83-645: The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Missouri , and the rest became unorganized territory for several years. The Missouri Territory
166-491: A massive EF-5 tornado killed 158 people and destroyed roughly one-third of the city of Joplin . The tornado caused an estimated $ 1–3 billion in damages, killed 159 people and injured more than a thousand. It was the first EF5 to hit the state since 1957 and the deadliest in the U.S. since 1947, making it the seventh deadliest tornado in American history and 27th deadliest in the world. St. Louis and its suburbs also have
249-628: A "wilderness" policy for the Forest Service. Their efforts bore fruit with the Wilderness Act of 1964 , which designated wilderness areas "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by men, where man himself is a visitor and does not remain." This included second growth public forests like the Mark Twain National Forest . The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Missouri
332-659: A 2018 report by the Missouri Attorney General 's office, for the past 18 years, "African Americans, Hispanics and other people of color are disproportionately affected by stops, searches and arrests." The same report found that the biggest discrepancy was in 2017, when "black motorists were 85% more likely to be pulled over in traffic stops". In 2018 the USDA announced its plans to relocate Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food & Agriculture (NIFA) to Kansas City. They have since decided on
415-687: A brief period of Spanish rule , the United States acquired Missouri as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Americans from the Upland South rushed into the new Missouri Territory ; Missouri played a central role in the westward expansion of the United States. Missouri was admitted as a slave state as part of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 . As a border state , Missouri's role in the American Civil War
498-610: A figure equaled only by its neighbor, Tennessee. Missouri is bounded by Iowa on the north; by Illinois , Kentucky , and Tennessee across the Mississippi River on the east; on the south by Arkansas ; and by Oklahoma , Kansas , and Nebraska (the last across the Missouri River) on the west. Whereas the northern and southern boundaries are straight lines, the Missouri Bootheel extends south between
581-509: A glut of unskilled labor, driving wages down. Most Missouri farmers practiced subsistence farming before the American Civil War . The majority of those who held slaves had fewer than five each. Planters , defined by some historians as those holding 20 slaves or more, were concentrated in the counties known as " Little Dixie ", in the central part of the state along the Missouri River . The tensions over slavery chiefly had to do with
664-416: A history of experiencing particularly severe tornadoes, the most recent one of note being an EF4 that damaged Lambert-St. Louis International Airport on April 22, 2011. One of the worst tornadoes in American history struck St. Louis on May 27, 1896, killing at least 255 people and causing $ 10 million in damage (equivalent to $ 3.9 billion in 2009 or $ 5.54 billion in today's dollars). Missouri
747-455: A major meatpacking center, as large cattle drives from Texas brought herds of cattle to Dodge City and other Kansas towns. There, the cattle were loaded onto trains destined for Kansas City, where they were butchered and distributed to the eastern markets. The first half of the 20th century was the height of Kansas City's prominence, and its downtown became a showcase for stylish Art Deco skyscrapers as construction boomed. In 1930, there
830-421: A more complete list of regions and subdivisions of the United States used in modern times, see List of regions of the United States . † - indicates failed legal entities Unlike the land to the east, most of the land west of the Mississippi River was under French or Spanish rule until the first years of the 19th century. The following are state cessions made during the building of the U.S. The following
913-464: A result of the attempted secession of the Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Some were enclaves within enemy-held territories: These were regions disassociated from neighboring areas due to opposing views: Belts are loosely defined sub-regions found throughout the United States that are named for a perceived commonality among the included areas, which is often related to
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#1732764953538996-504: A result of the protracted negotiations, the United States surrendered a significant portion of the Missouri Territory claimed in the southwest to Spain in exchange for the peninsula of Spanish Florida further east. The Convention of 1818 and the subsequent Adams–Onís Treaty the following year, would be the last significant losses of United States claimed territories from the continental contiguous United States , although
1079-403: A single speech, to appeal to a greater number of listeners. In informal contexts respellings of the state's name, such as "Missour- ee " or "Missour- uh ", are occasionally used to distinguish pronunciations phonetically. There is no official state nickname. However, Missouri's unofficial nickname is the "Show Me State", which appears on its license plates . This phrase has several origins. One
1162-599: A specific location in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. With the addition of the KC Streetcar project and construction of the Sprint Center Arena, the downtown area in KC has attracted investment in new offices, hotels, and residential complexes. Both Kansas City and St. Louis are undergoing a rebirth in their downtown areas with the addition of the new Power & Light (KC) and Ballpark Village (STL) districts and
1245-718: A temporary state capital in St. Charles. In 1826, the capital was shifted to its permanent location of Jefferson City , also on the Missouri River. Originally the state's western border was a straight line, defined as the meridian passing through the Kawsmouth, 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. In 1836
1328-464: A transfer of power to France on November 30, 1803, just three weeks before the cession to the United States. Part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase by the United States, Missouri earned the nickname Gateway to the West because it served as a significant departure point for expeditions and settlers heading to the West during the 19th century. St. Charles , just west of St. Louis, was the starting point and
1411-545: A variety of goods to traders for sale and trade with their Native American clients. The fur trade and associated businesses made St. Louis an early financial center and provided the wealth for some to build fine houses and import luxury items. Its location near the confluence of the Illinois River meant it also handled produce from the agricultural areas. River traffic and trade along the Mississippi were integral to
1494-497: A whole, is called the Camp Jackson Affair . These events sharpened the divisions 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 Union General Lyon's rapid advance through the state, Jackson and Price were forced to flee the capital of Jefferson City on June 14, 1861. In Neosho, Missouri , Jackson called
1577-458: Is Jefferson City . Humans have inhabited present-day Missouri for at least 12,000 years. The Mississippian culture , which emerged in the ninth century, built cities and mounds before declining in the 14th century. The Indigenous Osage and Missouria nations inhabited the area when European people arrived in the 17th century. The French incorporated the territory into Louisiana , founding Ste. Genevieve in 1735 and St. Louis in 1764. After
1660-443: Is a list of the 31 U.S. territories that have become states, in the order of the date organized . (All were considered incorporated .) The following are land grants, cessions, defined districts (official or otherwise) or named settlements made within an area that was already part of a U.S. state or territory that did not involve international treaties or Native American cessions or land purchases. These entities were sometimes
1743-504: Is alternately influenced by air from the cold Arctic and the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico. Missouri's highest recorded temperature is 118 °F (48 °C) at Warsaw and Union on July 14, 1954, while the lowest recorded temperature is −40 °F (−40 °C) also at Warsaw on February 13, 1905. Located in Tornado Alley , Missouri also receives extreme weather in the form of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. On May 22, 2011,
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#17327649535381826-586: Is home to diverse flora and fauna , including several endemic species. There is a large amount of fresh water present due to the Mississippi River , Missouri River , Table Rock Lake and Lake of the Ozarks , with numerous smaller tributary rivers, streams, and lakes. North of the Missouri River, the state is primarily rolling hills of the Great Plains , whereas south of the Missouri River,
1909-438: Is popularly ascribed to a speech by Congressman Willard Vandiver in 1899, who declared that "I come from a state 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." This is in keeping with the saying "I'm from Missouri", which means "I'm skeptical of the matter and not easily convinced." However, according to researchers,
1992-839: The 1820 United States census , 15 counties in the old Missouri Territory reported the following population counts: Organized incorporated territory of the United States The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time , from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states , international and interstate purchases, cessions , and land grants , and historical military departments and administrative districts. The last section lists informal regions from American vernacular geography known by popular nicknames and linked by geographical, cultural, or economic similarities, some of which are still in use today. For
2075-479: The 1904 election . He promoted what he called "the Missouri Idea", the concept of Missouri as a leader in public morality through popular control of law and strict enforcement. He successfully conducted antitrust prosecutions, ended free railroad passes for state officials, extended bribery statutes, improved election laws, required formal registration for lobbyists, made racetrack gambling illegal and enforced
2158-637: The Illinois Country. They came from colonial villages on the east side of the Mississippi River, where soils were becoming exhausted and there was insufficient river bottom land for the growing population. The early Missouri settlements included many enslaved Africans and Native Americans, and slave labor was central to both commercial agriculture and the fur trade. Sainte-Geneviève became a thriving agricultural center, producing enough surplus wheat, corn and tobacco to ship tons of grain annually downriver to Lower Louisiana for trade. Grain production in
2241-601: The Ozarks , a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. At 1.5 billion years old, the St. Francois Mountains are among the oldest in the world. The Missouri River , after which the state is named, flows through the center and into the Mississippi River , which makes up the eastern border. With over six million residents, it is the 18th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis , Kansas City , Springfield , and Columbia . The capital
2324-584: The Platte Purchase was added to the northwest corner of the state after purchase of the land from the native tribes, making the Missouri River the border north of the Kansas River. This addition increased the land area of what was already the largest state in the Union at the time (about 66,500 square miles (172,000 km ) to Virginia's 65,000 square miles, which then included West Virginia). In
2407-548: The St. Francis and the Mississippi rivers. The two largest rivers are the Mississippi (which defines the eastern boundary of the state) and the Missouri River (which flows from west to east through the state), essentially connecting the two largest metros of Kansas City and St. Louis. Although today it is usually considered part of the Midwest , Missouri was historically seen by many as a border state , chiefly because of
2490-543: The St. Louis Arsenal . Alarmed at this action, and discovering the Confederate aid, General Nathaniel Lyon struck first, encircling the camp and forcing the state troops to surrender. Lyon directed his soldiers, largely non-English-speaking German immigrants , to march the prisoners through the streets, and this led to riot by pro-secession citizens. While it is disputed how it started, this riot led to violence and Union soldiers killed by St. Louis civilians. The event as
2573-577: The University of Missouri , Saint Louis University , and Washington University in St. Louis . The state is named for the Missouri River , which was named after the indigenous Missouria , a Siouan-language tribe. French colonists adapted a form of the Illinois language -name for the people: Wimihsoorita . Their name means "One who has dugout canoes". The name Missouri has several different pronunciations even among its present-day inhabitants,
Missouri Territory - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-484: The protests and riots that followed the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer of Ferguson , which led Governor Jay Nixon to call out the Missouri National Guard . A grand jury declined to indict the officer, and the U.S. Department of Justice concluded, after careful investigation, that the police officer legitimately feared for his safety. However, in a separate investigation,
2739-609: The Civil War and the end of World War II, Missouri transitioned from a rural economy to a hybrid industrial-service-agricultural economy as the Midwest rapidly industrialized. The expansion of railroads to the West transformed Kansas City into a major transportation hub within the nation. The growth of the Texas cattle industry along with this increased rail infrastructure and the invention of the refrigerated boxcar also made Kansas City
2822-768: The Department of Justice also found that the Ferguson Police Department and the City of Ferguson relied on unconstitutional practices in order to balance the city's budget through racially motivated excessive fines and punishments, that the Ferguson police "had used excessive and dangerous force and had disproportionately targeted blacks," and that the municipal court "emphasized revenue over public safety, leading to routine breaches of citizens' constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection under
2905-478: The Illinois Country was critical to the survival of Lower Louisiana and especially the city of New Orleans. St. Louis was founded on February 14, 1764, by French fur traders Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent , Pierre Laclède , and Auguste Chouteau . From 1764 to 1803, European control of the area west of the Mississippi to the northernmost part of the Missouri River basin, called Louisiana, was assumed by
2988-476: The Midwestern and Southern United States . It is the birthplace of the musical genres ragtime , Kansas City jazz and St. Louis blues . The well-known Kansas City-style barbecue , and the lesser-known St. Louis-style barbecue , can be found across the state and beyond. Missouri is a major center of beer brewing and has some of the most permissive alcohol laws in the U.S. It is home to Anheuser-Busch ,
3071-774: The Mississippi River were part of the French province of Louisiana . To distinguish the settlements in the Middle Mississippi Valley from French settlements in the lower Mississippi Valley around New Orleans, French officials and inhabitants referred to the Middle Mississippi Valley as La Haute Louisiane, "The High Louisiana", or "Upper Louisiana". The first European settlers were mostly ethnic French Canadians , who created their first settlement in Missouri at present-day Ste. Genevieve , about 45 miles (72 km) south of St. Louis. They had migrated in about 1750 from
3154-644: The Missouri Partisan Rangers, such insurgencies also arose in portions of the Confederacy occupied by the Union during the Civil War. Historians have portrayed stories of the James brothers' outlaw years as an American "Robin Hood" myth. The vigilante activities of the Bald Knobbers of the Ozarks in the 1880s were an unofficial continuation of insurgent mentality long after the official end of
3237-774: The Missouri River lie the Northern Plains that stretch into Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Here, rolling hills remain from the glaciation that once extended from the Canadian Shield 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 . This region also hosts karst topography characterized by high limestone content with
3320-501: The Missouri Territory directly south of the parallel 36°30' north , except the so-called Missouri Bootheel between the Mississippi River and the Saint Francis River north of the 36th parallel north , was designated the new federal Territory of Arkansaw . (The spelling of Arkansaw would be changed a few years later, although the proper pronunciation of the name would be debated until 1881). The southeastern portion of
3403-772: The Missouri Territory the Red River Valley ( Red River of the North ), south of the 49th parallel and gave to Rupert's Land that slice of upper Missouri River Valley north of the 49th parallel. The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, between the Kingdom of Spain and the United States , established the southern and western boundaries of the old Louisiana Purchase territory of 1803, with the Royal Spanish territories of Spanish Texas and Santa Fe de Nuevo México . As
Missouri Territory - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-542: The Mormons from Missouri and confiscated their lands. Conflicts over slavery exacerbated border tensions among the states and territories. From 1838 to 1839, a border dispute with Iowa over the so-called Honey Lands resulted in both states' calling-up of militias along the border. With increasing migration, from the 1830s to the 1860s, Missouri's population almost doubled with every decade. Most newcomers were American-born, but many Irish and German immigrants arrived in
3569-707: The Spanish as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain , due to Treaty of Fontainebleau (in order to have Spain join with France in the war against England). The arrival of the Spanish in St. Louis was in September 1767. St. Louis became the center of a regional fur trade with Native American tribes that extended up the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, dominating the regional economy for decades. Trading partners of major firms shipped their furs from St. Louis by river down to New Orleans for export to Europe. They provided
3652-481: The Sunday-closing law. He helped enact Progressive legislation, including an initiative and referendum provision, regulation of elections, education, employment and child labor, railroads, food, business, and public utilities. Several efficiency-oriented examiner boards and commissions were established during Folk's administration, including many agricultural boards and the Missouri library commission. Between
3735-539: The West", "The Iron Mountain State", and "Pennsylvania of the West". It is also known as the "Cave State" because there are more than 7,300 recorded caves in the state (second to Tennessee ). Perry County is the county with the most caves and the single longest cave. The official state motto is "Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto", Latin for "Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law." Archaeological excavations along river valleys have shown continuous habitation since about 9000 BCE. Beginning before 1000 CE ,
3818-590: The cession of lands north of the 49th parallel would turn out to be the only permanent cession of U.S. territory (the territories ceded to the Kingdom of Spain in 1819 would be re-taken by the U.S. by force, following the Annexation of Texas Republic (1845) and the Mexican–American War , (1846–1848), along with the Mexican Cession of territories further west of 1849. On March 2, 1819, all of
3901-418: The city for newer housing developed in the suburbs, often former farmland where land was available at lower prices. These major cities have gone through decades of readjustment to develop different economies and adjust to demographic changes. Suburban areas have developed separate job markets, both in knowledge industries and services, such as major retail malls. In 2014, Missouri received national attention for
3984-519: The early 1830s, Mormon migrants from northern states and Canada began settling near Independence and areas just north of there. Conflicts over religion and slavery arose between the 'old settlers' (mainly from the South) and the Mormons (mainly from the North). The Mormon War erupted in 1838. By 1839, with the help of an "Extermination Order" by Governor Lilburn Boggs , the old settlers forcibly expelled
4067-458: The east bank of the Mississippi River and identified their settlements as being in le pays des Illinois, "the country of the Illinois". When settlers of French Canadian descent began crossing the Mississippi River to establish settlements such as Ste. Genevieve, they continued to identify their settlements as being in the Illinois Country. At the same time, the French settlements on both sides of
4150-429: The election of a special convention on secession. This convention voted against secession, but also qualified their support of the Union. In the aftermath of Battle of Fort Sumter 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 for training. In secret, he also requested Confederate arms and artillery to help take
4233-538: The face of a largely reinforced Union Army. 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" or insurgents such as Captain William Quantrill , Frank and Jesse James , the Younger brothers , and William T. Anderson made use of quick, small-unit tactics. Pioneered by
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#17327649535384316-406: The five administrative districts of the former Louisiana Territory into the first five counties of the then new Missouri Territory . The Anglo-American Convention of 1818 established the northern boundary of the six years old Missouri Territory with the adjacent British North America (future Dominion of Canada ) territory of Rupert's Land at the 49th parallel north of latitude . This gave
4399-510: The formation of sinkholes and caves. The southeastern part of the state is known as the Missouri Bootheel region, which is part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain or Mississippi embayment . This region is the lowest, flattest, warmest, and wettest part of the state. It is also among the poorest, as the economy there is mostly agricultural. It is also the most fertile, with cotton and rice crops predominant. The Bootheel
4482-421: 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. In order to control the flooding of farmland and low-lying villages along the Mississippi, the state had completed construction of 140 miles (230 km) of levees along the river by 1860. After the secession of Southern states began in 1861, the Missouri legislature called for
4565-429: The institution of slavery . They settled predominantly in 17 counties along the Missouri River , in an area of flatlands that enabled plantation agriculture and became known as " Little Dixie ". The state was rocked by the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes . Casualties were few due to the sparse population. In 1821, the former Missouri Territory was admitted as a slave state , under the Missouri Compromise , and with
4648-549: The late 1840s and 1850s. As a majority were Catholic , they set up their own religious institutions in the state, which had been mostly Protestant . Many settled in cities, creating a regional and then state network of Catholic churches and schools. 19th-century German immigrants created the wine industry along the Missouri River and the beer industry in St. Louis. While many German immigrants were strongly anti-slavery, many Irish immigrants living in cities were pro-slavery, fearing that liberating African-American slaves would create
4731-571: The law." A series of student protests at the University of Missouri against what the protesters viewed as poor response by the administration to racist incidents on campus began in September 2015. On June 7, 2017, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People issued a warning to prospective African-American travelers to Missouri. This is the first NAACP warning ever covering an entire state. According to
4814-439: The middle Mississippi and Ohio river valleys, extending into the southeast and the upper river. The land that became the state of Missouri was part of numerous different territories, possessed changing and often indeterminate borders, and had many different Native American and European names between the 1600s and statehood. For much of the first half of the 1700s, the west bank of the Mississippi River that would become Missouri
4897-531: The only governmental authority in the listed areas, although they often co-existed with civil governments in scarcely populated states and territories. Civilian administered "military" tracts, districts, departments, etc., will be listed elsewhere. During the American Civil War, the Department of the Pacific had six subordinate military districts: The Department of California (1858–1861) comprised
4980-498: The people of the Mississippian culture created regional political centers at present-day St. Louis and across the Mississippi River at Cahokia , near present-day Collinsville, Illinois . Their large cities included thousands of individual residences. Still, they are known for their surviving massive earthwork mounds , built for religious, political and social reasons, in platform , ridgetop and conical shapes. Cahokia
5063-399: The phrase "show me" was already in use before the 1890s. Another one states that it is a reference to Missouri miners who were taken to Leadville, Colorado to replace striking workers. Since the new miners were unfamiliar with the mining methods, they required frequent instruction. Other nicknames for Missouri include "The Lead State", "The Bullion State", "The Ozark State", "The Mother of
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#17327649535385146-459: The region's economy or climate. Missouri Missouri ( / m ɪ ˈ z ʊər i / mih- ZOOR -ee ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States . Ranking 21st in land area , it borders Iowa to the north, Illinois , Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma , Kansas , and Nebraska to the west. In the south are
5229-556: The remaining Missouri Territory was admitted to the Union as the 21st State of Missouri on August 10, 1821. St. Louis on the west bank of the Mississippi River was the capital of the Missouri Territory. The remaining portion of the territory to the north, northwest, west and southwest, consisting of the present states of Iowa , Nebraska , and the Dakotas , most of Kansas , Wyoming , Montana , and parts of Colorado , Minnesota and New Mexico , effectively became reverted to
5312-575: The renovation of existing historical buildings in each downtown area. The 2019 announcement of an MLS expansion team in St. Louis is driving even more development in the downtown west area of St. Louis. Kansas City has experienced a boom in population, with new developments such as Three Light apartments being centered in Downtown Kansas City , as well as suburban development in the Northland . Missouri borders eight different states,
5395-614: The return destination of the Lewis and Clark Expedition , which ascended the Missouri River in 1804, to explore the western lands to the Pacific Ocean. For decades, St. Louis was a major supply point for parties of settlers heading west. As many of the early settlers in western Missouri migrated from the Upper South , they brought enslaved African Americans as agricultural laborers, and they desired to continue their culture and
5478-589: The settlement of migrants from the South and its status as a slave state before the Civil War, balanced by the influence of St. Louis. 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. In 2005, Missouri received 16,695,000 visitors to its national parks and other recreational areas totaling 101,000 acres (410 km ), giving it $ 7.41 million in annual revenues, 26.6% of its operating expenditures. North of, and in some cases just south of,
5561-455: The southern part of the Department of the Pacific: California, Nevada, and southern part of Oregon Territory; merged into the Department of the Pacific as the District of California. The Department of Oregon (1858–1861) comprised the northern part of the Department of the Pacific: Washington Territory and Oregon Territory. These "territories" had actual, functioning governments (recognized or not): These are functioning governments created as
5644-438: The state and volunteer regiments for the Union Army. 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 Wilson's Creek and the siege of Lexington, Missouri and suffering losses elsewhere, the Confederate forces retreated to Arkansas and later Marshall, Texas , in
5727-434: The state convention was reassembled with most of its members present, save twenty who fled south with Jackson's forces. The convention declared all offices vacant and installed Hamilton Gamble as the new governor of Missouri. President Lincoln's administration immediately recognized Gamble's government as the legal Missouri government. The federal government's decision enabled raising pro-Union militia forces for service within
5810-405: The state is dominated by the Oak-Hickory Central U.S. hardwood forest . Recreational and commercial uses of public forests, including grazing, logging, and mining, increased after World War II. Fishermen, hikers, campers, and others started lobbying to protect forest areas with a "wilderness character". During the 1930s and 1940s, Aldo Leopold , Arthur Carhart and Bob Marshall developed
5893-426: The state legislature into session to call for secession. However, the elected legislative body was split between pro-Union and pro-Confederate. As such, few of the pro-unionist attended the session called in Neosho, and the ordinance of secession was quickly adopted. The Confederacy recognized Missouri secession on October 30, 1861. With the elected governor absent from the capital and the legislators largely dispersed,
5976-455: The state's economy. As the area's first major city, St. Louis expanded greatly after the invention of the steamboat and the increased river trade. Napoleon Bonaparte had gained Louisiana for French ownership from Spain in 1800 under the Treaty of San Ildefonso after it had been a Spanish colony since 1762, but the treaty was kept secret. Louisiana remained nominally under Spanish control until
6059-757: The status of unorganized territory after 1821, when Missouri became the 21st state. Thirteen years later in 1834, the portion in the north and east of the upper Missouri River was attached to the Michigan Territory around the Great Lakes . Over time, various federal territories in the West were created in whole or in part from its remaining area of unorganized status, as follows: Indian Territory (1834), added with future Oklahoma (1890), Iowa (1838), Minnesota (1849), Kansas and Nebraska (both 1854), Colorado and Dakota (both 1861), Idaho (1863), Montana (1864), and Wyoming (1868). In
6142-626: The third syllable as / i / or / ə / . Any combination of these phonetic realizations may be observed coming from speakers of American English . In British received pronunciation , the preferred variant is / m ɪ ˈ z ʊər i / , with / m ɪ ˈ s ʊər i / being a possible alternative. Donald M. Lance, a professor of English at the University of Missouri , stated that no pronunciation could be declared correct, nor could any be clearly defined as native or outsider, rural or urban, southern or northern, educated or otherwise. Politicians often employ multiple pronunciations, even during
6225-402: The two most common being / m ɪ ˈ z ɜːr i / mih- ZUR -ee and / m ɪ ˈ z ɜːr ə / mih- ZUR -ə . Further pronunciations also exist in Missouri or elsewhere in the United States, involving the realization of the medial consonant as either / z / or / s / ; the vowel in the second syllable as either / ɜːr / or / ʊər / ; and
6308-472: The war, and they are a favorite theme in Branson's self-image . The Progressive Era (1890s to 1920s) saw numerous prominent leaders from Missouri trying to end corruption and modernize politics, government, and society. Joseph "Holy Joe" Folk was a key leader who made a strong appeal to the middle class and rural evangelical Protestants. Folk was elected governor as a progressive reformer and Democrat in
6391-621: The world's largest beer producer, and produces Missouri wine , especially in the Missouri Rhineland . Outside the state's major cities, popular tourist destinations include the Lake of the Ozarks , Table Rock Lake and Branson . Some of the largest companies based in the state include Cerner , Express Scripts , Monsanto , Emerson Electric , Edward Jones , H&R Block , Wells Fargo Advisors , Centene Corporation , and O'Reilly Auto Parts . Well-known universities in Missouri include
6474-519: Was a diphtheria epidemic in the area around Springfield, which killed approximately 100 people. Serum was rushed to the area, and medical personnel stopped the epidemic. During the mid-1950s and 1960s, St. Louis and Kansas City suffered deindustrialization and loss of jobs in railroads and manufacturing, as did other Midwestern industrial cities. St. Charles claims to be the site of the first interstate highway project in 1956. Such highway construction made it easy for middle-class residents to leave
6557-494: Was complex, and it was subject to rival governments, raids, and guerilla warfare. After the war, both Greater St. Louis and the Kansas City metropolitan area became large centers of industrialization and business. Today the state is divided into 114 counties and the independent city of St. Louis. Missouri has been called the "Mother of the West", the "Cave State", and the "Show Me State". Its culture blends elements of
6640-558: Was mostly uninhabited, something of a no man's land that kept peace between the Illinois on the east bank of the Mississippi River and to the North, and the Osage and Missouri Indians of the lower Missouri Valley. In the early 1700s, French traders and missionaries explored the whole of the Mississippi Valley, and named the region "Louisiana". Around the same time, a different group of French Canadians established five villages on
6723-603: Was originally known as the larger Louisiana Territory since 1804 (encompassing most of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase from the French Empire ) and was renamed by the U.S. Congress on June 4, 1812, to avoid confusion with the new 18th state of Louisiana (further to the south on the lower Mississippi River with its river port city of New Orleans ), which had been admitted to the Union on April 30, 1812. On October 1, 1812, newly appointed fourth Territorial Governor William Clark (1770–1838, served 1813–1820), organized
6806-542: Was the center of a regional trading network that reached from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico . The civilization declined by 1400 CE, and most descendants left the area long before the arrival of Europeans. St. Louis was at one time known as Mound City by the European Americans because of the numerous surviving prehistoric mounds since lost to urban development. The Mississippian culture left mounds throughout
6889-523: Was the epicenter of the four New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 . Missouri generally has a humid continental climate with cool, sometimes cold, winters and hot, humid, and wet summers. In the southern part of the state, particularly in the Bootheel , the climate becomes humid subtropical . Located in the interior United States, Missouri often experiences extreme temperatures. Without high mountains or oceans nearby to moderate temperature, its climate
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