State of Missouri - MO

Missouri named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning "town of the large canoes", is a central state in the United States. It is a state with both Midwestern and Southern cultural influences, reflecting its history as a border state between the two regions. The state's nickname is the Show-Me State, first recorded in 1894.[1] The Mississippi and Missouri rivers are the two large rivers which flow through the state.

Geography
Missouri cities and geographic features Missouri county borders Geography of Missouri
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 location of the epicenter 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.

Climate of Missouri, Missouri National and State Parks, List of Missouri counties

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. 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 MapHistorical populations
Census Pop. %±

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1810 19,783
1820 66,586 237%
1830 140,455 111%
1840 383,702 173%
1850 682,044 78%
1860 1,182,012 73%
1870 1,721,295 46%
1880 2,168,380 26%
1890 2,679,185 24%
1900 3,106,665 16%
1910 3,293,335 6%
1920 3,404,055 3%
1930 3,629,367 7%
1940 3,784,664 4%
1950 3,954,653 4%
1960 4,319,813 9%
1970 4,676,501 8%
1980 4,916,686 5%
1990 5,117,073 4%
2000 5,595,211 9%
2005 est 5,800,310
As of 2005, Missouri has an estimated population of 5,800,310, which is an increase of 40,778, or 0.7%, from the prior year and an increase of 203,627, or 3.6%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 115,403 people (that is 401,148 births minus 285,745 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 69,669 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 42,690 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 26,979 people.

As of 2004, the population included 194,000 foreign-born (3.4% of the state population).

Demographics of Missouri (csv)
By race White Black AIAN Asian NHPI
AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native - NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
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 2000-2005 (total population) 3.23% 6.15% -0.57% 21.83% 10.71%
Growth 2000-2005 (non-hispanic only) 2.57% 5.94% -1.34% 21.81% 10.99%
Growth 2000-2005 (hispanic only) 32.07% 26.42% 10.52% 22.82% 8.09%

The five largest ancestry groups in Missouri are: German (23.5%), Irish (12.7%), American (10.5%), English (9.5%), French (3.5%). 'American' includes those reported as Native American or African American.

German-Americans are a large ancestry group present in most of Missouri. In southern Missouri, most residents are of British/American ancestry. The northern edge of the state also has a high proportion of residents of British and American ancestry. Blacks are populous in the City of St Louis and central Kansas City as well as in the southeastern bootheel and some areas of the Missouri River Valley, places where plantation agriculture was once important. Missouri Creoles of French ancestry are concentrated in the Mississippi River valley south of St. Louis.

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.

3.4% of Missourians are foreign-born, and 5.1% speak a language other than English at home.

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 households 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
Of those Missourians who identify with a religion, three out of five are Protestants. There is also a moderate-sized Catholic community in some parts of the state; approximately one out of five Missourians are Catholic. Heavily Catholic areas include Kansas City and St. Louis.

The religious affiliations of the people of Missouri according to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey:

Christian – 77%
Protestant – 50%
Baptist – 22%
Methodist – 7%
Lutheran – 4%
Episcopal – 4%
Other Protestant – 13%
Roman Catholic – 19%
Other or unspecified Christian – 8%
Other religions – 2%
Non-religious – 15%
Refused – 6%
Several religious organizations have their 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. 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
State symbols
Amphibian: American Bullfrog
Animal: Missouri Mule
Bird: Bluebird
Flower: Hawthorn
Insect: Honeybee
Motto: "Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto" (Latin: "Let the Welfare of the People be the Supreme Law", compare with King Charles XIII of Sweden (1809) "The welfare of the people my highest law")
Fruit: Norton Cynthiana grape
Song: "Missouri Waltz"
Tree: Flowering Dogwood
Mineral: Galena
Horse: Missouri Fox Trotter
Fossil: Crinoid

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Missouri's total state product in 2003 was $195 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $29,464, 27th 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, and eggs. Missouri is ranked 6th in the nation for the production of hogs and 7th for cattle. Missouri is ranked in the top 5 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 also actively promotes its quickly-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 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.

Personal income is taxed in 10 different earning brackets, ranging from 1.5% to 6.0%. Missouri's sales tax rate for most items is 4.225%. 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. Some personal property is exempt, including household goods, inventories, wearing apparel and items of personal use and adornment. 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.

Transportation
Current Missouri License PlateKansas City is still a major railroad hub for BNSF Railway, Norfork Southern, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific. The state of Missouri also has two major airport hubs: Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and Kansas City International Airport. Several highways also traverse the state. St. Louis is a major destination for barge traffic on the Mississippi River. Like Kansas City, St. Louis is a major destination for train freight. 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.

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 of highways up to good condition by December 2007. In 2005. the number of traffic deaths in the state increased by 10% to 1,241.

Interstate highways
Interstate 29, Interstate 229
Interstate 35, Interstate 435 (the Perimeter around the Kansas City Metropolitan Area), Interstate 635
Interstate 44
Interstate 55, Interstate 155, Interstate 255
Interstate 57
Interstate 64
Interstate 70, Interstate 170, Interstate 270 (the Perimeter around the Missouri side of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area), Interstate 470, Interstate 670
Interstate 72
Interstate 49 (Proposed)
Interstate 66 (Proposed)

United States highways
North-south routes East-west routes
U.S. Route 59
U.S. Route 159
U.S. Route 61
U.S. Route 63
U.S. Route 65
U.S. Route 67
U.S. Route 69
U.S. Route 169
U.S. Route 71
U.S. Route 169
U.S. Route 275
U.S. Route 412
U.S. Route 24
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 54
U.S. Route 56
U.S. Route 60
U.S. Route 160
U.S. Route 460
U.S. Route 62
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 166
U.S. Route 400

Missouri state highways and Missouri Supplemental Route

Law and government
Main articles: Law and Government of Missouri and List of Missouri Governors
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.

Missouri bellwether

Cities and metropolitan areas
See also: List of cities in Missouri and List of towns and villages in Missouri

St. Louis Metro
Main article: St. Louis, Missouri
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 in Missouri include St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, Chesterfield, Creve Coeur, Maryland Heights, O'Fallon, Clayton, and University City.

Kansas City Metro
Main article: Kansas City, Missouri
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 in Missouri 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 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 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 Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University) in Springfield, Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, 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.

There are numerous junior colleges, trade schools, church universities and private universities in the state including Saint Louis University and 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: Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals
Football: Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams
Hockey: St. Louis Blues
Soccer: Kansas City Wizards
Indoor Soccer: Kansas City Comets and St. Louis Steamers
Arena Football: Kansas City Brigade and River City Rage
Tennis: Kansas City Explorers, Springfield Lasers and St. Louis Aces

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
The state's nickname is the Show-MeState. [2]
The USS Missouri, a U.S. Navy battleship, was named in honor of the state.

Missouri River
Missouri tribe
Missouri Pacific Railroad
Music of Missouri
Henry Shaw Ozark Corridor
List of people from Missouri and the Missouri Wall of Fame
Historic houses in Missouri
List of individuals executed in Missouri
List of Missouri State Highways
List of television stations in Missouri
Missouri Day
Scouting in Missouri

References
U.S. Census Bureau.
Missouri QuickFacts. Geographic and demographic information.
Missouri - Race and Hispanic Origin: 1810 to 1990

 

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