Useful Notes / Missouri

Show me a description of Missouri.

Missouri (pronounced /mɪˈzɜːri/ or /mɪˈzɜːrə/ depending on where you're from) is a state located in the Midwest region of the United States and the 24th state admitted. It borders, clockwise from the north: Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; it holds the record for most states bordered by one state along with Tennessee (which also borders eight states). The state is known for its sheer amount of caves (specifically, the second most in the country, with more than 7300 known), earning it the nickname the "Cave State" (along with the better-known nickname, the "Show Me State"). The state (or more specifically, Springfield) is also known as the birthplace of U.S. Route 66.

Before it was colonized, the Mississippian people had inhabited the area for centuries. It was first colonized by France around 1750, with the first European settlement being Ste. Genevieve, which is about an hour south of St. Louis. Missouri was first acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase, and admitted as a state in 1821 as part of the Missouri Compromise. During The American Civil War, it was a contested "border state." Missouri was a slave state (and its slaveowning population played a major role in the pre-war slavery conflict in Kansas), and its legislature actually held a vote to secede from the Union, but actual secession was prevented by the prompt arrival of Union troops. Between the Civil War and World War II, Missouri became more industrialized but did not lose its major agricultural economy.

The two largest cities in the state are Kansas City and St. Louis, whose metropolitan areas are home to more than half the state's population.^note The Kansas portion of the KC metro is that state's most populous metropolitan area, and Metro East, the Illinois side of the St. Louis area, is a distant second to Chicago among Illinois metros. Other major cities include Jefferson City (the capital), Springfield, Branson, Columbia, Joplin, and Cape Girardeau. Major non-city locations include Mark Twain National Forest, Lake of the Ozarks, and the Harry S. Truman Reservoir.

Major universities in Missouri include all four schools in the University of Missouri System (University of Missouri–Columbia,^note While this is the legal name, it's used only on documents internal to the UM System. For all other formal purposes, the school uses "University of Missouri". nicknamed "Mizzou", and athletically known as simply Missouri; University of Missouri — Kansas City, often abbreviated to UMKC and known athletically as Kansas City; University of Missouri — St. Louis, often abbreviated to UMSL; and the Missouri University of Science and Technology, located in Rolla), Missouri State University in Springfield, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis University, Truman State University in Kirksville, and Drury University in Springfield.

Missouri is in the part of the United States known as "Tornado Alley", and has several each year. Most infamously, in 2011, the city of Joplin was ravaged by one of the most destructive tornadoes in history, destroying over 4000 buildings and killing 158 people.

Politically, Missouri has been mostly Republican in recent years. The state used to be a swing state, voting for the winner of every Presidential election for 100 years from 1904-2004 ^note  The one exception is 1956, where the state narrowly picked Democrat Adlai Stevenson II over Republican incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower. . Since then, however, the state has shifted further to the right, with Republicans controlling the governorship, the legislature, and most of the state's seats in Congress. However, Democrats usually tend to win the St. Louis area, Kansas City, and Columbia (a college town that's home to the University of Missouri).

Missouri is home to several sports teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and St. Louis City SC. Do not get the Royals and Cardinals confused around Missourian baseball fans. Another Major League Soccer team, Sporting Kansas City, represents the KC metro but plays its home games on the Kansas site of the border.

There are three main distinct regions of Missouri:

• The Northern Plains, comprising most of the land north of the Missouri River. This region contains Kansas City and most of St. Louis, as well as other cities such as Kirksville and Columbia.
• The Ozarks, which also extend into Arkansas. Also known as the "Ozark Highlands," this region comprises most of the land south of the Missouri River. This region contains Mark Twain National Forest, the Lake of the Ozarks, and the cities of Springfield, Branson, and Joplin. The two highest points are the Taum Sauk Mountain in the St. Francois Mountains and Lead Hill in the southern part of Missouri.
• The Mississippi Alluvial Plain: The smallest region of Missouri, mostly containing the "Bootheel". This reigon is a lowland region, and is swampy in the lowest portions. It is best known as the epicenter of the New Madrid earthquakes in 1811-12.

Other facts about Missouri:

• Missouri has no official nickname. The most commonly used unofficial nickname is the "Show Me State", which appears on official license plates. Others include "The Lead State," "The Bullion State," "The Ozarks State," "The Mother of the West," "The Iron Mountain State," "Pennsylvania of the West," and the "Cave State."
• Missouri has some of the most laissez-faire alcohol laws in America. It is illegal to fire someone or refuse to hire them based on their drinking habits, parents may serve alcohol to their children even if they're under 21, and any jurisdiction within Missouri is forbidden from going dry.
• 66% of the state's land area is covered by farms, with soybeans and corn being the primary exports.
• Missouri has an annual fiddling championship.
• Occasionally, bull sharks from the Gulf of Mexico have swam up as far as the Missouri river. There has been at least one shark attack within the state.
• There is a town in Missouri called Uranus, and it has a fudge factory.
• Missouri is the location of the first successful parachute jump.

Works set in Missouri:

Anime and Manga:

• Battle Angel Alita: According to a map, one of the primary settings is near Kansas City.

Film:

• The Day After focuses partially on residents of Kansas City.
• Kansas City, as the title suggests, takes place in Kansas City.

Literature:

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are both inspired by Mark Twain's own childhood, and both take place in Missouri.

Live-Action TV:

• Ozark takes place in the Lake of the Ozarks area.

Famous Missourians

Those connected to the St. Louis area are listed in that city's page.

• Sheryl Crow – Born and raised in Kennett (in the Bootheel).
• Walt Disney – Born in Chicago, but spent the bulk of his childhood in Marceline (north-central Missouri) and Kansas City before the family returned to Chicago. He also started his animation career in Kansas City.
• Carl Edwards – Born and raised in Columbia.
• Robert A. Heinlein – Born in Burke, now on the fringes of the KC metro, and raised in KCMO proper.
• Scott Joplin – Born and raised in Arkansas, but was living in Sedalia (west-central Missouri) when he first achieved fame as a composer. Also spent time in STL after becoming famous.
• Kane – Born in Spain as an Air Force brat, but grew up in Bowling Green (just outside Greater St. Louis), and graduated from Truman State back when it was still Northeast Missouri State.
• Rush Limbaugh – Born and raised in Cape Girardeau.
• Brad Pitt – Born in Oklahoma, but grew up in Springfield.
• Harry S. Truman – Born in Lamar; raised in various places near Kansas City, most notably Independence. Also started his political career in KCMO.
• Mark Twain – Born in Florida—not the state, but the now all-but-abandoned village in northeast Missouri—and raised in Hannibal. He would go on to spend much time in STL during his days as a riverboat pilot.

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