From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Missouri (pronounced /mɪˈzʊri/ or /mɪˈzʊrə/) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States[4] bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city. Missouri's capital is Jefferson City. The four largest urban areas are, in descending order, St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia.[5] 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 bellwether state.[6] It has both Midwestern and Southern cultural influences, reflecting its history as a 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 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 St. Louis.[7]
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[8]), means "those who have dugout canoes".[9] The etymology lies behind Bob Dyer's tribute, "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 thorough study of the question was done by dialectologist 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.
Geography
-
Missouri, showing major cities and roads
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, 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.
Although today the state is usually considered part of the Midwest,[10][11] historically Missouri was sometimes considered a Southern state,[12]
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. The Ozark
foothills begin around Rolla. The Ozark plateau begins around
Springfield and extends into northwestern Arkansas, southeast Kansas,
and northeast Oklahoma. 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 St. Francois Mountains.
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.[13] It is also the most fertile, with cotton and rice crops predominant. The Bootheel was the epicenter of the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811–1812.
Climate
-
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.
| Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Missouri Cities |
| City |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Columbia |
37/18 |
44/23 |
55/33 |
66/43 |
75/53 |
84/62 |
89/66 |
87/64 |
79/55 |
68/44 |
53/33 |
42/22 |
| Kansas City |
36/18 |
43/23 |
54/33 |
65/44 |
75/54 |
84/63 |
89/68 |
87/66 |
79/57 |
68/46 |
52/33 |
40/22 |
| Springfield |
42/22 |
48/26 |
58/35 |
68/44 |
76/53 |
85/62 |
90/67 |
90/66 |
81/57 |
71/46 |
56/35 |
46/26 |
| St. Louis |
38/21 |
44/26 |
55/36 |
67/46 |
76/57 |
85/66 |
90/71 |
88/69 |
80/60 |
68/48 |
54/37 |
42/26 |
| [1] |
- See also: List of Missouri state parks
History
-
- See also: Missouri in the American Civil War
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 140 miles (230 km) of levees on the
Mississippi.[14]
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.
Originally the state's western border was a straight line, defined as the meridian passing through the Kawsmouth,[15] 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.[16] 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 66,500 square miles (172,000 km²)
to Virginia's 65,000 square miles (which included West Virginia at the
time) even larger.[17]
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.
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), a border war erupted between Missouri and 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.
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.[18]
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 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-speaking 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."
These events heightened 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.
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.
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 had little choice but to retreat to Arkansas and later Marshall, Texas, in 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" such as Colonel William Quantrill, Frank and Jesse James, the 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.
In 1930, there was a diphtheria epidemic in the area around
Springfield which killed approximately 100 people. Serum was rushed to
the area and stopped the epidemic.
During the mid-1950s and 1960s, St. Louis suffered
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.
Demographics
Missouri Population Density Map
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1810 |
19,783 |
|
—
|
| 1820 |
66,586 |
|
236.6% |
| 1830 |
140,455 |
|
110.9% |
| 1840 |
383,702 |
|
173.2% |
| 1850 |
682,044 |
|
77.8% |
| 1860 |
1,182,012 |
|
73.3% |
| 1870 |
1,721,295 |
|
45.6% |
| 1880 |
2,168,380 |
|
26% |
| 1890 |
2,679,185 |
|
23.6% |
| 1900 |
3,106,665 |
|
16% |
| 1910 |
3,293,335 |
|
6% |
| 1920 |
3,404,055 |
|
3.4% |
| 1930 |
3,629,367 |
|
6.6% |
| 1940 |
3,784,664 |
|
4.3% |
| 1950 |
3,954,653 |
|
4.5% |
| 1960 |
4,319,813 |
|
9.2% |
| 1970 |
4,676,501 |
|
8.3% |
| 1980 |
4,916,686 |
|
5.1% |
| 1990 |
5,117,073 |
|
4.1% |
| 2000 |
5,595,211 |
|
9.3% |
| Est. 2006 |
5,842,713 |
|
4.4% |
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 migration into the state. 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 closer to the national average than any other state.
The U.S. Census of 2000 found that the population center of the United States is in Phelps County, Missouri. The center of population of Missouri itself is located in Osage County, in the city of Westphalia [3].
As of 2004, the population included 194,000 foreign-born (3.4 percent of the state population).
| Demographics of Missouri (csv) |
| By race |
White |
Black |
AIAN* |
Asian |
NHPI* |
| 2000 (total population) |
86.90% |
11.76% |
1.08% |
1.37% |
0.12% |
| 2000 (Hispanic only) |
1.96% |
0.12% |
0.07% |
0.03% |
0.01% |
| 2005 (total population) |
86.54% |
12.04% |
1.03% |
1.61% |
0.13% |
| 2005 (Hispanic only) |
2.49% |
0.14% |
0.07% |
0.03% |
0.01% |
| Growth 2000–05 (total population) |
3.23% |
6.15% |
-0.57% |
21.83% |
10.71% |
| Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) |
2.57% |
5.94% |
-1.34% |
21.81% |
10.99% |
| Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) |
32.07% |
26.42% |
10.52% |
22.82% |
8.09% |
| * AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander |
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 relatively small number (40,000-50,000) of recent Bosniak immigrants live mostly in the St. Louis area.[citation needed]
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 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 mean commute time to work was 23.8 minutes.
Religion
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. Areas with more numerous Catholics include St. Louis and the Missouri Rhineland, particularly that south of the Missouri River.[19]
The religious affiliations of the people of Missouri according to the American Religious Identification Survey:[20]
- Christian – 77%
- Other religions – 2%
- Not religious – 15%
- No answer – 5%
Several religious organizations have headquarters in Missouri, including the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, which has its headquarters in 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, 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 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.
Economy
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 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 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 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.
Tourism, services and wholesale/retail trade follow manufacturing in importance.
Personal 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 taxes 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 federal estate tax collection.
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).[citation needed]
Transportation
Air
The state of Missouri has two major airport hubs: Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and Kansas City International Airport.
Rail
Two of the nation's three busiest rail centers are located in 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, Warrensburg, Hermann, 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.
Springfield remains an operational hub for BNSF Railway.
Daniel Boone Bridge looking out on the Missouri River early in the morning.
Rivers
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 and dams to avoid rocks and deepen the river. St. Louis is a major destination for barge traffic on the Mississippi River.
Roads
Current Missouri License Plate
Several highways, 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 2,200 miles (3,500 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.
Interstate Freeways
United States Routes
| North-south routes |
East-west routes |
|
|
|
- See also: List of Missouri state highways and Missouri Supplemental Route
Law and government
Framework
-
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 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. The executive branch is headed by the Governor of Missouri and includes five other state-wide elected offices.
Status as a political bellwether
-
Missouri is widely regarded as a state bellwether in American
politics. The state 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).
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.
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. Around 20 states have followed
Missouri's decision 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 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.
Laissez-faire alcohol and tobacco laws
-
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."[21] 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 in the United States. It never enacted statewide 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 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. 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.
- See also: List of smoking bans in Missouri
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.[22][23] The electorate voted in 2002 and 2006 to keep it that way.[24] Missouri has the third highest percentage of adult smokers of any U.S. state.[25] 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.[26] In 2007, Forbes named St. Louis as America's "best city for smokers."[22]
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,[27]
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.[28]
Counties
- 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 (1,179 sq. miles) and Shannon County is second (1,004 sq. miles). Worth County
is the smallest (266 sq. miles). The independent city of St. Louis City
has only 62 square miles (160 km²) of area. St. Louis City 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), with Jackson County the second (654,880 residents). Worth County is the least populous, with 2,382 residents.
Important cities and towns
- See also: List of cities in Missouri and List of towns and villages in Missouri
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 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, St. Peters, Florissant, Chesterfield, Creve Coeur, Maryland Heights, O'Fallon, Clayton, Ballwin, and University City.
Kansas City is Missouri's largest city and the principal city of the fifteen-county 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, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Raytown, Liberty, and Gladstone.
Branson is a major tourist attraction in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri.
Education
-
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.
Primary and secondary schools
- See also: List of school districts in Missouri and List of high schools in Missouri
Education is compulsory from ages seven to sixteen in Missouri, commonly but not exclusively divided into three tiers of primary and secondary education: elementary school, middle school or junior high school and high school. 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. High school athletics and
competitions are governed by the Missouri State High School Activities Association or MSHSAA.
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.
Brookings Hall at Washington University
Notable highly rated[29] 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.
To develop new teachers for needed public schools, in 1905 the state established a series of normal schools
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 State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University) in Springfield, Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State University) in Kirksville, Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, and University of Central Missouri (formerly Central Missouri State University) in Warrensburg. Within several years, the normal school curriculum expanded to a full four years of academic subjects.
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, given to the top 3 percent of Missouri High School graduates who attend a university in-state.
The 19th c. border wars between Missouri and Kansas have continued as a sports rivalry between the University of Missouri 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.
Sports
Minor leagues
Former professional sports teams
Teams in Kansas City and St. Louis.
Miscellaneous topics
- USS Missouri, a U.S. Navy 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.[30]
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.[31]
- Missouri is known as "The Cave State" with over 6000 recorded caves (second to Kentucky). Perry County has both the largest number of caves and the single longest cave in the state.[32]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t29/tab03b.xls U.S. Census 2000 Metropolitan Area Rankings; ranked by population
- ^ http://www.census.gov/popest/states/tables/NST-EST2007-01.csv 2007 Population Estimates
- ^ a b "Elevations and Distances in the United States". U.S Geological Survey (29 April 2005). Retrieved on November 6, 2006.
- ^ http://www.census.gov/const/regionmap.pdf
- ^ http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/ua2k.txt
- ^ http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0411030358nov03,1,6377649.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-utl&ctrack=1&cset=true
- ^ Introduction to Missouri - The Show Me State Capital Jefferson City
- ^ McCafferty, Michael. 2004. Correction: Etymology of Missouri (restricted access). American Speech, 79.1:32
- ^ American Heritage Dictionary: Missouri
- ^ http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/midwestus_nl.pdf
- ^ Midwest Region Economy at a Glance
- ^ UNC-CH surveys reveal where the ‘real’ South lies
- ^ Income Inequality in Missouri
- ^ New York Times, "Louisiana: The Levee System of the State", 10/8/1874; accessed 11/15/2007
- ^ Hoffhaus. (1984). Chez Les Canses: Three Centuries at Kawsmouth. Kansas City: Lowell Press. ISBN 0-913504-91-2.
- ^ MISSOURI V. IOWA, 48 U. S. 660 (1849) - US Supreme Court Cases from Justia & Oyez
- ^ 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
- ^ Historical Census Browser, 1860 Federal Census, University of Virginia Library, accessed 21 Mar 2008
- ^ http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/catholic.gif Valparaiso University
- ^ 2001 American Religious Identification Survey, City University of New York
- ^ Missouri Secretary of State - State Archives - Origin of "Show Me" slogan
- ^ a b [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
- ^ "State Tax Rates on Cigarettes," Federation of Tax Administrators, January 1, 2007
- ^ "A burning issue," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 12, 2006
- ^ Rob Roberts, "Critics: Don't expect smoking ban for years, if ever," Kansas City Business Journal, November 24, 2004
- ^ 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)
- ^ Section 191.769, Revised Statues of Missouri
- ^ Section 290.145, Revised Statutes of Missouri
- ^ “America's Best Colleges 2008: National Universities: Top Schools.” USNews.com: . January 18, 2008.
- ^ "I'm from Missouri -- Show Me." http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/summary3
- ^ Origin of "Show Me" Slogan. Secretary of State, Missouri. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp
- ^ Scott House (2005-05-14). "Fact Sheet on 6000 Caves". The Missouri Speleological Survey, Inc..
External links
Coordinates: 
38.5° N 92.5° W
Classical
from 
