [[Crataegus|Hawthorn]] (1923) |
 
  Tree  = [[Flowering Dogwood]]  (1955)|
 
  Song  = "[[Missouri Waltz]]" (1949)|
 
  Quarter  = Missouri quarter, reverse side, 2003.jpg |
 
  QuarterReleaseDate = Released in 2003 |
 
  Butterfly = |
 
  Furbearer = |
 
  Grass    = |
 
  Reptile  = |
 
  Wildflower= |
 
  Beverage  = |
 
  Colors    = |
 
  Dance    = [[Square dance]] (1995)|
 
  Fossil    = [[Crinoid]]  (1989)|
 
  Dinosaur  = ''[[Hypsibema]] missouriensis'' (2004) [http://www.moga.state.mo.us/statutes/C000-099/0100000095.HTM] |
 
  Gemstone  = [[Aquamarine]] |
 
  Mineral  = [[Galena]] (1967)|
 
  MusicalInstrument= |
 
  Neckwear  = |
 
  StateRock = [[Mozarkite]] (1967) |
 
  Games    = |
 
  Ship      = |
 
  Soil      = |
 
  Tartan    = |
 
  Waltz    = |
 
  Plant    = |
 
  Berry    = |
 
  Fruit    = |
 
  Vegetable = |
 
  Shell    = |
 
  Trout    = |
 
  Christmas_tree= |
 
  Dog      =
 
}}
 
[[Image:Stlouisarchnps.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The [[Jefferson National Expansion Memorial|Gateway Arch]] behind the Old Courthouse in St. Louis]]
 
Originally part of the 1803 [[Louisiana Purchase]], Missouri was admitted as a slave state in 1821 as part of the [[Missouri Compromise]]. It earned the nickname "Gateway to the West" because it served as a departure point for settlers heading to the west. It was the starting point and the return destination of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]]. River traffic and trade along the Mississippi was integral to the state's economy. To try to control flooding, by 1860 the state had completed construction of {{convert|140|mi|km}} of levees on the Mississippi.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archives-free/pdf, New York ''Times'', "Louisiana: The Levee System of the State," 10/8/1874; accessed 11/15/2007]</ref>
 
  
The state was site of the epicenter of the New Madrid earthquake in 1811-12, possibly the most massive earthquake in the United States since the founding of the country. Casualties were light due to the sparse population.
+
The Bootheel was the epicenter of the New Madrid [[earthquake]]s of 1811&ndash;1812. Scientists estimate there is a seven to ten percent chance, by the mid-twenty-first century, of a repeat of a major earthquake like those of 1811-1812, which likely had magnitudes of between 7.5 and 8.0. There is a 25 to 40 percent chance, in a 50-year time span, of a magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquake.  
  
Originally the state's western border was a straight line, defined as the meridian passing through the Kawsmouth,<ref>Hoffhaus. (1984). Chez Les Canses: Three Centuries at Kawsmouth. Kansas City: Lowell Press. ISBN 0-913504-91-2.</ref> the point where the [[Kansas River]] enters the Missouri River. The river has moved since this designation. This line is known as the Osage Boundary.<ref>[http://supreme.justia.com/us/48/660/case.html MISSOURI V. IOWA, 48 U. S. 660 (1849) - US Supreme Court Cases from Justia & Oyez<!-- Bot generated title —>]</ref>  In 1835 the [[Platte Purchase]] was added to the northwest corner of the state after purchasing the land from the native tribes, making the Missouri River the border north of the Kansas River. This addition made what was already the largest state in the Union at the time (about {{convert|66500|sqmi|sqkm}} to Virginia's 65,000 square miles (which included West Virginia at the time) even larger.<ref>[[D.W. Meinig|Meinig, D.W.]] (1993). The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History, Volume 2: Continental America, 1800-1867. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-05658-3; pg. 437</ref>
+
Missouri has over 6,000 recorded [[cave]]s (second only to [[Kentucky]]). Perry County has both the largest number of caves and the single longest cave in the state (Crevice Cave, at 28.2 miles).<ref name="MSS">Scott House. May 14, 2005. Fact Sheet on 6000 Caves ''The Missouri Speleological Survey, Inc.''</ref>
  
As many of the early settlers in western Missouri migrated from the Upper South, they brought along enslaved African Americans and a desire to continue their culture and the institution of slavery. They settled predominately in 17 counties along the Missouri River, in an area of flatlands that enabled plantation agriculture and became known as "[[Little Dixie]]." In the early 1830s, [[Mormon]] migrants from northern states and Canada began settling near Independence and areas just north of there. Conflicts over slavery and religion arose between the 'old settlers' (mainly from the South) and the Mormons (mainly from the [[North]] and [[Canada]]). The '[[Mormon War]]' erupted. By 1839 settlers expelled the Mormons from Missouri.  
+
===Flora and fauna===
 +
[[Image:Big Spring Missouri 1-02Aug08.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Big Spring in the Missouri [[The Ozarks|Ozarks]] is one of the largest in the [[United States]], discharging 276 million gallons of water per day into the [[Current River (Missouri)|Current River]].]]
 +
[[Forest]]s cover about one-third of Missouri, mostly found in the [[Ozarks]] and along rivers, but the old-growth [[tree]]s were cut down by settlers and loggers. Some small stands of the original tallgrass [[prairie]] that once covered the state still exist.
  
Conflicts over slavery exacerbated border tensions among the states and territories. In 1838-1839 a border dispute with Iowa over the so-called [[Honey Lands]] resulted in both states' calling up militias along the border. After many incidents with Kansans crossing the western border for attacks (including setting a fire in the historic Westport area of [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]), a border war erupted between Missouri and [[Kansas]].  
+
The [[mammal]]s found in Missouri include black [[bear]]s, [[bobcat]]s, [[coyote]]s, [[otter]]s, [[deer]], and [[beaver]]. The [[bird]]s include [[eagle]]s, [[quail]], wild [[turkey]]s, [[grouse]], American [[woodcock]]s, [[duck]]s, [[goose|geese]], and other waterbirds. Such [[fish]] as [[bass]], bluegill, paddlefish, and [[catfish]] are found in its [[river]]s.
  
From the 1830s to the 1860s, Missouri's population almost doubled with every decade. Most of the newcomers were Americans, but many Irish and German immigrants arrived in the late 1840s and 1850s. Having fled famine, oppression and revolutionary upheaval, they were not sympathetic to slavery.  
+
===Climate===
 +
Missouri generally has a humid continental [[climate]], with cold [[winter]]s and hot and humid [[summer]]s. In the southern part of the state, particularly in the Bootheel, the climate borders on a humid subtropical climate. Located in the interior [[United States]], Missouri often experiences extremes in temperatures. Without high [[mountain]]s or [[ocean]]s nearby to moderate temperature, its climate is alternately influenced by air from the cold [[Arctic]] and the hot and humid [[Gulf of Mexico]].
  
Most Missouri farmers practiced subsistence farming. The majority of those who held slaves had fewer than 5 each. Planters, defined by historians as those holding 20 or more slaves, were concentrated in the counties known as "Little Dixie," in the central part of the state along the Missouri River. The tensions over slavery had chiefly to do with the future of the state and nation. In 1860 enslaved African Americans made up less than 10% of the state's population of 1,182,012.<ref>[http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/ Historical Census Browser, 1860 Federal Census, University of Virginia Library], accessed 21 Mar 2008</ref>
+
==History==
 
+
{{MetaSidebar|250px|#ffffaa|right|[[Missouri State symbols]]|
After the secession of Southern states began, the Missouri legislature called for the election of a special convention on secession. The convention voted decisively to remain within the Union. Pro-Southern Governor [[Claiborne F. Jackson]] ordered the mobilization of several hundred members of the state militia who had gathered in a camp in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] for training. Alarmed at this action, Union General [[Nathaniel Lyon]] struck first, encircling the peaceful camp and forcing the state troops to surrender. Lyon then directed his soldiers, largely non-[[English language|English]]-speaking [[Germany|German]] immigrants, to march the prisoners through the streets, and opened fire on the largely hostile crowds of civilians who gathered around them. Soldiers killed unarmed prisoners as well as men, women and children of St. Louis in the incident that became known as the "[[St. Louis Massacre]]."
+
*'''[[State motto|Motto]]:'''
 
+
:''Salus populi suprema lex esto''
These events heightened [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] support within the state. Governor Jackson appointed [[Sterling Price]], president of the convention on secession, as head of the new [[Missouri State Guard]]. In the face of General Lyon's rapid advance in the state, Jackson and Price were forced to flee the capital of [[Jefferson City]] on June 14, 1861. In the town of [[Neosho, Missouri]], Jackson called the state legislature into session. They enacted a secession ordinance, recognized by the Confederacy on October 30, 1861.
+
:"The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law"
 
+
*'''[[State Slogan|Slogan]]:''' "Show Me"
With the elected governor absent from his capital and the legislators largely dispersed, Union forces installed an unelected pro-Union provisional government with [[Hamilton Gamble]] as provisional governor. President Lincoln's Administration immediately recognized Gamble's government as the legal government. This decision provided both pro-Union militia forces for service within the state and volunteer regiments for the Union Army.
+
*'''[[State song|Song]]:''' "Missouri Waltz"
 
+
*'''[[State Musical Instrument|Musical Instrument]]:''' Fiddle
Fighting ensued between Union forces and a combined army of General Price's Missouri State Guard and Confederate troops from [[Arkansas]] and [[Texas]] under General [[Ben McCulloch]]. After winning victories at the battle of [[Battle of Wilson's Creek|Wilson's Creek]] and the siege of [[Lexington, Missouri]] and suffering losses elsewhere, the Confederate forces had little choice but to retreat to Arkansas and later [[Marshall, Texas]], in the face of a largely reinforced Union Army.
+
*'''[[State Dance|Dance]]:''' Square dance
 
+
*'''[[State animal|Animal]]:''' Missouri Mule
Though regular Confederate troops staged some large-scale raids into Missouri, the fighting in the state for the next three years consisted chiefly of [[guerrilla warfare]]. "Citizen soldiers" such as Colonel [[William Quantrill]], [[Frank James|Frank]] and [[Jesse James (outlaw)|Jesse James]], the [[James-Younger gang|Younger brothers]], and [[William T. Anderson]] made use of quick, small unit tactics. Pioneered by the Missouri Partisan Rangers, such insurgencies also arose in other portions of the Confederacy occupied during the Civil War. Recently historians have assessed the James brothers' outlaw years as continuing guerrilla warfare after the official war was over.
+
*'''[[State fish|Fish]]:''' Channel Catfish
 
+
*'''[[List of U.S. state birds|Bird]]:''' Bluebird
In 1930, there was a diphtheria epidemic in the area around Springfield which killed approximately 100 people. Serum was rushed to the area stopping the epidemic.
+
*'''[[State flower|Flower]]:''' Hawthorn
 
+
*'''[[State insect|Insect]]:''' Honey bee
In 1965, the [[Gateway Arch]] was constructed in St. Louis in an effort to redevelop the area.
+
*'''[[State tree|Tree]]:''' Flowering Dogwood
 
+
*'''[[State Fossil|Fossil]]:''' Crinoid
==Demographics==
+
*'''[[State Dinosaur|Dinosaur]]:''' Hypsibema missouriensis
[[Image:Missouri population map.png|thumb|left|Missouri Population Density Map]]
+
*'''[[State Gemstone|Gemstone]]:''' Aquamarine
{{USCensusPop
+
*'''[[State Mineral|Mineral]]:''' Galena
|1810 = 19783
+
*'''[[State Rock|Rock]]:''' Mozarkite
|1820 = 66586
 
|1830 = 140455
 
|1840 = 383702
 
|1850 = 682044
 
|1860 = 1182012
 
|1870 = 1721295
 
|1880 = 2168380
 
|1890 = 2679185
 
|1900 = 3106665
 
|1910 = 3293335
 
|1920 = 3404055
 
|1930 = 3629367
 
|1940 = 3784664
 
|1950 = 3954653
 
|1960 = 4319813
 
|1970 = 4676501
 
|1980 = 4916686
 
|1990 = 5117073
 
|2000 = 5595211
 
|estyear = 2006
 
|estimate = 5842713
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
In 2006, Missouri had an estimated population of 5,842,713; an increase of 45,010 (0.8 percent) from the prior year and an increase of 246,030 (4.4 percent) since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase of 137,564 people since the last census (480,763 births less 343,199 deaths), and an increase of 88,088 people due to net [[Human migration|migration]] into the state. [[Immigration to the United States|Immigration]] from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 50,450 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 37,638 people. Over half of Missourians (3,145,584 people, or 56.2%) live within the state's two largest metropolitan areas–St. Louis and Kansas City. The state's [[population density]] is also [[List of U.S. states by population density|closer to the national average than any other state]].
+
===Prehistory===
 
+
People first arrived in the area now known as Missouri about 12,000 B.C.E. and lived by [[hunting]] [[mammoth]]s, [[mastodon]]s, and giant [[bison]]. Around 7000 B.C.E..E. the [[Archaic culture]] developed. When the [[Woodland culture]] arrived about 3000 years ago, the [[nomad]]ic lifestyle of the previous peoples changed into a more settled one in which crops were grown. As communities grew larger, some of them built flat-topped mounds that were probably used for ceremonies and burials. Among the tribes that came to live in Missouri were the [[Chickasaw]] and [[Mississippian]] in the southeast; the [[Oto]], Missouri, and [[Ioway]] in the north; and the [[Osage]] in the south.
The U.S. Census of 2000 found that the [[mean center of United States population|population center]] of the United States is in [[Phelps County, Missouri]]. The [[center of population]] of Missouri itself is located in [[Osage County, Missouri|Osage County]], in the city of [[Westphalia, Missouri|Westphalia]] [http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt].
 
 
 
As of 2004, the population included 194,000 foreign-born (3.4 percent of the state population).
 
{{US Demographics}}
 
The five largest ancestry groups in Missouri are: [[German American|German]] (23.5 percent), [[Irish American|Irish]] (12.7 percent), American (10.5 percent), [[British American|English]] (9.5 percent), [[French American|French]] (3.5 percent). "American" includes some of those reported as [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[African American]], but also European Americans whose ancestors have lived in the United States for a considerable time.
 
  
German Americans are an ancestry group present throughout Missouri. African Americans are a substantial part of the population in St. Louis, Kansas City, and in the southeastern bootheel and some parts of the Missouri River Valley, where plantation agriculture was once important. Missouri Creoles of French ancestry are concentrated in the [[Mississippi River Valley]] south of St. Louis. A relatively small number (40,000-50,000) of recent [[Bosniaks|Bosniak]] immigrants lives mostly in the St. Louis area.
+
===Early history===
 +
[[Spain|Spanish]] explorer [[Hernando de Soto]] crossed into Missouri on his journey through the [[Southeastern United States|Southeast]] in search of [[gold]], becoming the first [[Europe]]an to see the state. Not until 1673 did other Europeans arrive, the [[France|Frenchmen]] Father [[Jacques Marquette]] and [[Louis Jolliet]]. In 1682, another French explorer, [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]], traveled the length of the [[Mississippi River]] and claimed the land alongside it for France. He gave the region the name Louisiana in honor of [[Louis XIV]]. [[Fur]] trappers and [[missionary|missionaries]] followed, and [[lead]] began to be [[mining|mined]] in 1715 with [[Africa]]n [[slavery|slaves]]. The town of Ste. Genevieve was the first permanent settlement, the second being the [[fur-trading]] post called Saint Louis, established in 1763.
  
In 2004, 6.6 percent of the state's population was reported as younger than 5 years old, 25.5 percent younger than 18, and 13.5 percent was 65 or older. Females were approximately 51.4 percent of the population. 81.3 percent of Missouri residents were high school graduates (more than the national average), and 21.6 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. 3.4 percent of Missourians were foreign-born, and 5.1 percent reported speaking a language other than English at home.
+
In 1762, aware that it was losing the [[French and Indian War]], France ceded its holdings west of the Mississippi to [[Spain]] to keep them out of [[Britain|British]] hands. After the [[American Revolutionary War]], American settlers began to filter into the Spanish-held territory in search of land. In the early 1800s, Spain signed the territory back over to the French, who sold it to the new [[United States]]. President [[Thomas Jefferson]] asked [[Meriwether Lewis]] to explore this new acquisition. The [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] left from [[Saint Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] in 1804, following the [[Missouri River]] west, returning two years later.  
  
In 2000, there were 2,194,594 households in Missouri, with 2.48 people per household. The homeownership rate was 70.3 percent, and the mean value of an owner-occupied dwelling was $89,900. The median household income for 1999 was $37,934, or $19,936 per capita. There were 11.7 percent (637,891) Missourians living below the poverty line in 1999.
+
The state was the epicenter of the New Madrid [[earthquake]]s in 1811-1812, possibly the most massive earthquakes in the United States since the founding of the country. Casualties were light due to the sparse population.
  
The mean commute time to work was 23.8 minutes.
+
===Statehood===
 +
[[Image:Stlouisarchnps.jpg|thumb|right|225px|The Gateway Arch behind the Old Courthouse in St. Louis]]
 +
Missouri was admitted as a slave state in 1821 as part of the [[Missouri Compromise]], which was intended to keep the number of slave and free states equal. St. Louis and later the cities of Independence, [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], and St. Joseph in the western part of the state, served as departure points for settlers heading to the [[Western United States|West]]. River traffic and trade along the Mississippi was integral to the state's economy.  
  
===Religion===
+
In 1835 the Platte Purchase was added to the northwest corner of the state after the land was purchased from the native tribes, making the [[Missouri River]] the border north of the [[Kansas River]]. This addition made what was already the largest state in the Union at the time (about {{convert|66500|sqmi|km2}} to Virginia's 65,000 square miles (which included West Virginia at the time) even larger.<ref>D. W. Meinig. 1993. ''The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History, Volume 2: Continental America, 1800-1867.'' (New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300056583), 437</ref>
Of those Missourians who identify with a religion, three out of five are Protestants. There is also a moderate-sized Catholic community in some parts of the state; approximately one out of five Missourians are Catholic. Heavily Catholic areas include St. Louis and the [[Missouri Rhineland]], particularly that south of the Missouri River.<ref>http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/catholic.gif</ref>
 
  
The religious affiliations of the people of Missouri according to the [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm 2001 American Religious Identification Survey]:
+
===Conflict over slavery===
*[[Christianity|Christian]] &ndash; 77%
+
As many of the early settlers in western Missouri migrated from the Upper South, they brought along enslaved [[African American]]s and a desire to continue their culture and the institution of [[slavery]]. They settled predominantly along the Missouri River, in an area of flatlands that enabled plantation [[agriculture]] and became known as "Little Dixie." In the early 1830s, [[Mormon]] migrants from northern states and [[Canada]] began settling near Independence and areas just north of there. Conflicts over slavery and [[religion]] arose between the "old settlers" (mainly from the South) and the Mormons openly practicing polygamy (mainly from the [[North]] and Canada). The [[Mormon War]] erupted, and by 1839 the settlers had expelled the Mormons from Missouri.
**[[Protestantism|Protestant]]
 
***[[Baptist]] &ndash; 22%
 
***[[Methodism|Methodist]] &ndash; 7%
 
***[[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]] &ndash; 4%
 
***[[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] &ndash; 4%
 
***Other Protestant &ndash; 12%
 
**[[Roman Catholicism in the United States|Roman Catholic]] &ndash; 19%
 
**[[Latter-Day Saint]] &ndash; 1%*
 
**Other or unspecified Christian &ndash; 8%
 
*Other religions &ndash; 2%
 
*Not religious &ndash; 15%
 
*No answer &ndash; 5%
 
  
According to www.[[Adherents.com]], a leading and respected worldwide website on religious statistical information, [[Roman Catholicism]] remains the leading single denomination in the state of [[Missouri]], according to the most recent, certifiable, and accurate statistics.
+
Conflicts over slavery exacerbated border tensions among the states and territories. In 1838-1839 a border dispute with [[Iowa]] resulted in both states' calling up militias along the border. After many incidents with Kansans crossing the western border for attacks (including setting a fire in the historic Westport area of Kansas City), a border war erupted between Missouri and [[Kansas]]. The controversial issue of the status of slavery in Kansas would have an impact on the make-up of the entire nation. In response, both eastern Kansas and western Missouri were flooded with three distinct groups from around the nation: pro-slavers, free-staters and abolitionists, all coming to cast their vote for or against [[slavery]]. Violence broke out among these rival groups, with kidnapping and tar–and–feathering eventually turning to raids and massacres along both sides of the border. These skirmished, which lasted from roughly 1854 to 1858, came to be called "The Border Wars," or "[[Bleeding Kansas]]."
  
Several religious organizations have headquarters in Missouri, including the [[Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod|Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod]], which has its headquarters in [[Kirkwood, Missouri|Kirkwood]], as well as the [[United Pentecostal Church International]] in Hazelwood, both outside St. Louis. Kansas City is the headquarters of the [[Church of the Nazarene]]. [[Independence, Missouri|Independence]], outside of Kansas City, is the headquarters for the [[Community of Christ]] (formerly the [[Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]]), and the [[Latter Day Saints]] group [[Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]]. This area and other parts of Missouri are also of significant religious and historical importance to [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], which maintains several sites/visitors centers, and whose members make up about 1 percent of Missouri's population. [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]] is the headquarters of the [[Assemblies of God]] and the [[Baptist Bible Fellowship International]]. The [[General Association of General Baptists]] has its headquarters in [[Poplar Bluff, Missouri|Poplar Bluff]]. The [[Pentecostal Church of God]] is headquartered in [[Joplin, Missouri|Joplin]].
+
From the 1830s to the 1860s, Missouri's population almost doubled with every decade. Most of the newcomers were Americans, but many [[Ireland|Irish]] and [[Germany|German]] immigrants arrived in the late 1840s and 1850s. Having fled [[famine]], oppression, and revolutionary upheaval, they were not sympathetic to slavery.  
 +
[[Image:CoMoSkyline3.jpg|thumb|400px|Columbia, Missouri]]
 +
[[Image:St Joseph Missouri downtown.jpg|thumb|400px|Saint Joseph, Missouri]]
 +
Most Missouri farmers practiced [[subsistence farming]]. The majority of those who held slaves had fewer than five each. The tensions over slavery had chiefly to do with the future of the state and nation. In 1860 enslaved African Americans made up less than ten percent of the state's population of 1,182,012.<ref>''University of Virginia Library''. Historical Census Browser, 1860 Federal Census </ref>
  
==Economy==
+
After the secession of Southern states began, the Missouri legislature called for the election of a special convention on secession. The convention voted decisively to remain within the Union. Despite the presence of strong pro-Southern elements in the state, Union forces succeeded in installing a pro-Union provisional government that was immediately recognized by Washington, D.C., as the legal government. This decision provided both pro-Union militia forces for service within the state and volunteer regiments for the Union Army.
[[Image:Missouri quarter, reverse side, 2003.jpg|50px|left]]
 
The [[Bureau of Economic Analysis]] estimates that Missouri's total state product in 2006 was $225.9 billion. Per capita personal income in 2006 was $32,707, ranking 26<sup>th</sup> in the nation.
 
Major industries include [[aerospace]], [[Vehicles|transportation equipment]], [[food processing]], [[chemical industry|chemicals]], printing/[[publishing]], [[electrical equipment]], [[light manufacturing]], and [[beer]].
 
  
The agriculture products of the state are [[beef]], [[soybeans]], [[pork]], [[dairy products]], [[hay]], [[maize|corn]], [[poultry]], sorghum, and [[egg (food)|eggs]]. Missouri is ranked 6th in the nation for the production of hogs and 7th for cattle. Missouri is ranked in the top five states in the nation for production of soy beans. As of 2001, there were 108,000 farms, the second largest number in any state after [[Texas]]. Missouri actively promotes its rapidly growing [[Missouri wine|wine industry]].
+
After winning victories at the battle of Wilson's Creek and the siege of Lexington and suffering losses elsewhere, the state's Confederate forces had little choice but to retreat to [[Arkansas]] and later [[Texas]]. Though regular Confederate troops staged some large-scale raids into Missouri, the fighting in the state for the next three years consisted chiefly of [[guerrilla warfare]]—quick, small-unit tactics. Such insurgencies also arose in other portions of the Confederacy occupied during the Civil War.  
  
Missouri has vast quantities of [[limestone]]. Other resources mined are [[lead]], [[coal]], [[Portland cement]], and crushed [[rock (geology)|stone]]. Missouri produces the most lead of all of the states. Most of the lead mines are in the [[Lead Belt|central eastern portion]] of the state. Missouri also ranks first or near first in the production of [[Lime (mineral)|lime]].
+
===Modern times===
 +
After the Civil War, Missouri population and economy grew rapidly, boosted by the [[railway|railroads]] and by [[bridge]]s connecting Missouri with Kansas and [[Illinois]]. Cattlemen in the West could bring their [[cattle]] to [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], which became the center of a meatpacking industry. [[World War I]] brought a demand for [[mule]]s and [[lead]] from Missouri. During [[World War II]], more than 300,000 troops trained at Fort Leonard Wood.
  
Tourism, services and wholesale/retail trade follow manufacturing in importance.
+
During the mid-1950s and 1960s, St. Louis suffered from deindustrialization and loss of jobs in railroads and [[manufacturing]], as did other major industrial cities. At the same time [[highway]] construction made it easy for middle-class residents to leave the city for newer housing in the suburbs. The city has gone through decades of readjustment to developing a different economy. Suburban areas have developed separate job markets, both in knowledge industries and services, such as major retail malls.
  
Personal [[income tax|income]] is taxed in 10 different earning brackets, ranging from 1.5 percent to 6.0 percent. Missouri's [[sales tax]] rate for most items is 4.225 percent. Additional local levies may apply. More than 2,500 Missouri local governments rely on [[property tax]]es levied on real property ([[real estate]]) and [[personal property]]. Most personal property is exempt, except for motorized vehicles. Exempt real estate includes property owned by governments and property used as nonprofit cemeteries, exclusively for religious worship, for schools and colleges and for purely charitable purposes. There is no [[inheritance tax]] and limited Missouri [[estate tax]] related to [[Estate tax (United States)|federal estate tax]] collection.
+
==Law and government==
 +
[[Image:Jefferson City.jpg|thumb|200px|Jefferson City, Missouri's capital city]]
 +
The constitution of Missouri provides for three branches of government: the legislative, judicial, and executive. The executive branch is headed by the governor and includes five other state-wide elected offices. The legislative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which comprise the Missouri General Assembly.
  
Missouri is the only state in the Union to have two Federal Reserve Banks: one in Kansas City (serving western Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, northern New Mexico, and Wyoming) and one in St. Louis (serving eastern Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, western Kentucky, western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and all of Arkansas).{{fact|date=February 2008}}
+
The House of Representatives has 163 members who are apportioned based on the last decennial census. The Senate consists of 34 members from districts of approximately equal populations.  
  
==Transportation==
+
The judicial department comprises the Supreme Court of Missouri, which has seven judges; the Missouri Court of Appeals (an intermediate appellate court divided into three districts, sitting in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], and Springfield), and 45 Circuit Courts, which function as local trial courts.
===Air===
 
The state of Missouri has two major [[airport]] hubs: [[Lambert-St. Louis International Airport]] and [[Kansas City International Airport]].
 
  
===Rail===
+
===Local government===
Two of the nation's three busiest rail centers are located in Missouri. [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] is a major [[railroad]] hub for [[BNSF Railway]], [[Norfolk Southern Railway]], [[Kansas City Southern Railway]], and [[Union Pacific Railroad]]. Kansas City is the second largest freight rail center in the US. Like Kansas City, [[St. Louis]] is a major destination for train freight. [[Amtrak]] passenger trains serve Kansas City, [[Jefferson City]], St. Louis, [[Lee's Summit]], [[Independence, Missouri|Independence]], [[Warrensburg, Missouri|Warrensburg]], [[Hermann, Missouri|Hermann]], [[Kirkwood, Missouri|Kirkwood]], and [[Sedalia]]. The only light rail/subway system in Missouri is the [[St. Louis MetroLink]] which connects the City of St. Louis with suburbs in Illinois and St. Louis County. As of 2007 preliminary planning is being performed for a light rail system in the Kansas City area.
+
Missouri has 114 counties and one independent city ([[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]]), which is the most densely populated area in Missouri. The largest county by population (2000 U.S. census) is St. Louis County (1,016,315 residents).
  
[[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]] remains an operational hub for BNSF Railway.
+
The seven largest cities in Missouri are Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Independence, Columbia, Lee's Summit, and Saint Joseph.
[[Image:Boonebridge.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Daniel Boone Bridge looking out on the Missouri River early in the morning.]]
 
  
===Rivers===
+
St. Louis is the principal city of the largest metropolitan area in Missouri, comprising 17 counties and the independent city of St. Louis; eight of those counties lie in the state of [[Illinois]]. As of 2006, Greater St. Louis was the 16th largest [[urban]] area in the nation.  
The [[Mississippi River]] and [[Missouri River]] are commercially navigable over their entire lengths in Missouri. The Missouri was channelized through dredging and jettys and the Mississippi was given a series of locks to avoid rocks and deepen the river. St. Louis is a major destination for barge traffic on the Mississippi River.
 
  
===Roads===
+
[[Kansas City]] is Missouri's largest city, and shares its metropolitan area with [[Kansas City, Kansas]] and its suburbs. As of 2004, it was the 27th largest metropolitan area in the nation. Branson is a major tourist attraction in the [[Ozark Mountains|Ozarks]] of southwestern Missouri.
[[Image:Mo2006.jpg|thumb|right|Current Missouri License Plate]]
 
Several [[highway]]s, detailed below, traverse the state.
 
  
Following the passage of Amendment 3 in late 2004, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) began its Smoother, Safer, Sooner road-building program with a goal of bringing {{convert|2200|mi|km}} of highways up to good condition by December 2007. In 2005 the number of traffic deaths in the state increased by 10 percent to 1,241.
+
===Politics===
 +
Missouri was long a state that voted for the conservative Democratic Party. Its most prominent Democratic statesman was U.S. President [[Harry S. Truman]]. As party membership and policies have changed since the late 1970s, the state's voting has trended to Republican candidates, yet neither party is dominant. Democrats are now generally strongest among urban populations of Kansas City, St. Louis, and Columbia, home of the University of Missouri. Republicans are strongest in the southwestern and southeastern areas. Many of the rural areas have recently favored Republican candidates.
  
====Interstate Freeways====
+
Missouri has a longer stretch of supporting the winning presidential candidate than any other state, having voted with the nation in every election since 1904 with the exception of [[Adlai Stevenson]] in 1956.
*[[Image:I-29.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 29 (Missouri)|Interstate 29]], [[Image:I-229.svg|25px]] [[Interstate 229 (Missouri)|Interstate 229]]
 
*[[Image:I-35.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 35 (Missouri)|Interstate 35]], [[Image:I-435.svg|25px]] [[Interstate 435 (Missouri)|Interstate 435]] (Perimeter around [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]), [[Image:I-635.svg|25px]] [[Interstate 635 (Kansas-Missouri)|Interstate 635]]
 
*[[Image:I-44.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 44 (Missouri)|Interstate 44]]
 
*[[Image:I-55.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 55 (Missouri)|Interstate 55]], [[Image:I-155.svg|25px]] [[Interstate 155 (Missouri-Tennessee)|Interstate 155]], [[Image:I-255.svg|25px]] [[Interstate 255 (Missouri)|Interstate 255]] (the perimeter around the Illinois side of [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]])
 
*[[Image:I-57.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 57 (Missouri)|Interstate 57]]
 
*[[Image:I-64.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 64 (Missouri)|Interstate 64]]
 
*[[Image:I-70.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 70 (Missouri)|Interstate 70]], [[Image:I-170.svg|25px]] [[Interstate 170 (Missouri)|Interstate 170]], [[Image:I-270.svg|25px]] [[Interstate 270 (Illinois-Missouri)|Interstate 270]] (the perimeter around the Missouri side of [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]]), [[Image:I-470.svg|25px]]  [[Interstate 470 (Missouri)|Interstate 470]], [[Image:I-670.svg|25px]] [[Interstate 670 (Kansas-Missouri)|Interstate 670]]
 
*[[Image:I-72.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 72 (Missouri)|Interstate 72]]
 
*[[Image:I-49.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 49 (Missouri)|Interstate 49]] (Proposed)
 
*[[Image:I-66.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 66 (west)|Interstate 66]] (Proposed)
 
  
====United States Routes====
+
Missouri is also a bellwether on hot-button issues such as same-sex [[marriage]] and [[embryonic stem cell]] research. In 2004, Missouri voters overwhelmingly (71 percent) passed an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Around 20 states have followed Missouri's decision by passing similar amendments. In 2006, a ballot initiative regarding embryonic stem cell research drew widespread attention. The measure narrowly passed by 51-49 percent.
<table>
 
<tr><td align=center>''North-south routes''</td><td align=center>''East-west routes''</td>
 
<tr><td valign=top>
 
*[[Image:US 59.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 59 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 59]]
 
*[[Image:US 159.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 159 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 159]]
 
*[[Image:US 61.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 61 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 61]]
 
*[[Image:US 63.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 63 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 63]]
 
*[[Image:US 65.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 65 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 65]]
 
*[[Image:US 67.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 67 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 67]]
 
*[[Image:US 69.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 69 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 69]]
 
*[[Image:US 169.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 169 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 169]]
 
*[[Image:US 71.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 71 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 71]]
 
*[[Image:US 275.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 275 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 275]]
 
</td><td valign=top>
 
*[[Image:US 412.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 412 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 412]]
 
*[[Image:US 24.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 24 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 24]]
 
*[[Image:US 36.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 36 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 36]]
 
*[[Image:US 40.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 40 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 40]]
 
*[[Image:US 50.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 50 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 50]]
 
*[[Image:US 54.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 54 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 54]]
 
*[[Image:US 56.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 56 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 56]]
 
*[[Image:US 60.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 60 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 60]]
 
*[[Image:US 160.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 160 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 160]]
 
*[[Image:US 460.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 460 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 460]]
 
*[[Image:US 62.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 62 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 62]]
 
*[[Image:US 66.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 66 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 66]]
 
*[[Image:US 166.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 166 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 166]]
 
*[[Image:US 400.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Route 400 (Missouri)|U.S. Route 400]]
 
</td></tr></table>
 
  
{{see also|List of Missouri state highways|Missouri Supplemental Route}}
+
===Alcohol and tobacco laws===
 +
[[Image:StLouisABPackaging Plant.JPG|thumbnail|right|200px|The packaging plant at the Anheuser-Busch headquarters in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], where Budweiser beer is produced.]]
 +
[[Image:09-01-06-bransonmaindrag.jpg|thumb|Branson, in Missouri's [[The Ozarks|Ozarks]] region, is a popular destination for vacationers from Missouri and the surrounding states.]]
 +
Missouri has been known for its population's generally conservative attitude toward regulatory regimes. As a result, and combined with the fact that Missouri is one of America's leading alcohol-producing states, regulation of [[alcohol]] and [[tobacco]] in Missouri is among the most [[laissez-faire]] in America.
  
==Law and government==
+
With a large German immigrant population and a flourishing [[brewing]] industry, Missouri always has had among the most permissive alcohol laws in the United States. Missouri voters rejected [[Prohibition]] in three separate referenda in 1910, 1912, and 1918. Alcohol regulation did not begin in Missouri until 1934. Today, alcohol laws are controlled by the state government, and local jurisdictions are prohibited from going beyond those state laws. Missouri has no statewide open container law or prohibition on drinking in public, no alcohol-related [[blue law]]s, no local option, no precise locations for selling liquor by the package (thereby allowing even drug stores and gas stations to sell any kind of liquor), no differentiation of laws based on alcohol percentage, no prohibition on consumption by minors (as opposed to possession), and no prohibition on [[absinthe]]. State law protects persons from arrest or criminal penalty for [[public intoxication]] and also expressly prohibits any jurisdiction from going dry. Missouri law also expressly allows parents and guardians to serve alcohol to their children.  
===Framework===
 
{{main|Law and Government of Missouri|List of Missouri Governors}}
 
{{Missouri Government}}
 
The current Constitution of Missouri, the fourth constitution for the state, was adopted in 1945. It provides for three branches of government: the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The legislative branch consists of two bodies: the House of Representatives and the Senate. These bodies comprise the [[Missouri General Assembly]].
 
  
The House of Representatives has 163 members who are apportioned based on the last [[United States Census|decennial census]]. The Senate consists of 34 members from districts of approximately equal populations. The judicial department comprises the [[Supreme Court of Missouri]], which has seven judges, the [[Missouri Court of Appeals]] (an intermediate [[appellate court]] divided into three districts, sitting in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], and [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]]), and 45 Circuit Courts which function as local trial courts. The executive branch is headed by the [[List of Governors of Missouri|Governor of Missouri]] and includes five other state-wide elected offices.
+
As for [[tobacco]], in 2008 Missouri had the lowest cigarette excise [[tax]]es in the United States.<ref>''Federation of Tax Administrators''. [http://www.taxadmin.org/FTA/rate/cigarett.html State Tax Excise Rates on Cigarettes - January 1, 2008] Retrieved November 21, 2008.</ref> No statewide smoking ban ever has been seriously entertained before the Missouri General Assembly, and only 20 percent of Missourians support such a statewide ban in public places.<ref>James R. Davis and Ross C. Brownson, "A Policy for Clean Indoor Air in Missouri: History and Lessons Learned," ''St. Louis University Public Law Review'' 13(1994): 749 </ref> Missouri state law allows bars and restaurants that seat less than 50 people, bowling alleys, and billiard parlors to decide their own smoking policies, without limitation.<ref>Section 191.769, Revised Statues of Missouri</ref> Additionally, in Missouri, it is "an improper employment practice" for an employer to refuse to hire, to fire, or otherwise to disadvantage any person because that person lawfully uses alcohol and/or tobacco products when he or she is not at work.<ref>Section 290.145, Revised Statutes of Missouri</ref>
  
===Status as a political bellwether===
+
==Economy==
{{main|Missouri bellwether}}
+
[[Image:Missouri quarter, reverse side, 2003.jpg|150px|thumb|The Missouri state quarter.]]
One interesting fact about Missouri is its status as a bellwether of national politics. Missouri has a longer stretch of supporting the winning presidential candidate than any other state, having voted with the nation in every election since 1904 with the exception of [[Adlai Stevenson]] in 1956. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state's 11 electoral votes by a margin of 7 percentage points with 53.3 percent of the vote. Missouri has a notable [[urban-rural split]], as Democrat John Kerry won only the independent city of St. Louis and three of the state's 114 counties: St. Louis County, Ste. Genevieve, and Jackson County (which contains most of Kansas City).
+
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Missouri's total state product in 2006 was $225.9 billion. Per capita personal income in 2006 was $32,707, a ranking that is 26<sup>th</sup> in the nation.
 +
Major industries include [[aerospace]], [[Vehicles|transportation equipment]], [[food processing]], [[chemical]]s, [[printing]]/[[publishing]], [[electrical equipment]], light [[manufacturing]], and [[beer]].
  
After the Civil War, Missouri was long a state that voted for the conservative Democratic party. Its most prominent Democratic statesman was U.S. President [[Harry S. Truman]]. As party membership and policies have changed, since the late 1970s, the state's voting has trended to Republican candidates, yet neither party is dominant. Democrats are now generally strongest among urban populations of Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia, home of the [[University of Missouri]]. Republicans are strongest in the southwestern areas near Springfield (home of Governor Matt Blunt) and Joplin, and southeastern areas near Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau (childhood home of Rush Limbaugh). Many of the rural areas have recently favored Republican candidates.
+
The [[agriculture]] products of the state are [[beef]], [[soybeans]], [[pork]], [[dairy products]], [[hay]], [[maize|corn]], [[poultry]], [[sorghum]], and [[egg (food)|eggs]]. Missouri is ranked sixth in the nation for the production of [[hog]]s and seventh for [[cattle]]. Missouri is ranked in the top five states in the nation for production of [[soy bean]]s. As of 2001, there were 108,000 farms, the second largest number in any state after [[Texas]]. Missouri actively promotes its rapidly growing [[wine]] industry.
  
Missouri is a bellwether on hot-button issues such as [[same-sex marriage]] and [[embryonic stem cell]] research. In 2004, Missouri voters overwhelmingly (71%) passed an amendment to the Constitution of Missouri defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. More than 20 states have followed Missouri's lead and effected the same amendments. In 2006, a ballot initiative labeled "Amendment 2" regarding embryonic stem cell research drew widespread attention. This issue was a factor in the 2006 [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] race between Republican incumbent [[Jim Talent]], who opposed embryonic stem cell research, and Democratic challenger [[Claire McCaskill]], who supported it. The measure narrowly passed by 51%-49%. Claire McCaskill also narrowly defeated Jim Talent for that Senate seat, a race which was considered crucial as to which political party would control the U.S. Senate.
+
Missouri has vast quantities of [[limestone]]. Other resources [[Mining|mined]] are [[lead]], [[coal]], Portland cement, and crushed [[rock (geology)|stone]]. Missouri produces the most lead of all of the states. Most of the lead mines are in the central eastern portion of the state. Missouri also ranks first or near first in the production of [[Lime (mineral)|lime]].
 +
[[Image:Boonebridge.jpg|right|thumb|225px|Daniel Boone Bridge in eastern Missouri, looking out on the [[Missouri River]] early in the morning.]]
 +
[[Tourism]], services, and wholesale/retail trade follow manufacturing in importance.
  
===Laissez-faire alcohol and tobacco laws===
+
Riverboat [[gambling]] was approved in 1992. In the 2008 election, voters passed a measure that removed the previous $500 loss limit per person and earmarked the added revenue for funding for elementary and secondary schools. The revision also capped the number of [[casino]]s at their present level.
[[Image:StLouisABPackaging Plant.JPG|thumbnail|right|200px|The packaging plant at the [[Anheuser-Busch]] headquarters in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], where [[Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)|Budweiser beer]] is produced.]]
 
{{main|Alcohol laws of Missouri}}
 
Missouri has been known for its population's generally "stalwart, conservative, noncredulous" attitude toward regulatory regimes, which is one of the origins of the state's official nickname, the "Show-Me State."<ref>[http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp Missouri Secretary of State - State Archives - Origin of "Show Me" slogan]</ref> As a result, and combined with the fact that Missouri is one of America's leading alcohol-producing states, regulation of [[alcohol]] and [[tobacco]] in Missouri is among the most [[laissez-faire]] in America.
 
  
With a large German immigrant population and the development of a brewing industry, Missouri always has had among the most permissive [[alcohol laws of the United States by state|alcohol laws in the United States]]. It never enacted statewide [[prohibition in the United States|prohibition]]. Missouri voters rejected prohibition in three separate referenda in 1910, 1912, and 1918. Alcohol regulation did not begin in Missouri until 1934. Today, alcohol laws are controlled by the state government, and local jurisdictions are prohibited from going beyond those state laws. Missouri has no statewide [[United States open container laws|open container law]] or prohibition on drinking in public, no alcohol-related [[blue law]]s, no [[local option]], no precise locations for selling liquor by the package (thereby allowing even [[drug store]]s and [[gas station]]s to sell any kind of liquor), no differentiation of laws based on alcohol percentage, no prohibition on consumption by minors (as opposed to possession), and no prohibition on [[absinthe]]. State law protects persons from arrest or criminal penalty for [[public intoxication]] and also expressly prohibits any jurisdiction from going [[dry county|dry]]. Missouri law also expressly allows parents and guardians to serve alcohol to their children. Along with the [[French Quarter]] in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], the [[Power & Light District]] in Kansas City is one of the few places in the United States where a state law explicitly allows persons over the age of 21 to possess and consume open containers of alcohol in the street, as long as the beverage is in a plastic cup.
+
===Transportation===
  
:''See also: [[List of smoking bans in the United States#Missouri|List of smoking bans in Missouri]]''
+
The [[Mississippi River]] and [[Missouri River]] are commercially navigable over their entire lengths in Missouri. The Missouri was channelized through dredging and jetties and the Mississippi was given a series of [[Lock (water transport)|locks]] and [[dam]]s to avoid rocks and deepen the river. [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] is a major destination for barge traffic on the Mississippi River.
As for tobacco, Missouri has the second-lowest cigarette excise taxes in the United States (behind [[South Carolina]]), at 17 cents per pack, as of November 2007.<ref name="forbesbestcities">[http://www.forbes.com/business/2007/11/01/tobacco-smoking-north-carolina-biz-cx_tvr_1101smoking.html "Best Cities for Smokers," ''Forbes Magazine'', November 1, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.taxadmin.org/FTA/rate/cigarett.html "State Tax Rates on Cigarettes," Federation of Tax Administrators, January 1, 2007]</ref> The electorate voted in 2002 and 2006 to keep it that way.<ref>"A burning issue," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', November 12, 2006</ref> Missouri has the third highest percentage of adult smokers of any U.S. state.<ref>Rob Roberts, "Critics: Don't expect smoking ban for years, if ever," ''Kansas City Business Journal'', November 24, 2004</ref> No statewide [[smoking ban]] ever has been seriously entertained before the [[Missouri General Assembly]], and only 20% of Missourians support such a statewide ban in public places.<ref>James R. Davis and Ross C. Brownson, "A Policy for Clean Indoor Air in Missouri: History and Lessons Learned," [[St. Louis University]] Public Law Review, Volume 13, p. 749 (1994)</ref> In 2007, ''[[Forbes]]'' named [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] as America's "best city for smokers."<ref name="forbesbestcities"/> Missouri state law allows bars and restaurants which seat less than 50 people, bowling alleys, and billiard parlors to decide their own smoking policies, without limitation,<ref>Section 191.769, Revised Statues of Missouri</ref>
 
  
Additionally, in Missouri, it is "an improper employment practice" for an employer to refuse to hire, to fire, or otherwise to disadvantage any person because that person lawfully uses alcohol and/or tobacco products when he or she is not at work.<ref>Section 290.145, Revised Statutes of Missouri</ref>
+
==Demographics==
 +
[[Image:Missouri population map.png|thumb|Missouri Population Density Map]]
 +
[[Image:St Louis night expblend.jpg|thumb|[[St. Louis, Missouri]]]]
 +
[[Image:Kcsky.jpg|thumb|[[Kansas City, Missouri]]]]
 +
[[Image:Cape dec29-07 (23).JPG|thumb|[[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]]]]
 +
In 2006, Missouri had an estimated [[population]] of 5,842,713; an increase of 45,010 (0.8 percent) from the prior year and an increase of 246,030 (4.4 percent) since the year 2000. Over half of Missourians (3,145,584 people, or 56.2 percent) live within the state's two largest metropolitan areas–St. Louis and Kansas City. The state's population density is also closer to the national average than any other state.
  
==Counties==
+
The five largest ancestry groups in Missouri are: German (23.5 percent), Irish (12.7 percent), American (10.5 percent), English (9.5 percent), and French (3.5 percent). "American" includes some of those reported as [[Native American]] or [[African American]], but also [[Europe]]an Americans whose ancestors have lived in the [[United States]] for a considerable time.
{{See also| List of counties in Missouri}}
 
Missouri has 114 counties and one [[independent city]] ([[St. Louis]]).
 
  
The largest county by size is [[Texas County, Missouri|Texas County]] (1,179 sq. miles) and [[Shannon County, Missouri|Shannon County]] is second (1,004 sq. miles). [[Worth County, Missouri|Worth County]] is the smallest (266 sq. miles). The independent city of St. Louis City has only {{convert|62|sqmi|sqkm}} of area. St. Louis City is the most densely populated area in Missouri.
+
[[Germany|German]] Americans are an ancestry group present throughout Missouri. [[African-American]]s are a substantial part of the population in St. Louis, Kansas City, and in the southeastern bootheel and some parts of the [[Missouri River]] Valley, where [[plantation agriculture]] was once important. Missouri [[Creole]]s of [[France|French]] ancestry are concentrated in the [[Mississippi River]] Valley south of St. Louis. A substantial number (40,000-50,000) of recent [[Bosnia|Bosnian]] immigrants, arriving since 1993, live mostly in the St. Louis area, comprising 12 percent of the city's population.
  
The largest county by population (2000 [[United States Census|U.S. Census]]) is [[St. Louis County, Missouri|St. Louis County]] (1,016,315 residents), with [[Jackson County, Missouri|Jackson County]] the second (654,880 residents). Worth County is the least populous, with 2,382 residents.
+
In 2004, 6.6 percent of the state's population was reported as younger than 5 years old, 25.5 percent younger than 18, and 13.5 percent was 65 or older. More than the national average (81.3 percent) of Missouri residents were high school graduates, and 21.6 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. Only 3.4 percent of Missourians were foreign-born, and 5.1 percent reported speaking a [[language]] other than [[English language|English]] at home.
  
==Important cities and towns==
+
In 2000, there were 2,194,594 households in Missouri, with 2.48 people per household. The homeownership rate was 70.3 percent, and the mean value of an owner-occupied dwelling was $89,900.  
{{See also|List of cities in Missouri|List of towns and villages in Missouri}}
 
The seven largest cities in Missouri are [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]], [[Independence, Missouri|Independence]], [[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]], [[Lee's Summit, Missouri|Lee's Summit]] and [[Saint Joseph, Missouri|Saint Joseph]].
 
  
[[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] is the principal city of the largest metropolitan area in Missouri, comprising seventeen counties and the independent city of St. Louis; eight of those counties lie in the state of [[Illinois]]. As of 2006, [[Greater St. Louis]] was the 16th largest urban area in the nation. Some of the major cities making up the St. Louis Metro area in Missouri include [[St. Charles, Missouri|St. Charles]], [[St. Peters, Missouri|St. Peters]], [[Florissant, Missouri|Florissant]], [[Chesterfield, Missouri|Chesterfield]], [[Creve Coeur, Missouri|Creve Coeur]], [[Maryland Heights, Missouri|Maryland Heights]], [[O'Fallon, Missouri|O'Fallon]], [[Clayton, Missouri|Clayton]], [[Ballwin, Missouri|Ballwin]], and [[University City, Missouri|University City]].
+
===Religion===
 +
Of those Missourians who identify with a [[religion]], three out of five are [[Protestant]]s. There is also a moderate-sized [[Roman Catholic]] community in some parts of the state; approximately one out of five Missourians are Catholic. Areas with more numerous Catholics include St. Louis and the Missouri Rhineland, particularly south of the Missouri River.<ref>''Valparaiso University''. [http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/catholic.gif Catholics as a Percentage of All Residents, map] Retrieved November 21, 2008. </ref>
  
[[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] is Missouri's largest city and the principal city of the fifteen-county [[Kansas City Metropolitan Area|Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area]], including six counties in the state of [[Kansas]]. As of 2004, it was the 27th largest metropolitan area in the nation. Some of the other major cities comprising the Kansas City metro area in Missouri include [[Independence, Missouri|Independence]], [[Lee's Summit, Missouri|Lee's Summit]], [[Blue Springs, Missouri|Blue Springs]], [[Raytown, Missouri|Raytown]], [[Liberty, Missouri|Liberty]], and [[Gladstone, Missouri|Gladstone]].
+
The religious affiliations of the people of Missouri according to the American Religious Identification Survey:<ref>''City University of New York''. [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm 2001 American Religious Identification Survey] Retrieved November 21, 2008. </ref>
 +
*[[Christianity|Christian]] &ndash; 77 percent
 +
**[[Protestantism|Protestant]]
 +
***[[Baptist]] &ndash; 22 percent
 +
***[[Methodism|Methodist]] &ndash; 7 percent
 +
***[[Episcopalian|Episcopal]] &ndash; 4 percent
 +
***[[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] &ndash; 4 percent
 +
***Other Protestant &ndash; 12 percent
 +
**[[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]] &ndash; 19 percent
 +
**[[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] &ndash; 1 percent*
 +
**Other or unspecified Christian &ndash; 8 percent
 +
*Other religions &ndash; 2 percent
 +
*Not religious &ndash; 15 percent
 +
*No answer &ndash; 5 percent
  
[[Branson, Missouri|Branson]] is a major tourist attraction in the [[The Ozarks|Ozarks]] of southwestern Missouri.
+
Several religious organizations have headquarters in Missouri, including the [[Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod|Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod]] as well as the [[United Pentecostal Church International]]. Kansas City is the headquarters of the [[Church of the Nazarene]]. Independence, outside of Kansas City, is the headquarters for the [[Community of Christ]] (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), and the [[Latter Day Saints]] group Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This area and other parts of Missouri are also of significant religious and historical importance to the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], which maintains several sites/visitors centers, and whose members make up about one percent of Missouri's population. Springfield is the headquarters of the [[Assemblies of God]] and the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. The General Association of General Baptists has its headquarters in Poplar Bluff. The [[Pentecostal Church of God]] is headquartered in Joplin.
 
 
<center><gallery>
 
Image:09-01-06-bransonmaindrag.jpg|[[Branson, Missouri|Branson]]
 
Image:Cape dec29-07 (23).JPG|[[Cape Girardeau, Missouri|Cape Girardeau]]
 
Image:CoMoSkyline3.jpg|[[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]]
 
Image:Jefferson City.jpg|[[Jefferson City, Missouri|Jefferson City]]
 
Image:Joplin Missouri.jpg|[[Joplin, Missouri|Joplin]]
 
Image:Kcsky.jpg|[[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]
 
Image:St Joseph Missouri downtown.jpg|[[Saint Joseph, Missouri|Saint Joseph]]
 
Image:St Louis night expblend.jpg|[[St. Louis, Missouri|Saint Louis]]
 
</gallery></center>
 
  
 
==Education==
 
==Education==
{{main|Education in Missouri}}
+
[[Image:Mizzou Jesse Thumb.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jesse Hall and the Francis Quad on the University of Missouri campus.]]
 
+
[[Image:WUBrookings.JPG|180px|right|thumb|Brookings Hall at Washington University]]
===Missouri State Board of Education===
+
The Missouri State Board of Education has general authority over all public [[education]] in the state of Missouri. It is made up of eight citizens appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Missouri Senate.
The [[Missouri State Board of Education]] has general authority over all public education in the state of Missouri. It is made up of eight citizens appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Missouri Senate.
 
 
 
[[Image:Mizzou Jesse Thumb.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Jesse Hall]] and the [[David R. Francis Quadrangle|Francis Quad]] on the [[University of Missouri]] campus.]]
 
  
 
===Primary and secondary schools===
 
===Primary and secondary schools===
{{See also|List of school districts in Missouri|List of high schools in Missouri}}
+
The public schools system includes kindergarten to 12<sup>th</sup> grade. District territories are often complex in structure. In some cases, elementary, middle and junior high schools of a single district feed into high schools in another district.
 
 
Education is compulsory from ages seven to sixteen in Missouri, commonly but not exclusively divided into three tiers of [[primary education|primary]] and [[secondary education]]: [[elementary school]], [[middle school]] or [[junior high school]] and [[high school]]. The public schools system includes kindergarten to 12<sup>th</sup> grade. District territories are often complex in structure. In some cases, elementary, middle and junior high schools of a single district feed into high schools in another district. High school athletics and competitions are governed by the [[Missouri State High School Activities Association]] or MSHSAA.
 
  
 
===Colleges and universities===
 
===Colleges and universities===
{{See also|List of colleges and universities in Missouri}}
+
The University of Missouri System is Missouri's statewide public [[university]] system; the flagship institution and largest university in the state is the University of Missouri in Columbia. The others in the system are University of Missouri–Kansas City, University of Missouri–St. Louis, and Missouri University of Science and Technology.  
The [[University of Missouri System]] is Missouri's statewide public university system, the flagship institution and largest university in the state is the [[University of Missouri]] in [[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]]. The others in the system are [[University of Missouri–Kansas City]], [[University of Missouri–St. Louis]], and [[Missouri University of Science and Technology]].
 
[[Image:WUBrookings.JPG|180px|right|thumb|Brookings Hall at Washington University]]
 
Notable highly rated<ref>“[http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php America's Best Colleges 2008: National Universities: Top Schools.]” USNews.com: . January 18, 2008.</ref> private institutions include [[Washington University in St. Louis]] and [[Saint Louis University]].  
 
  
[[Lincoln University]] in Jefferson City is one of a number of [[historically black colleges and universities]]. Founded in 1866, it was created by members of the 62nd and 65th [[United States Colored Troops]] as "Lincoln Institute," to provide education to freedmen. It was created on a model of combining academics and labor. In 1921, the state officially recognized the growth of Lincoln's undergraduate and graduate programs by classifying it as a university. The institution changed its name to "Lincoln University of Missouri." In 1954, the university began to accept applicants of all races.  
+
Notable highly rated<ref>''U.S. News & World Report''. 2008. America's Best Colleges 2009.</ref> private institutions include [[Washington University in St. Louis]] and [[Saint Louis University]].  
  
To develop new teachers for needed public schools, in 1905 the state established a series of [[normal school]]s at colleges in each region of the state. This was based on the widely admired German model of public education. Normal schools were for the training of teachers of students in primary/elementary schools. The initial network consisted of [[Southeast Missouri State University]] in [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri|Cape Girardeau]], [[Missouri State University]] (formerly Southwest Missouri State University) in [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]], [[Truman State University]] (formerly Northeast Missouri State University) in [[Kirksville, Missouri|Kirksville]], [[Northwest Missouri State University]] in [[Maryville, Missouri|Maryville]], and [[University of Central Missouri]] (formerly Central Missouri State University) in [[Warrensburg, Missouri|Warrensburg]]. Within several years, the normal school curriculum expanded to a full four years of academic subjects.
+
[[Lincoln University]] in Jefferson City is one of a number of historically black colleges and universities. In 1954, the university began to accept applicants of all races.  
  
There are numerous junior colleges, trade schools, church universities and private universities in the state.
+
There are numerous junior colleges, trade schools, church universities, and private universities in the state.
  
The state also funds a $2000, renewable merit-based scholarship, [[Bright Flight (Missouri Scholarship)|Bright Flight]], given to the top 3 percent of Missouri High School graduates who attend a university in-state.
+
The state also funds a $2,000, renewable merit-based [[scholarship]], Bright Flight, given to the top 3 percent of Missouri high school graduates who attend an in-state university.
  
The 19th c. border wars between Missouri and Kansas have continued as a sports rivalry between the [[University of Missouri - Columbia]] and [[University of Kansas]]. The rivalry is chiefly expressed through football games between the two colleges. It is the oldest college rivalry west of the [[Mississippi River]] and the second oldest in the nation. Each year when the universities meet to play, the game is coined "Border Showdown."  An exchange occurs following the game where the winner gets to take a historic marching band drum, which has been passed back and forth for decades.
+
==Looking to the future==
 +
The population of [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] faces the social and economic challenges of most large cities in the United States. For the most part those are loss of jobs to the suburbs, [[education]], [[transportation]], and [[crime]].
 +
[[Image:Joplin Missouri.jpg|Joplin|thumb|Joplin, Missouri]]
 +
However, in the twenty-first century, St. Louis has transformed from a [[manufacturing]] and [[industry|industrial]] economy into a globally known focus in [[medical research]], [[biotechnology]], and other [[science]]s. The St. Louis region is home to 21 Fortune 1000 companies, nine of which are in the [[Fortune 500]]. The region is also home to some of the country's largest privately held corporations, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Edward Jones Investment and Financial services, among others.
  
==Sports==
+
In 2007, Worldwide ERC and Primary Relocation recognized Kansas City third overall as one of the "Best Cities for Relocating Families" in the United States. Also in March 2007, Money Magazine rated three of Kansas City's suburbs among the top 50 best places. Though these analyses include the entire metropolitan area, they are an important indicator of the realistic situation of life in and around Kansas City.
<!-- see articles about other states for a more comprehensive approach to this topic, including amateur sports, non-team sports, etc. —>
 
*[[Major League Baseball|Baseball]]: [[St. Louis Cardinals]] and [[Kansas City Royals]]
 
*[[National Football League|Football]]: [[St. Louis Rams]] and [[Kansas City Chiefs]]
 
*[[National Hockey League|Hockey]]: [[St. Louis Blues (hockey)|St. Louis Blues]]
 
*[[Major League Soccer|Soccer]]: [[Kansas City Wizards]]
 
*[[Major Indoor Soccer League|Indoor Soccer]]: [[St. Louis Steamers]] and [[Kansas City Comets]]
 
*[[Arena Football]]: [[Kansas City Brigade]] and [[River City Rage]] (UIFL)
 
*[[World Team Tennis|Tennis]]: [[Kansas City Explorers]], [[Springfield Lasers]] and [[St. Louis Aces]]
 
*[[Road bicycle racing|Cycling]]: [[Tour of Missouri]]
 
  
===Minor leagues===
+
While the state's large cities are progressive, somewhat cosmopolitan, and hold a large majority of the population, the success of its small towns is highly dependent on geography and transportation. Those located near the cities have grown and prospered by an improved highway system, but many have suffered economic stagnation as the rural population has declined, in many cases relocating to the larger cities.
*Baseball:
 
**[[Springfield Cardinals]] (Class AA, [[Texas League]])
 
**[[Mid-Missouri Mavericks]] (Independent, [[Frontier League]])
 
**[[River City Rascals]] (Independent, Frontier League)
 
**Farmington Firebirds (Independent, KITTY League)
 
**St. Joseph Blacksnakes (Independent, [[American Association (21st Century)|American Association]])
 
 
 
===Former professional sports teams===
 
*'''[[National Football League]]''':
 
**[[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]] (moved from [[Chicago]] in 1960; moved to [[Tempe, Arizona]] in 1988 and are now the [[Arizona Cardinals]])
 
**[[St. Louis All Stars]] (active in 1923 only)
 
**[[Kansas City (NFL)]] (Blues/Cowboys) (active 1924-1926, folded)
 
**[[St. Louis Gunners]] (independent team, joined the NFL for the last three weeks of the 1934 season and folded thereafter)
 
*'''[[Major League Baseball]] ([[American League]])''':
 
**[[Baltimore Orioles#St. Louis Browns|St. Louis Browns]] (moved from [[Milwaukee]] in 1902; moved to [[Baltimore, Maryland]] after the 1953 season and are now the [[Baltimore Orioles]])
 
**[[Kansas City Athletics]] (moved from [[Philadelphia]] in 1955; moved to [[Oakland|Oakland, California]] after the 1967 season and are now the [[Oakland Athletics]]
 
*'''[[National Basketball Association]]''':
 
**[[St. Louis Bombers (NBA)|St. Louis Bombers]] (charter [[Basketball Association of America|BAA]] franchise in 1946, joined the NBA when it formed in 1949; ceased operations in 1950)
 
**[[St. Louis Hawks]] (moved from [[Milwaukee]] in 1955; moved to [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] in 1968 and are now the [[Atlanta Hawks]])
 
**[[Kansas City Kings]] (moved to [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] in 1985 and are now the [[Sacramento Kings]])
 
*'''[[National Hockey League]]''':
 
**[[Kansas City Scouts]] (1974 expansion team, moved to [[Denver, Colorado]] in 1976 and became the [[Colorado Rockies (NHL)|Colorado Rockies]], and would move again to [[Newark, New Jersey]]; now called the [[New Jersey Devils]])
 
**[[St. Louis Eagles]] (1934 relocation of the [[Ottawa Senators (original)|original Ottawa Senators]], folded after the 1934-35 season)
 
 
 
==Miscellaneous topics==
 
* [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'']], a [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] [[Iowa class battleship|''Iowa'' class]] [[battleship]], was named in honor of the state.
 
* The phrase "I'm from Missouri" means I'm skeptical of the matter and not easily convinced. This is related to the state's motto of "Show Me," whose origin is popularly ascribed to an 1899 speech by Congressman [[Willard Vandiver]], who declared that "I come from a country that raises corn and cotton, cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri, and you have got to show me."  However, according to researchers, the phrase was in circulation earlier in the 1890s.<ref>"I'm from Missouri—Show Me." http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/summary3</ref> According to another story, the phrase was originally a reference to Missouri laborers being brought to Colorado to quell a miner's strike and requiring frequent instruction.<ref> Origin of "Show Me" Slogan. Secretary of State, Missouri. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp</ref>
 
*Missouri is known as "The Cave State" with over 6000 recorded caves (second to [[Kentucky]]). [[Perry County, Missouri|Perry County]] has both the largest number of caves and the single longest cave in the state.<ref name="MSS">
 
{{cite web
 
|url=http://www.mospeleo.org/docs/pr6000.htm
 
|title=Fact Sheet on 6000 Caves
 
|author=Scott House
 
|publisher=The Missouri Speleological Survey, Inc.
 
|date=2005-05-14
 
|access-date=2008-03-16}}</ref>
 
 
 
==See also==
 
*[[List of Missouri-related topics]]
 
{{portal|Missouri|Flag of Missouri.svg|left=yes}}
 
{{clear}}
 
<!-- Please place links to all topics directly related to the State of Missouri in the [[List of Missouri-related topics]] —>
 
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
+
<references/>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 +
* Blashfield, Jean F. ''Missouri.'' New York: Children's Press, 2009. ISBN 9780531185858
 +
* De Voto, Bernard Augustine, and Alfred Jacob Miller. ''Across the wide Missouri.'' (1947) reprint ed. Mariner Books, 1998, ISBN 0395924979. (Pulitzer Prize in Literature) and National Book Award.
 +
* Lago, Mary Ellen. ''Missouri.'' New York: Children's Press, 2003. ISBN 0516223909
 +
* Lewis, Meriwether, William Clark, and Bernard Augustine De Voto. ''The journals of Lewis and Clark.'' Boston: Houghton, Mifflin. (1953) 1997. ISBN 0395859964.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
{{sisterlinks|Missouri}}
+
All links retrieved November 9, 2022.
*[http://www.mo.gov/ Missouri Government]
+
* [http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/africanamerican/intro.asp Missouri's African American History] The Missouri State Archives.
*[http://www.system.missouri.edu/shs/ State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia]
+
* [http://godort.libguides.com/missouridbs Missouri State Agency Databases]  
*[http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/africanamerican/intro.asp Missouri's African American History]
+
* [http://www.visitmo.com/ Missouri Division of Tourism]  
*[http://www.missouritourism.org Missouri State Tourism Office]
+
* [http://www.mo.gov/ Missouri government website]  
*[http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=MO USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Missouri]
+
{{coor title d|38.5|N|92.5|W|region:US-MO_type:state}}
*[[U.S. Census Bureau]].
+
 
**[http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/29000.html Missouri QuickFacts]. Geographic and demographic information.
 
**{{PDFlink|[http://www.census.gov/population/documentation/twps0056/tab40.pdf Missouri - Race and Hispanic Origin: 1810 to 1990]|71.1&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 72814 bytes —>}}
 
*[http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/MO.htm Missouri State Facts]
 
*[http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Missouri List of searchable databases produced by Missouri state agencies] hosted by the [http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Main_Page American Library Association Government Documents Roundtable].
 
{{-}}
 
{{Missouri|expand}}
 
 
{{United States}}
 
{{United States}}
{{US Midwest}}
 
 
{{coor title d|38.5|N|92.5|W|region:US-MO_type:state}}
 
  
[[Category:Geograhpy]]
+
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:History]]
 
 
[[Category:United States]]
 
[[Category:United States]]
  
 
{{credit|216965457}}
 
{{credit|216965457}}

Latest revision as of 11:13, 10 March 2023

State of Missouri
Flag of Missouri State seal of Missouri
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Show-Me State (unofficial)
Motto(s): Salus populi suprema lex esto (Latin)
Map of the United States with Missouri highlighted
Official language(s) None
Capital Jefferson City
Largest city Kansas City
Largest metro area Greater St Louis Area[1]
Area  Ranked 21st
 - Total 69,704 sq mi
(180,533 km²)
 - Width 240 miles (385 km)
 - Length 300 miles (480 km)
 - % water 1.17
 - Latitude 36° N to 40° 37′ N
 - Longitude 89° 6′ W to 95° 46′ W
Population  Ranked 18th in the U.S.
 - Total 6,010,688 (2011 est)[2]
- Density 87.3/sq mi  (33.7/km2)
Ranked 28th in the U.S.


 - Median income  $46,867 (35th)
Elevation  
 - Highest point Taum Sauk Mountain[3][4]
1,772 ft  (540 m)
 - Mean 800 ft  (240 m)
 - Lowest point Saint Francis River at
southern Arkansas border[3][4]
230 ft  (70 m)
Admission to Union  August 10, 1821 (24th)
Governor Jay Nixon (D)
Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (R)
U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill (D)
Roy Blunt (R)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Abbreviations MO US-MO
Web site www.mo.gov


Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It was acquired from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and was admitted into the Union as the 24th state in 1821.

Once a battleground between slave owners and abolitionists, Missouri today mirrors the demographic, economic, and political makeup of the nation, with a mixture of urban and rural culture, and has long been considered a political bellwether state. It has both Midwestern and Southern cultural influences.

Missouri also marks a transition between the eastern and western United States, with St. Louis often called the "western-most eastern city" and Kansas City the "eastern-most western city." There is great diversity in Missourians' culture and character. The two largest metropolitan areas are centers of fine art, music, and theater, in marked contrast to the folk culture and native crafts of the Ozarks. Despite these differences, Missourians can generally be described as politically, socially, and religiously conservative.

More than 47 percent of Missouri is situated on the the Ozarks Plateau. It is a region of clear-water lakes, mountain streams and rivers, towering bluffs, underground caverns, and abundant wildlife that has managed largely to avoid development.

Etymology and pronunciation

The state is named after the Missouri River, which in turn is named after the Siouan Indian tribe whose Illinois name, ouemessourita (wimihsoorita[5]), means "those who have dugout canoes".[6]

The pronunciation of the final syllable of "Missouri" is a matter of controversy, with significant numbers insisting on a relatively tense vowel (as in "meet") or lax ("mitt" or "mutt"). From a linguistic point of view, there is no correct pronunciation, but rather, there are simply patterns of variation.

Geography

Missouri, showing major cities and roads

Missouri's geography is highly varied. The northern part of the state lies in dissected till plains (formed from the soil and rocks left by melting glaciers and cut by rivers and streams), while the southern part lies in the Ozark Mountains, with the Missouri River dividing the two. The confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is located near the city of St. Louis.

Missouri borders eight different states. It is bounded on the north by Iowa; on the east, across the Mississippi River, by Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee; on the south by Arkansas; and on the west by Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska (the last across the Missouri River.) The sections of the state which touch Kentucky, Tennessee and Nebraska, however, are only a matter of miles. The two largest rivers in the state are the Mississippi, which defines the eastern boundary of the state, and the Missouri, which flows from west to east through the state, practically connecting the two largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis. The capital is Jefferson City, located in the center of the state.

Although today the state is usually considered part of the Midwest,[7] historically Missouri was sometimes considered a Southern state,[8] chiefly because of the settlement of migrants from the South and its status as a slave state before the Civil War. The counties that made up "Little Dixie" were those along the Missouri River in the center of the state, settled by southern migrants who held the greatest concentration of slaves.

Residents of cities farther north and of the state's large metropolitan areas, including those where most of the state's population resides (Kansas City, St. Louis, and Columbia), typically consider themselves Midwestern. In rural areas and cities farther south, such as Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff, Springfield, and Sikeston, residents typically self-identify as more Southern.

Topography

A physiographic map of Missouri

North of the Missouri River lie the Northern Plains that stretch into Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Here, gentle rolling hills remain behind from the glaciation that once extended from the north to the Missouri River. Missouri has many large river bluffs along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramec Rivers.

Southern Missouri rises to the Ozark Mountains, a dissected plateau surrounding the Precambrian igneous St. Francois Mountains. The Ozark plateau begins around Springfield and extends into northwestern Arkansas, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma. Springfield in southwestern Missouri lies on the most northwestern part of the Ozark plateau.

The southeastern part of the state, known as the Bootheel because of its shape, is part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. This region is the lowest, flattest, and wettest part of the state, as well as among the poorest, as the economy is mostly agricultural. It is also the most fertile, with cotton and rice crops predominant.

The Bootheel was the epicenter of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–1812. Scientists estimate there is a seven to ten percent chance, by the mid-twenty-first century, of a repeat of a major earthquake like those of 1811-1812, which likely had magnitudes of between 7.5 and 8.0. There is a 25 to 40 percent chance, in a 50-year time span, of a magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquake.

Missouri has over 6,000 recorded caves (second only to Kentucky). Perry County has both the largest number of caves and the single longest cave in the state (Crevice Cave, at 28.2 miles).[9]

Flora and fauna

Big Spring in the Missouri Ozarks is one of the largest in the United States, discharging 276 million gallons of water per day into the Current River.

Forests cover about one-third of Missouri, mostly found in the Ozarks and along rivers, but the old-growth trees were cut down by settlers and loggers. Some small stands of the original tallgrass prairie that once covered the state still exist.

The mammals found in Missouri include black bears, bobcats, coyotes, otters, deer, and beaver. The birds include eagles, quail, wild turkeys, grouse, American woodcocks, ducks, geese, and other waterbirds. Such fish as bass, bluegill, paddlefish, and catfish are found in its rivers.

Climate

Missouri generally has a humid continental climate, with cold winters and hot and humid summers. In the southern part of the state, particularly in the Bootheel, the climate borders on a humid subtropical climate. Located in the interior United States, Missouri often experiences extremes in temperatures. Without high mountains or oceans nearby to moderate temperature, its climate is alternately influenced by air from the cold Arctic and the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico.

History

Missouri State symbols
  • Motto:
Salus populi suprema lex esto
"The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law"
  • Slogan: "Show Me"
  • Song: "Missouri Waltz"
  • Musical Instrument: Fiddle
  • Dance: Square dance
  • Animal: Missouri Mule
  • Fish: Channel Catfish
  • Bird: Bluebird
  • Flower: Hawthorn
  • Insect: Honey bee
  • Tree: Flowering Dogwood
  • Fossil: Crinoid
  • Dinosaur: Hypsibema missouriensis
  • Gemstone: Aquamarine
  • Mineral: Galena
  • Rock: Mozarkite

Prehistory

People first arrived in the area now known as Missouri about 12,000 B.C.E. and lived by hunting mammoths, mastodons, and giant bison. Around 7000 B.C.E. the Archaic culture developed. When the Woodland culture arrived about 3000 years ago, the nomadic lifestyle of the previous peoples changed into a more settled one in which crops were grown. As communities grew larger, some of them built flat-topped mounds that were probably used for ceremonies and burials. Among the tribes that came to live in Missouri were the Chickasaw and Mississippian in the southeast; the Oto, Missouri, and Ioway in the north; and the Osage in the south.

Early history

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto crossed into Missouri on his journey through the Southeast in search of gold, becoming the first European to see the state. Not until 1673 did other Europeans arrive, the Frenchmen Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet. In 1682, another French explorer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, traveled the length of the Mississippi River and claimed the land alongside it for France. He gave the region the name Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV. Fur trappers and missionaries followed, and lead began to be mined in 1715 with African slaves. The town of Ste. Genevieve was the first permanent settlement, the second being the fur-trading post called Saint Louis, established in 1763.

In 1762, aware that it was losing the French and Indian War, France ceded its holdings west of the Mississippi to Spain to keep them out of British hands. After the American Revolutionary War, American settlers began to filter into the Spanish-held territory in search of land. In the early 1800s, Spain signed the territory back over to the French, who sold it to the new United States. President Thomas Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis to explore this new acquisition. The Lewis and Clark Expedition left from St. Louis in 1804, following the Missouri River west, returning two years later.

The state was the epicenter of the New Madrid earthquakes in 1811-1812, possibly the most massive earthquakes in the United States since the founding of the country. Casualties were light due to the sparse population.

Statehood

The Gateway Arch behind the Old Courthouse in St. Louis

Missouri was admitted as a slave state in 1821 as part of the Missouri Compromise, which was intended to keep the number of slave and free states equal. St. Louis and later the cities of Independence, Kansas City, and St. Joseph in the western part of the state, served as departure points for settlers heading to the West. River traffic and trade along the Mississippi was integral to the state's economy.

In 1835 the Platte Purchase was added to the northwest corner of the state after the land was purchased from the native tribes, making the Missouri River the border north of the Kansas River. This addition made what was already the largest state in the Union at the time (about 66,500 square miles (172,000 km²) to Virginia's 65,000 square miles (which included West Virginia at the time) even larger.[10]

Conflict over slavery

As many of the early settlers in western Missouri migrated from the Upper South, they brought along enslaved African Americans and a desire to continue their culture and the institution of slavery. They settled predominantly along the Missouri River, in an area of flatlands that enabled plantation agriculture and became known as "Little Dixie." In the early 1830s, Mormon migrants from northern states and Canada began settling near Independence and areas just north of there. Conflicts over slavery and religion arose between the "old settlers" (mainly from the South) and the Mormons openly practicing polygamy (mainly from the North and Canada). The Mormon War erupted, and by 1839 the settlers had expelled the Mormons from Missouri.

Conflicts over slavery exacerbated border tensions among the states and territories. In 1838-1839 a border dispute with Iowa resulted in both states' calling up militias along the border. After many incidents with Kansans crossing the western border for attacks (including setting a fire in the historic Westport area of Kansas City), a border war erupted between Missouri and Kansas. The controversial issue of the status of slavery in Kansas would have an impact on the make-up of the entire nation. In response, both eastern Kansas and western Missouri were flooded with three distinct groups from around the nation: pro-slavers, free-staters and abolitionists, all coming to cast their vote for or against slavery. Violence broke out among these rival groups, with kidnapping and tar–and–feathering eventually turning to raids and massacres along both sides of the border. These skirmished, which lasted from roughly 1854 to 1858, came to be called "The Border Wars," or "Bleeding Kansas."

From the 1830s to the 1860s, Missouri's population almost doubled with every decade. Most of the newcomers were Americans, but many Irish and German immigrants arrived in the late 1840s and 1850s. Having fled famine, oppression, and revolutionary upheaval, they were not sympathetic to slavery.

Columbia, Missouri
Saint Joseph, Missouri

Most Missouri farmers practiced subsistence farming. The majority of those who held slaves had fewer than five each. The tensions over slavery had chiefly to do with the future of the state and nation. In 1860 enslaved African Americans made up less than ten percent of the state's population of 1,182,012.[11]

After the secession of Southern states began, the Missouri legislature called for the election of a special convention on secession. The convention voted decisively to remain within the Union. Despite the presence of strong pro-Southern elements in the state, Union forces succeeded in installing a pro-Union provisional government that was immediately recognized by Washington, D.C., as the legal government. This decision provided both pro-Union militia forces for service within the state and volunteer regiments for the Union Army.

After winning victories at the battle of Wilson's Creek and the siege of Lexington and suffering losses elsewhere, the state's Confederate forces had little choice but to retreat to Arkansas and later Texas. Though regular Confederate troops staged some large-scale raids into Missouri, the fighting in the state for the next three years consisted chiefly of guerrilla warfare—quick, small-unit tactics. Such insurgencies also arose in other portions of the Confederacy occupied during the Civil War.

Modern times

After the Civil War, Missouri population and economy grew rapidly, boosted by the railroads and by bridges connecting Missouri with Kansas and Illinois. Cattlemen in the West could bring their cattle to Kansas City, which became the center of a meatpacking industry. World War I brought a demand for mules and lead from Missouri. During World War II, more than 300,000 troops trained at Fort Leonard Wood.

During the mid-1950s and 1960s, St. Louis suffered from deindustrialization and loss of jobs in railroads and manufacturing, as did other major industrial cities. At the same time highway construction made it easy for middle-class residents to leave the city for newer housing in the suburbs. The city has gone through decades of readjustment to developing a different economy. Suburban areas have developed separate job markets, both in knowledge industries and services, such as major retail malls.

Law and government

Jefferson City, Missouri's capital city

The constitution of Missouri provides for three branches of government: the legislative, judicial, and executive. The executive branch is headed by the governor and includes five other state-wide elected offices. The legislative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which comprise the Missouri General Assembly.

The House of Representatives has 163 members who are apportioned based on the last decennial census. The Senate consists of 34 members from districts of approximately equal populations.

The judicial department comprises the Supreme Court of Missouri, which has seven judges; the Missouri Court of Appeals (an intermediate appellate court divided into three districts, sitting in Kansas City, St. Louis, and Springfield), and 45 Circuit Courts, which function as local trial courts.

Local government

Missouri has 114 counties and one independent city (St. Louis), which is the most densely populated area in Missouri. The largest county by population (2000 U.S. census) is St. Louis County (1,016,315 residents).

The seven largest cities in Missouri are Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Independence, Columbia, Lee's Summit, and Saint Joseph.

St. Louis is the principal city of the largest metropolitan area in Missouri, comprising 17 counties and the independent city of St. Louis; eight of those counties lie in the state of Illinois. As of 2006, Greater St. Louis was the 16th largest urban area in the nation.

Kansas City is Missouri's largest city, and shares its metropolitan area with Kansas City, Kansas and its suburbs. As of 2004, it was the 27th largest metropolitan area in the nation. Branson is a major tourist attraction in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri.

Politics

Missouri was long a state that voted for the conservative Democratic Party. Its most prominent Democratic statesman was U.S. President Harry S. Truman. As party membership and policies have changed since the late 1970s, the state's voting has trended to Republican candidates, yet neither party is dominant. Democrats are now generally strongest among urban populations of Kansas City, St. Louis, and Columbia, home of the University of Missouri. Republicans are strongest in the southwestern and southeastern areas. Many of the rural areas have recently favored Republican candidates.

Missouri has a longer stretch of supporting the winning presidential candidate than any other state, having voted with the nation in every election since 1904 with the exception of Adlai Stevenson in 1956.

Missouri is also a bellwether on hot-button issues such as same-sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research. In 2004, Missouri voters overwhelmingly (71 percent) passed an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Around 20 states have followed Missouri's decision by passing similar amendments. In 2006, a ballot initiative regarding embryonic stem cell research drew widespread attention. The measure narrowly passed by 51-49 percent.

Alcohol and tobacco laws

The packaging plant at the Anheuser-Busch headquarters in St. Louis, where Budweiser beer is produced.
Branson, in Missouri's Ozarks region, is a popular destination for vacationers from Missouri and the surrounding states.

Missouri has been known for its population's generally conservative attitude toward regulatory regimes. As a result, and combined with the fact that Missouri is one of America's leading alcohol-producing states, regulation of alcohol and tobacco in Missouri is among the most laissez-faire in America.

With a large German immigrant population and a flourishing brewing industry, Missouri always has had among the most permissive alcohol laws in the United States. Missouri voters rejected Prohibition in three separate referenda in 1910, 1912, and 1918. Alcohol regulation did not begin in Missouri until 1934. Today, alcohol laws are controlled by the state government, and local jurisdictions are prohibited from going beyond those state laws. Missouri has no statewide open container law or prohibition on drinking in public, no alcohol-related blue laws, no local option, no precise locations for selling liquor by the package (thereby allowing even drug stores and gas stations to sell any kind of liquor), no differentiation of laws based on alcohol percentage, no prohibition on consumption by minors (as opposed to possession), and no prohibition on absinthe. State law protects persons from arrest or criminal penalty for public intoxication and also expressly prohibits any jurisdiction from going dry. Missouri law also expressly allows parents and guardians to serve alcohol to their children.

As for tobacco, in 2008 Missouri had the lowest cigarette excise taxes in the United States.[12] No statewide smoking ban ever has been seriously entertained before the Missouri General Assembly, and only 20 percent of Missourians support such a statewide ban in public places.[13] Missouri state law allows bars and restaurants that seat less than 50 people, bowling alleys, and billiard parlors to decide their own smoking policies, without limitation.[14] Additionally, in Missouri, it is "an improper employment practice" for an employer to refuse to hire, to fire, or otherwise to disadvantage any person because that person lawfully uses alcohol and/or tobacco products when he or she is not at work.[15]

Economy

The Missouri state quarter.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Missouri's total state product in 2006 was $225.9 billion. Per capita personal income in 2006 was $32,707, a ranking that is 26th in the nation. Major industries include aerospace, transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, printing/publishing, electrical equipment, light manufacturing, and beer.

The agriculture products of the state are beef, soybeans, pork, dairy products, hay, corn, poultry, sorghum, and eggs. Missouri is ranked sixth in the nation for the production of hogs and seventh for cattle. Missouri is ranked in the top five states in the nation for production of soy beans. As of 2001, there were 108,000 farms, the second largest number in any state after Texas. Missouri actively promotes its rapidly growing wine industry.

Missouri has vast quantities of limestone. Other resources mined are lead, coal, Portland cement, and crushed stone. Missouri produces the most lead of all of the states. Most of the lead mines are in the central eastern portion of the state. Missouri also ranks first or near first in the production of lime.

Daniel Boone Bridge in eastern Missouri, looking out on the Missouri River early in the morning.

Tourism, services, and wholesale/retail trade follow manufacturing in importance.

Riverboat gambling was approved in 1992. In the 2008 election, voters passed a measure that removed the previous $500 loss limit per person and earmarked the added revenue for funding for elementary and secondary schools. The revision also capped the number of casinos at their present level.

Transportation

The Mississippi River and Missouri River are commercially navigable over their entire lengths in Missouri. The Missouri was channelized through dredging and jetties and the Mississippi was given a series of locks and dams to avoid rocks and deepen the river. St. Louis is a major destination for barge traffic on the Mississippi River.

Demographics

Missouri Population Density Map
Cape Girardeau, Missouri

In 2006, Missouri had an estimated population of 5,842,713; an increase of 45,010 (0.8 percent) from the prior year and an increase of 246,030 (4.4 percent) since the year 2000. Over half of Missourians (3,145,584 people, or 56.2 percent) live within the state's two largest metropolitan areas–St. Louis and Kansas City. The state's population density is also closer to the national average than any other state.

The five largest ancestry groups in Missouri are: German (23.5 percent), Irish (12.7 percent), American (10.5 percent), English (9.5 percent), and French (3.5 percent). "American" includes some of those reported as Native American or African American, but also European Americans whose ancestors have lived in the United States for a considerable time.

German Americans are an ancestry group present throughout Missouri. African-Americans are a substantial part of the population in St. Louis, Kansas City, and in the southeastern bootheel and some parts of the Missouri River Valley, where plantation agriculture was once important. Missouri Creoles of French ancestry are concentrated in the Mississippi River Valley south of St. Louis. A substantial number (40,000-50,000) of recent Bosnian immigrants, arriving since 1993, live mostly in the St. Louis area, comprising 12 percent of the city's population.

In 2004, 6.6 percent of the state's population was reported as younger than 5 years old, 25.5 percent younger than 18, and 13.5 percent was 65 or older. More than the national average (81.3 percent) of Missouri residents were high school graduates, and 21.6 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. Only 3.4 percent of Missourians were foreign-born, and 5.1 percent reported speaking a language other than English at home.

In 2000, there were 2,194,594 households in Missouri, with 2.48 people per household. The homeownership rate was 70.3 percent, and the mean value of an owner-occupied dwelling was $89,900.

Religion

Of those Missourians who identify with a religion, three out of five are Protestants. There is also a moderate-sized Roman Catholic community in some parts of the state; approximately one out of five Missourians are Catholic. Areas with more numerous Catholics include St. Louis and the Missouri Rhineland, particularly south of the Missouri River.[16]

The religious affiliations of the people of Missouri according to the American Religious Identification Survey:[17]

Several religious organizations have headquarters in Missouri, including the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as well as the United Pentecostal Church International. Kansas City is the headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene. Independence, outside of Kansas City, is the headquarters for the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), and the Latter Day Saints group Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This area and other parts of Missouri are also of significant religious and historical importance to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which maintains several sites/visitors centers, and whose members make up about one percent of Missouri's population. Springfield is the headquarters of the Assemblies of God and the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. The General Association of General Baptists has its headquarters in Poplar Bluff. The Pentecostal Church of God is headquartered in Joplin.

Education

Jesse Hall and the Francis Quad on the University of Missouri campus.
Brookings Hall at Washington University

The Missouri State Board of Education has general authority over all public education in the state of Missouri. It is made up of eight citizens appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Missouri Senate.

Primary and secondary schools

The public schools system includes kindergarten to 12th grade. District territories are often complex in structure. In some cases, elementary, middle and junior high schools of a single district feed into high schools in another district.

Colleges and universities

The University of Missouri System is Missouri's statewide public university system; the flagship institution and largest university in the state is the University of Missouri in Columbia. The others in the system are University of Missouri–Kansas City, University of Missouri–St. Louis, and Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Notable highly rated[18] private institutions include Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University.

Lincoln University in Jefferson City is one of a number of historically black colleges and universities. In 1954, the university began to accept applicants of all races.

There are numerous junior colleges, trade schools, church universities, and private universities in the state.

The state also funds a $2,000, renewable merit-based scholarship, Bright Flight, given to the top 3 percent of Missouri high school graduates who attend an in-state university.

Looking to the future

The population of St. Louis faces the social and economic challenges of most large cities in the United States. For the most part those are loss of jobs to the suburbs, education, transportation, and crime.

Joplin, Missouri

However, in the twenty-first century, St. Louis has transformed from a manufacturing and industrial economy into a globally known focus in medical research, biotechnology, and other sciences. The St. Louis region is home to 21 Fortune 1000 companies, nine of which are in the Fortune 500. The region is also home to some of the country's largest privately held corporations, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Edward Jones Investment and Financial services, among others.

In 2007, Worldwide ERC and Primary Relocation recognized Kansas City third overall as one of the "Best Cities for Relocating Families" in the United States. Also in March 2007, Money Magazine rated three of Kansas City's suburbs among the top 50 best places. Though these analyses include the entire metropolitan area, they are an important indicator of the realistic situation of life in and around Kansas City.

While the state's large cities are progressive, somewhat cosmopolitan, and hold a large majority of the population, the success of its small towns is highly dependent on geography and transportation. Those located near the cities have grown and prospered by an improved highway system, but many have suffered economic stagnation as the rural population has declined, in many cases relocating to the larger cities.

Notes

  1. Error on call to template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified.
  2. Error on call to template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified (CSV). 2011 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division (December 2011).
  3. 3.0 3.1 Elevations and Distances in the United States. United States Geological Survey (2001). Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
  5. Michael McCafferty. 2004. Correction: Etymology of Missouri (restricted access). American Speech 79 (1):32
  6. American Heritage Dictionary: Missouri Bartleby.com. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  7. Houghton Mifflin Education. US: Midwest Region Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  8. David Williamson. June 2, 1999. UNC-CH surveys reveal where the ‘real’ South lies University of North Carolina.
  9. Scott House. May 14, 2005. Fact Sheet on 6000 Caves The Missouri Speleological Survey, Inc.
  10. D. W. Meinig. 1993. The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History, Volume 2: Continental America, 1800-1867. (New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300056583), 437
  11. University of Virginia Library. Historical Census Browser, 1860 Federal Census
  12. Federation of Tax Administrators. State Tax Excise Rates on Cigarettes - January 1, 2008 Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  13. James R. Davis and Ross C. Brownson, "A Policy for Clean Indoor Air in Missouri: History and Lessons Learned," St. Louis University Public Law Review 13(1994): 749
  14. Section 191.769, Revised Statues of Missouri
  15. Section 290.145, Revised Statutes of Missouri
  16. Valparaiso University. Catholics as a Percentage of All Residents, map Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  17. City University of New York. 2001 American Religious Identification Survey Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  18. U.S. News & World Report. 2008. America's Best Colleges 2009.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Blashfield, Jean F. Missouri. New York: Children's Press, 2009. ISBN 9780531185858
  • De Voto, Bernard Augustine, and Alfred Jacob Miller. Across the wide Missouri. (1947) reprint ed. Mariner Books, 1998, ISBN 0395924979. (Pulitzer Prize in Literature) and National Book Award.
  • Lago, Mary Ellen. Missouri. New York: Children's Press, 2003. ISBN 0516223909
  • Lewis, Meriwether, William Clark, and Bernard Augustine De Voto. The journals of Lewis and Clark. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin. (1953) 1997. ISBN 0395859964.

External links

All links retrieved November 9, 2022.

Coordinates: 38.5° N 92.5° W


Political divisions of the United States Flag of the United States
States Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Federal district District of Columbia
Insular areas American Samoa | Baker Island | Guam | Howland Island | Jarvis Island | Johnston Atoll | Kingman Reef | Midway Atoll | Navassa Island | Northern Mariana Islands | Palmyra Atoll | Puerto Rico | Virgin Islands | Wake Island

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.