Missouri Missouri, named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning "canoe", is a Midwestern state of the United States with Jefferson City as its capital. The state's nickname is the Show-Me State; the U.S. Post Office abbreviation for Missouri is MO and the state public university's main branch is located in Columbia. The Mississippi and Missouri rivers are the two large rivers which flow through this state. Missouri is also nicknamed "the puke state" because Missourians in the early 19th century were referred to as "pukes" the same way someone from Indiana is called a "hoosier" Missouri http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/Missouri_state_flag.png http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/Missouristateseal.png (In Detail) (Full size) State motto: "Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto" ("Let the Welfare of the People be the Supreme Law") ¹ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2c/Map_of_USA_highlighting_Missouri.png Other U.S. States Capital Jefferson City Largest City Kansas City Largest metropolitan area Saint Louis Governor Matt Blunt Area  - Total    - Land    - Water    - % water Ranked 21st 180,693 km² (69,709 mile2) 178,590 km² (68,898 mile2) 2,101 km² (811 mile2) 1.16% Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 17th 5,595,211 31/km² (80.27 mile²) Admittance into Union  - Order  - Date 24th August 10, 1821 Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5 Latitude Longitude 36°N to 40°35'N 89°6'W to 95°42'W Width Length Elevation  - Highest  - Mean  - Lowest 385 km (240 miles) 480 km (300 miles)   540 meters (1772 feet) 240 meters (800 feet) 70 meters ( 230 feet ) ISO 3166-2: US-MO ¹ Compare with King Charles XIII of Sweden (1809): "The welfare of the people my highest law". USS Missouri was named in honor of this state. History Main Article: History of Missouri Originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, Missouri was admitted as a 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. During the Civil War, Missouri, a slave state, was split with portions adhering to the Union, and others seceding with the southern states. Law and government Main Article: Law and Government of Missouri See: List of Missouri Governors The capital of Missouri is Jefferson City and the current governor of the state is Bob Holden (Democrat) (soon to be replaced by Matt Blunt (Republican)). Missouri's two U.S. senators are Christopher S. "Kit" Bond (Republican) and James M. Talent (Republican). Missouri has nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The current constitution of Missouri, the fourth constitution for the state, was adopted in 1945 and 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 General Assembly of the State of Missouri. The House of Representatives has 163 members that are apportioned based on the last decennial census. The Senate consists of 34 members from districts divided such that the population of each district is approximately equal. The Judicial department consists of a supreme court consisting of 7 judges. Superior and inferior courts are also provided. The executive branch is headed by the Governor. Geography Main Article: Geography of Missouri 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 latter two across the Missouri River.) North of the Missouri River lie the northern plains that stretch into Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Here, gentle rolling hills remain behind from a glacier that once had extended from the north to the Missouri River. The Ozark plateau begins south of the river and extends into Arkansas, S. E. Kansas, and N. E. Oklahoma. Springfield, Missouri in southwestern Missouri lies on the Ozark plateau. Southern Missouri is the home of the Ozark mountains, a dissected plateau surrounding the Precambrian igneous St. Francois Mountains. The southeastern part of the state is home to the Bootheel, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain or Mississippi embayment. This region is the lowest, flattest and wettest part of the state. It is also the most fertile. It is here that one finds cotton and rice production. The Bootheel area was the focus of the great New Madrid Earthquake of 1811 - 1812. Although now generally considered part of the Midwest, Missouri was once thought of as Southern. For example, Mark Twain, who grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, in Life on the Mississippi described his upbringing as in "the South". Additional topics Climate of Missouri Missouri National and State Parks List of Missouri counties Economy Missouri's total gross state product for 1999 was $170 billion placing it 18th in the nation, while its 2000 Per Capita Personal Income was $27,445 or 28th in the nation. Major industries include aerospace, transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, printing/publishing, electrical equipment, light manufacturing. The agriculture products of the state are beef, soybeans, pork, dairy products, hay, corn, poultry, and eggs. Missouri is ranked 6th in the nation for the production of hogs and 7th for cattle. As of 2001, there were 108,000 farms, the second largest number in any state after Texas. Missouri has vast quantities of limestone. Other minerals mined are lead, coal, portland cement and crushed stone. Missouri produces the most lead of all of the states in the Union with most of these mines in the central eastern portion of the state. Missouri also ranks first or near first among the production of lime. Tourism, services and wholesale/retail trade follow manufacturing in importance. Missouri county borders Demographics As of the 2000 census, the population of the state is 5,595,211. Major cities include Saint Louis and Kansas City. Its population grew 0.6% (478,310) from its 1990 levels. According to the 2000 census, 84.9% (4,748,083) identified themselves as White, 2.1% (118,592) as Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% (629,391) as black, 1.1% (61,595) as Asian, 0.4% (25,076) as American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1% (3,178) as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 0.8% (45,827) as other, and 1.5% (82,061) identified themselves as belonging to two or more races. 6.6% of its population were reported as under 5, 25.5% under 18, and 13.5% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population. 5.1% of Missourians spoke a language other than English at home. The 1997 birth and death rates were: Births: 74,037 Deaths: 54,322 Infant deaths: 564 151,196 Missourians were foreign born. 81.3% were high school graduates (higher than the national average) while 21.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher. The mean commute time to work was 23.8 minutes. The homeownership rate in 2000 was 70.3% with the mean value of the owner occupied dwelling being $89,900. There were 2,194,594 househoulds with 2.48 people per household. The median household money income for 1999 was $37,934 with the 1999 Per Capita Money Income of $19,936. There were 11.7% (637,891) Missourians living below the poverty line in 1999. Religion Approximately 1 out of 5 Missourians holding religious beliefs are Roman Catholics; many of those live in central Missouri as well as around Kansas City and St. Louis. Baptists, Methodists, and Lutherans account for most of those belonging to Protestant faiths. Kirkwood, outside St. Louis, is the headquarters of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Kansas City is the headquarters for the Church of the Nazarene and 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. Springfield is the headquarters of the Assemblies of God. Culture There is an idiom "being from Missouri" which relates to the state's unofficial slogan: "show me" (which even appears on their license plates). People from Missouri have a reputation for being skeptical. (see http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/6d7ce/515/ and http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp) Important cities and towns Missouri cities and geographic features Saint Louis -- the largest metropolitan area. Kansas City -- the largest city. Springfield Columbia -- the University of Missouri at Columbia. Branson -- major tourist destination Cape Girardeau Sainte Genevieve -- oldest permanent European settlement west of the Mississippi River. Saint Joseph -- the Pony Express began here Hannibal -- where Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) lived. Independence -- hometown of president Harry S. Truman Saint Charles -- the beginning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Rolla Jefferson City -- the state capital. Sedalia -- home of the Missouri state fair. Joplin Education Missouri's public school system includes kindergarten to 12th grade and requires all children between the ages of 7-16 inclusive to be enrolled in a school. The University of Missouri is Missouri's statewide public university system, having campuses in Saint Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Rolla. Additionally, Missouri has several regional public universities in different parts of the state, the largest being Southwest Missouri State University having the second largest student enrollment after University of Missouri-Columbia. Colleges and universities Avila University Baptist Bible College Central Bible College Central Christian College of the Bible Central Methodist College Central Missouri State University Cleveland Chiropractic College College of the Ozarks Columbia College Concordia Seminary Cottey College Culver-Stockton College DeVry University Kansas City Drury University Evangel University Fontbonne University Forest Institute of Professional Psychology Greenleaf University Hannibal-Lagrange College Harris-Stowe State College Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine Lincoln University Lindenwood University Logan College of Chiropractic Maryville University Missouri Baptist College Missouri Southern State University Missouri Valley College Missouri Western State College Northwest Missouri State University Ozark Christian College Park University Rockhurst University Saint Louis College of Pharmacy Saint Louis University Southeast Missouri State University Southwest Baptist University Southwest Missouri State University Stephens College Truman State University University of Missouri University of Missouri - Columbia University of Missouri - Kansas City University of Missouri - Rolla University of Missouri - St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis Webster University Westminster College William Jewell College William Woods University Professional sports teams Baseball: Saint Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals Football: Saint Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs Hockey: Saint Louis Blues Soccer: Kansas City Wizards Minor leagues Baseball: Springfield Cardinals (Class AA, Texas League) See also Missouri River Missouri tribe Missouri Pacific Railroad Henry Shaw Ozark Corridor List of people from Missouri and the Missouri Wall of Fame List of individuals executed in Missouri List of BSA local councils and districts in Missouri List of Missouri State Highways List of television stations in Missouri External links Missouri Government Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia Missouri State Tourism Office State and Local Government on the Net Vital Records Information Census Data FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. 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