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MISSOURI - USA
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 (http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp)
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.
USS Missouri was named in honor of this state.
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. 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
The capital of Missouri is Jefferson City and the current governor of the
state is Bob Holden (Democrat). Missouri's two U.S. senators are Christopher
S. Bond (Republican) and Jim Talent (Republican). Missouri has 9 districts
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 3 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
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".
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.
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 [1] (http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/6d7ce/515/)
and [2] (http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp))
Important cities and towns
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)
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