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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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