Missouri

Missouri State in central USA, w of the Mississippi River; the capital is Jefferson City. The largest cities are St Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield. The French settled the area in the mid-18th century. The USA acquired the region in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Missouri Territory organized in 1812, and became a major corridor for westward migration. Missouri joined the Union in 1821 without restrictions on slavery, but when the Civil War began sympathies bitterly divided and there was much violence. The state remained in the Union. Geographically it divides into two parts: to the n of the Missouri River is prairie country, where farmers grow maize and raise livestock. South of the river are the foothills and plateaux of the Ozarks. In the sw, is a small wheat-growing area and in the se are the cotton fields of the Mississippi delta. The chief mineral resources are coal, lead, zinc, and iron ore. Its economy is largely manufacturing. Industries: transport equipment, food processing, chemicals, printing and publishing, fabricated metals, electrical machinery. Area: 178,446sq km (68,898sq mi). Pop. (2000) 5,595,211.

Statehood :	August 10, 1821
Nickname :	‘Show me’ State
State bird :	Eastern bluebird
State flower :	Hawthorn
State tree :	Flowering dogwood
State motto :	The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law

http://www.state.mo.us