Missouri

, , , or , named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning "town of the large canoes", is a central state in the United States. It is a Midwestern state, but its culture has some Southern influences, especially in the lower third of the state and away from the urban centers. The state's nickname is the Show-Me State The Mississippi and Missouri rivers are the two large rivers which flow through the state.

Geography

Missouri cities and geographic features

Missouri county borders

Missouri's border physically touches a total of eight different states (as does its neighbor, Tennessee. No states in the U.S. touch more than eight 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 latter across the Missouri River.) The Mississippi and Missouri rivers are the two large rivers which flow through this state.

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.

Little Dixie is an area of Missouri that lies along the northern side of the Missouri River. The area is so named because of its settlement by people from the American South, also called "Dixie." It was settled before and following the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

The Ozark plateau begins south of the Missouri river and extends into Arkansas, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma. Springfield 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. It is in the Ozarks that a distinct dialect, often compared to that of residents in certain areas of Kentucky and Tennessee, still exists.

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, and among the poorest. It is also the most fertile. Cotton and rice production are prominent in this area. The Bootheel area was the part of the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811–1812.

Although now generally considered part of the Midwest, Missouri was once thought of as Southern, the institution of slavery in the state contributing in no small part to this. For example, Mark Twain, who grew up in Hannibal, in Life on the Mississippi described his upbringing as in "the South". Nonetheless, residents of the state's large metropolitan areas, including those where most of the state's population resides (St. Louis, Columbia, Kansas City) consider themselves Midwestern; rural areas and cities farther south (Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff, Springfield, and Sikeston) consider themselves more Southern.

See also: Climate of Missouri, Missouri National and State Parks, List of Missouri counties

History

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. It was the starting point and the return destination of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. During the Civil War, Missouri, a slave state, remained in the Union, but sentiment was split with a significant portion of the populace supporting the Confederate cause.

Demographics

Missouri Population Density Map

Law and government

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.
*The Governor of Missouri is Matt Blunt (Republican).
*The Lieutenant Governor of Missouri is Peter Kinder (Republican)
*The Missouri Attorney General is Jay Nixon (Democrat)
*The Missouri Secretary of State is Robin Carnahan (Democrat)
*The Missouri State Auditor is Claire McCaskill (Democrat)
*The Missouri State Treasurer is Sarah Steelman (Republican)
*The Senior United States Senator is Christopher S. "Kit" Bond (Republican)
*The Junior United States Senator is James M. Talent (Republican)

Although neither major party has traditionally been dominant in Missouri, the Republican Party has been gaining strength in recent years. Missouri has a longer stretch of supporting the winning presidential candidate than any other state, having chosen 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% of the vote. Missouri has a very notable urban-rural split, as Democrat John Kerry only won four of the state's 115 counties—St Louis City, St Louis County, Ste Genevieve, and Jackson County.Missouri had been a traditionally Democratic state with its most prominent Democrat being Harry S. Truman. However since the late 1970s the state has trended to Republicans.

Cities and metropolitan areas

St. Louis Metro

St. Louis is the principal city of the eleven-county St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area and includes five counties in the state of Illinois. St. Louis is Missouri's largest urbanized area. As of 2004, it was the 18th largest metro in the nation. Some of the major cities comprising the St. Louis Metro include St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, Chesterfield, O'Fallon, and University City.

Kansas City Metro

Kansas City is the principal city of the fifteen-county Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area and includes six counties in the state of Kansas. Kansas City is Missouri's largest city and second largest urbanized area. As of 2004, it was the 27th largest metro in the nation. Some of the other major cities comprising the Kansas City Metro include Independence, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Raytown, Liberty, and Gladstone.

Education

See also: List of colleges and universities in Missouri

Missouri's public school system includes kindergarten to 12^th 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 Columbia, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Rolla. In 1905 the state established a series of normal schools to teach "teaching norms" at colleges in each region of the state. The initial network consisted of schools in Cape Girardeau, Kirksville, Maryville, and Warrensburg.

There are numerous junior colleges, trade schools, church universities and private universities in the state including Washington University in St. Louis.

The state also funds a $2000, renewable merit-based scholarship, Bright Flight, given to the top 3% of Missouri High School graduates who attend a university in-state.

Professional sports teams

*Baseball: St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals
*Football: St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs
*Hockey: St. Louis Blues
*Soccer: Kansas City Wizards
*Indoor Soccer: St. Louis Steamers and Kansas City Comets
*Arena Football: Kansas City Brigade and River City Rage
*Tennis: St. Louis Aces, Kansas City Explorers, and Springfield Lasers

Minor leagues

*Baseball:
**Springfield Cardinals (Class AA, Texas League)
**Mid-Missouri Mavericks (Independent, Frontier League)
**River City Rascals (Independent, Frontier League)
**Farmington Firebirds (Independent, KITTY League)

Miscellaneous topics

* Pronunciation of the state's name varies considerably and is a source of some contention; some use a distinct "long e" at the end, and others a "schwa"; other less common variants exist as well.
* The state is named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning "town of the large canoes".
* The state's nickname is the Show-MeState. [1]
* The USS Missouri, a U.S. Navy battleship, was named in honor of the state.