Missouri, known as fallowing a Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning "town of the large canoes", is a U.S. state in the United States with Jefferson City as its capital. These are the "border state",sustaining a bit of Northern, Eastern, & Southern ethnic influences. A state's nickname is the [http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp Show-Me] State; the U.S. Post Professional abbreviation for Missouri is MO & a state public university's independent campus is located in Columbia. A Mississippi and Missouri lakes are them big rivers which flow across this state.

USS Missouri was named in honor of this state.

History

Independent Article: History of Missouri

Originally a share of the Louisiana Purchase, Missouri was admitted as a state in 1821 as part of the Missouri Compromise. It earned a nickname "Gateway to the West" because it served as a departure point for settlers running to the west. When you took a Civil War, Missouri, a buckle down state, was split using portions adhering to a Union, & others seceding sustaining the southern states. Missouri was a starting point for the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Law and government
Independent Article: Law and Government of Missouri
View: List of Missouri Governors

A capital of Missouri is Jefferson City.

A todays constitution of Missouri, a 4th constitution for the state, was adopted around 1945 & provides for deuce-ace branches of government, a legislative, judicial and executive office of the president. A legislative branch consists of 2 bodies, a Home of Representatives & a Senate. These bodies comprise a General Assembly of the State of Missouri.

A Home of Representatives has 163 members that come apportioned according to a endure decennial nose count. A Senate consists of 34 members from either territorial dominion divided such that a people of both territorial dominion is roughly equal.

the Judicial department consists of a supreme court consisting of Vii judges. Superior & lower court come likewise provided.

A executive office of the president is headed per Governor.

The Governor of Missouri is Matt Blunt (Republican). The Lieutenant Governor of Missouri is Peter Kinder (Republican) The Missouri Law office 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 Financial officer 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 person has traditionally been dominant around Missouri, a Republican Person has been gaining nature and severity there around recent years. Missouri has a yearn stretch of supporting a winning presidential candidate than any more state, getting chosen sustaining the united states around each election since 1960. Around 2004, George W. Bush won a state's Xi electoral votes by the margin of Septenary decimal point by owning 53.3% of the vote. Democrat John Kerry exclusively won 4 of the state's 115 counties—St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Ste. Genevieve, & Jackson County.

Geography

Missouri's border physically touches the aggregate of eight different states (to a higher degree any more state in the Union). These are bounded on the northward by Iowa; on a east, across the Mississippi Flow of any stream, by Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee; on the south by Arkansas; and on the west by Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska (a latter deuce through the Missouri Flow of any stream.)

N of a Missouri Flow of any stream lie the Northern Plains that stretch into Iowa, Nebraska & Kansas. On this text, gentle rolling hills remain behind from either either a glacier that another time experienced extended from the northward to the Missouri Flow of any stream.

A Ozark plateau begins south of the river & extends into Arkansas, S. E. Kansas, & North. E. Oklahoma. Springfield, Missouri in southwestern Missouri lies on the Ozark plateau. Southern Missouri is the personal of the Ozark Mountains, the dissected plateau surrounding the Precambrian igneous St. Francois Mountains.

A southeastern a portion of the state is front yard to the Bootheel, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain or even Mississippi embayment. This region is the last, flattest & wettest a portion of the state. These are too a virtually all fertile. These are on this button that a single finds cotton gauze & rice production. A Bootheel locality was a focus of the dandy New Madrid Earthquake of 1811–1812.

Although okay, usually considered a portion of the Midwest, Missouri wwhen once thought of as Southern. E.g., Mark Twain, who grew higher inside Hannibal, Missouri, in Life on the Mississippi described his upbringing as in "the South."However, patch big cities, especially people in the northern a portion of the state (we.e. St. Louis, Columbia, Kansas City) assume themselves "Midwestern", rural areas & cities farther south (i personally.e. Cape Girardeau & Springfield) assume themselves further "Southern".

Additional topics
Climate of Missouri Missouri National and State Parks List of Missouri counties

Transportation
Kansas City is however the major railroad hub for Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific. A state of Missouri besides has deuce major airport hubs now too using Kansas City International Airport and Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport. Many highways also traverse a state.

Interstate highways
Interstate 29, Interstate 229 Interstate 35, Interstate 435 (a Perimeter as much as 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 (a Perimeter in the Missouri side of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area), Interstate 470, Interstate 670 Interstate 72 Interstate 49 (Proposed)

United States highways

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

Also see
List of Missouri state highways

Economy
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[http://www.bea.gov/ The Bureau of Economic Analysis] estimates that Missouri's number state product within 2003 was $195 billion. By the capital private income inside 2003 was $29,464, 27^th in the united states. Major industries include aerospace, transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, printing/publishing, electrical equipment, light manufacturing.

A agriculture products of the state come beef, soybeans, pork, dairy products, hay, corn, poultry, and eggs. Missouri is ranked Sixth in the united states for the production of hogs & Seventh for cows. When of 2001, there were 108,000 farms, a 2nd multitude in any area fallowing Texas. Missouri besides actively promotes its quickly-growing wine industry.

Missouri has brobdingnagian quantities of limestone. More minerals mined come lead, coal, Portland cement and crushed stone. Missouri garden truck a virtually a lot lead of all of the states in the Union by using virtually all one mines in the central eastern portion of the state. Missouri likewise ranks foremost or even touching 1st among a production of lime.

Touristry, services & wholesale/retail trade watch manufacturing inside importance.

Demographics

When of 2004, a people of Missouri was guessed to exist as 5,754,618. This includes 194,000 foreign-nonnative (Trey.4% of the state people). A state's people has increased by 638,000 since 1990, the incubation of Twelve.5%.

Race and ancestry
A racial makeup of the state & comparison to the anterior nose count:

A 5 big ancestry groups within Missouri come: German (23.5%), Irish (12.7%), Western (Ten.5%), English (9.5%), French (3.5%). 'Western' includes victims reported when Indigen U.s. or even African American.

German-Americans come the big ancestry class action present inside virtually all of Missouri. Within southern Missouri, virtually all residents come of British/American ancestry. the northern edge of the state besides has a high proportion of residents of British & Western ancestry. Blacks come the thickly settled minority in the City of St. Louis & central Kansas City & come as well an significant minority in a southeastern bootheel & the Missouri Flow of any stream Valley, areas in which plantation agriculture was when crucial. Missouri Creoles of French ancestry come concentrated in the Mississippi Flow of any stream vale to the south of St. Louis.

Half a dozen.6% of its people were reported when under V, Xxv.5% under Eighteen, & Baker's dozen.5% were 65 or even older. Females mass produced higher about 51.4% of the people.

Trio.4% of Missourians come foreign-nonnative, & Phoebe.1% speak the language otherwise English home. A 1997 birth & demise rates were:

Births:	74,037
Deaths:	54,322
Child deaths:	564

81.3% were high school graduates (higher than a national norm) spell Twenty-one.6% experienced the bachelor's degree or even higher.

A mean value commute period to act was Twenty-three.Octonary proceedings. A homeownership rate within 2000 was Seventy.3% sustaining a mean of the creator occupied dwelling house existence $89,900. There were Two,194,594 home by owning 2.48 humans by the house. A median domestic money income for 1999 was $37,934 by using a 1999 By the Capita Money Income of $19,936. There were Xi.7% (637,891) Missourians dwelling around a image below the poverty level in 1999.

Religion
A religious affiliations of the humans of Missouri:

Christian – 83% Protestant – 62% Baptist (mostly Southern Baptist) – 23% Methodist – 8% Lutheran – 4% Episcopal – 4% Other Protestant – 23% Roman Catholic – 20% Other Christian – 1% Other Religions – 1% Non-Religious – 16%

Of people Missourians world health organization identify by owning the religion, leash around quadruplet come Protestants. There exists too the moderate-moderate-size Catholic community present in the a select few area of the state; more or less a single away from 5 Missourians come Catholics. Heavy Catholic areas include Kansas City & St. Louis.

a total of religious organizations keep close at hand their headquarters inside Missouri, including the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, which has its headquarters in Kirkwood, 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 a Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), and a Latter Day Saints group Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Springfield is the headquarters of the Assemblies of God.

Culture
There exists an idiom "being from Missouri" which relates to the state's unofficial motto: "show me" (which possibly appears in their license plates). Humans from either Missouri have a reputation for existence skeptical. (Watch [http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/6d7ce/515/] and [http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp].)

Important cities and towns

Saint Louis — the largest 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 personal injury 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 and the first state capital. Rolla — the University of Missouri - Rolla Jefferson City — the state capital. Sedalia — home of the Missouri state fair. Joplin

Education
Missouri's public school models includes kindergarten to Xii^th grade & takes 100% youngsters between a ages of 7–16 inclusive to become enrolled within the school. A University of Missouri is Missouri's statewide public university system, with campuses within Saint Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Rolla. Additionally, Missouri has many regional public universities within different area of a state, the largest existence Missouri State University (when heated political debate around Jefferson City, a title was changed from either Southwest Missouri State University within spring 2005) with a 2nd big student enrollment after University of Missouri-Columbia (commonly known as "Mizzou").

Colleges and universities

Avila University Baptist Bible College Central Bible College Central Christian College of the Bible Central Methodist University (formerly 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 Heritage College & Heritage Institute Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine Lincoln University Lindenwood University Logan College of Chiropractic Maryville University

Missouri Baptist University Missouri Southern State University Missouri State University (name vary around spring 2005) Missouri Valley College Missouri Western State University (name vary inside summertime 2005) Northwest Missouri State University Ozark Christian College Ozarks Technical Community College Park University Rockhurst University Saint Louis College of Pharmacy Saint Louis University Southeast Missouri State University Southwest Baptist 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) Mid-Missouri Mavericks (Independent, Frontier League)