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Missouri
is known by many nicknames but the
most famous is “The Show Me State.” The
nickname is usually traced to a speech by
Willard Duncan Vandiver – a scholar, writer,
lecturer and Congressman from Cape Girardeau
County. During an 1899 speech in Philadelphia,
he questioned the accuracy of an earlier
speaker’s remarks, concluding “ … frothy
eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me.
I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”
The state is also known as the “Mother of
the West,” because it once lay at the
frontier of the country. St. Louis, St.
Charles, Independence, St. Joseph, and
Westport Landing (now Kansas City) served as
settling points for westbound pioneers. Today,
Missouri’s proximity to the geographical and
population centers of the nation makes it an
ideal center for business, industry and
tourism.
The state’s total resident population in
Census 2000 was 5,595,211, ranking Missouri
17th among all U.S. states. Jefferson City,
Missouri’s state capital, isn’t the
state’s largest. That honor goes to St.
Louis, located just below the confluence of
the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, making it
a key center for transportation and trade
since the days of Lewis and Clark. From St.
Louis you can catch a nonstop plane to popular
European destinations, making it an
international gateway. Anheuser Busch Inc.,
the world’s largest brewer, is headquartered
in St. Louis, as is the Monsanto Company, a
leader in genetic technology. Also in St.
Louis is Boeing Integrated Defense Systems,
manufacturer of military aircraft, missiles
and electronic equipment used worldwide. About
4.5 hours from St. Louis is Missouri’s
second major metro area, Kansas City, home of
Hallmark Inc., blues and barbecue.
Famous Missourians include: Harry S. Truman,
33rd president of the United Stated, born in
Lamar; Samuel Clemens, commonly known
by his pen name, Mark Twain, born in Hannibal;
George Washington Carver, born a slave
near Diamond, Mo., known as a great scientist;
distinguished military leader John J.
Pershing, born in 1860 near Laclede, Mo.;
notorious outlaw Jesse James, notorious
outlaw, born in Kearney; and the legendary
pioneer scout Daniel Boone, born in
Defiance, in the Missouri Territory as it was
known before becoming a state.
Missouri is home to two NFL teams – The
Kansas City Chiefs and the St. Louis Rams; two
major league baseball teams – the Kansas
City Royals and the St. Louis Rams; as well as
the St. Louis Blues hockey team. There are
more than 80 state parks and historic sites
with a variety of features: winding rivers and
streams, clear blue springs and limestone
bluffs. There are also more than 5,500
recorded caves.
Links:
St.
Louis Science Center
American
Jazz Museum
Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art
Thomas
Hart Benton Home
Harry
S Truman Home National Historic Site
Bingham-Waggoner
Estate
Cathedral
Basilica of Saint Louis
Gateway
Arch/Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Missouri
Botanical Garden
Baldknobbers
Jamboree
State Bird: Bluebird
State Floral Emblem: White Hawthorn Blossom
State Tree: Flowering dogwood
State Tree Nut: Eastern black walnut
State Animal: Missouri mule
State Horse: Missouri fox trotting horse
State Fish: Channel catfish
State Aquatic Animal: Paddlefish
State Motto: “The welfare of the people
shall be the supreme law”
State Insect: Honeybee
State Beautification Plant:
State Fossil: Crinoid
State Mineral: Galena
State Rock: Mozarkite
State Song: “The Missouri Waltz”
State American Folk Dance: Square dance
State Musical Instrument: Fiddle
Statehood: August 10, 1821; the 24th state |
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