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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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