Missouri << muh ZOOR ee or muh ZOOR uh >> is an important industrial and farming state of the Midwest region of the United States. Its location and its two great rivers—the Mississippi River and the Missouri River—have made Missouri a center of water, land, and air transportation. Jefferson City is Missouri’s capital, and Kansas City is the largest city.
The Mississippi River forms Missouri’s eastern border. The Missouri River winds across the state from west to east. A wealth of food, manufactured products, and raw materials is shipped on these waterways—the nation’s longest rivers. Kansas City and St. Louis rank among the chief U.S. air and rail terminals. Several major railroad lines cross the state. Major highways also crisscross Missouri.
Vast fields of grain and grasses cover the rolling plains in the northern and western parts of the state. Swift streams tumble through the wooded plateau of southern Missouri. This scenic region, called the Ozarks, is one of the major recreation areas of the Midwest.
Most of Missouri’s workers are employed in service industries, which include government, health care, hotels, restaurants, and retail trade. The state’s factories turn out large numbers of airplanes and trucks. Some manufacturing activities, such as dairy processing, meat packing, and fertilizer production, are related to Missouri’s huge farm output. Missouri is an important producer of beef cattle, corn, cotton, hogs, soybeans, and turkeys.
Missouri is sometimes called the Mother of the West because it once lay at the frontier of the United States. The state supplied many of the pioneers who settled the vast region between Missouri and the Pacific Ocean during the 1800’s. St. Louis, St. Charles, Independence, St. Joseph, and Westport Landing (now Kansas City) served as jumping-off places for the westbound pioneers. The historic Santa Fe Trail led from Independence to the rich, faraway Southwest. Thousands of settlers also followed the Oregon Trail from Independence to the Pacific Northwest. Furs brought from the Northwest made St. Louis the fur capital of the world.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Missourians were torn between loyalties to the Confederacy and to the Union. After the war, manufacturing developed rapidly, and St. Louis and Kansas City grew into industrial giants. Agriculture also expanded, and Missouri became a great farming state.
Many outstanding Americans were born in Missouri. They include Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States; Mark Twain, the author who created the characters of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn; Eugene Field, the beloved children’s poet; George Washington Carver, the great scientist; General John J. Pershing and General Omar N. Bradley, military commanders; and painter Thomas Hart Benton.
Other famous people associated with the state because they grew up there or spent much of their career there include Walt Disney, the famous motion-picture producer; Joseph Pulitzer, the well-known journalist; Scott Joplin, a ragtime music composer; and George Caleb Bingham, a leading American painter.
The state’s name comes from the Missouri River. The word Missouri probably came from an Indigenous (native) word meaning the town of the large canoes. Missouri’s nickname is the Show Me State. This nickname is usually traced to a speech by Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver in 1899. Speaking in Philadelphia, Vandiver said: “… frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”
Jefferson City is Missouri’s capital, and Kansas City is the largest city.
People
Population.
The 2020 United States census reported that Missouri had 6,154,913 people. The state’s population had increased about 3 percent over the 2010 census figure of 5,988,927. According to the 2020 census, Missouri ranks 19th in population among the 50 states.
About three-fourths of Missouri’s people live in one of the state’s eight metropolitan areas (see Metropolitan area). About a third live in the St. Louis metropolitan area, which extends into Illinois. Other metropolitan areas in Missouri are Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kansas City, St. Joseph, and Springfield.
Kansas City is the state’s largest city, and St. Louis ranks second. They rank among the nation’s chief transportation, grain, and livestock centers. Other important cities include Springfield, Independence, and Columbia. 
Approximately 10 percent of the people living in Missouri are African Americans. Other large population groups include people of Native American, Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, and Scotch-Irish descent.
Schools.
Missouri’s first school was a private elementary school established in St. Louis in 1774. In 1820, Missouri’s first constitution included a provision for establishing a system of public education. The system did not start operating until 1839, however. Approximately 10 percent of the people living in Missouri are African Americans. Other large population groups include people of Native American, Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, and Scotch-Irish descent.
The State Board of Education supervises Missouri’s public school system. The Board of Education has eight members appointed by the governor to eight-year terms. One term expires each year. The board appoints a commissioner of education, who serves as the chief executive officer of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. All children from the ages of 7 through 17 must attend school.
Libraries.
The St. Louis Public Library was established as a subscription library in 1865. It was supported by school board funds, fees, and donations. In 1893, it gained tax support and was opened to all city residents.
Today, Missouri has hundreds of public libraries, including branches, and many academic libraries. Its largest academic libraries are at the University of Missouri at Columbia and Washington University in St. Louis. The Center for Missouri Studies, in Columbia, serves as a research library, exhibit space, and the headquarters of the State Historical Society of Missouri.
Museums.
The St. Louis Art Museum’s collection spans many countries and periods. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City owns noted collections of Asian and American art. The Capitol in Jefferson City houses a state museum. It also contains a notable series of murals by the Missouri-born painter Thomas Hart Benton. Displays at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park in St. Louis include some of aviator Charles A. Lindbergh’s belongings and a replica of his plane. The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence has many objects and documents relating to Truman’s presidency. The St. Louis Science Center features displays on architecture, ecology, science, and technology. The National World War One Museum and Memorial in Kansas City is devoted to World War I (1914-1918). 
Visitor’s guide
Missouri’s mild climate and many attractions make the state a popular vacationland. Visitors enjoy the state’s abundant wildlife, rugged hills, rushing streams, scenic lakes, and peaceful woodlands. People who like to fish can try their luck for bass, trout, and other fish in clear, spring-fed waters. Other attractions include natural wonders, such as great bubbling springs and deep caverns.
Missouri’s cities and towns offer a variety of entertainment and many historical and educational sights, including theme parks, musical performances, zoos, and science centers. One of Missouri’s best-known annual events is the Missouri State Fair. It is held every August in Sedalia and features such events as concerts, livestock shows, art shows, and parades.
Land and climate
Land regions.
Missouri has four main land regions. These are, from north to south: (1) the Dissected Till Plains, (2) the Osage Plains, (3) the Ozark Plateau (or Ozarks), and (4) the Mississippi Alluvial Plain.
The Dissected Till Plains
lie north of the Missouri River. Glaciers once covered this region. The great ice sheets left a rich, deep deposit of soil-forming materials especially suited to the growing of corn. Many slow-moving streams drain the rolling surface of this land region.
The Osage Plains
lie in western Missouri. This is a region of flat prairie land, broken in places by low hills. Glacial ice never covered the region, and the soil is not as rich as that of the Dissected Till Plains. The chief crops are corn and other grains.
The Ozark Plateau
is the state’s largest land region. Forested hills and low mountains give it scenic beauty. The plateau rises from 500 to 1,700 feet (150 to 518 meters) or more above sea level. A wooded tableland rises in the western part of the region, in the extreme southwestern corner of the state. The river valleys are about the only level land in the Ozark Plateau. The region is one of the nation’s major tourist areas because of its many caves, large springs and lakes, and clear, fast-flowing streams.
The St. Francois Mountains rise in the southeast. This series of granite peaks, knobs, and domes covers about 70 square miles (180 square kilometers). The St. Francois Mountains do not form a continuous range. They rise more or less in groups, usually of two or three peaks. The St. Francois Mountains make up the highest and most rugged part of the state. One of the peaks, Taum Sauk (1,772 feet, or 540 meters), is the highest point in Missouri.
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain
covers the southeastern corner of Missouri. This region was once a swampy wilderness. Much of the area has been cleared and drained, and the soil is unusually rich for farming. Cotton, soybeans, and rice are important crops. The southern part of the plain is known as the Boot Heel because of its shape.
Rivers and lakes.
Missouri owes much of its commercial and industrial importance to the two largest rivers in the United States—the Mississippi and the Missouri. These rivers and their branches provide water highways for transportation, water supplies for cities and industries, and hydroelectric power for homes and factories.
The Current River is one of Missouri’s most beautiful rivers. It starts from Montauk Spring in the Ozarks, which has a daily flow of about 40 million gallons (150 million liters). The river’s name comes from the swift flow of its cold, sparkling waters. Like the Black, James, St. Francis, and other rivers of the Ozark Plateau, the Current is noted for its game fish. Other rivers favored by fishing enthusiasts include the Gasconade, Little Piney, Meramec, and White. Such activities as canoeing and kayaking are also popular on Missouri rivers.
The Harry S. Truman Reservoir, an artificially created lake, is the largest lake in the state. The reservoir covers about 55,600 acres (22,500 hectares). The second largest lake is Lake of the Ozarks. It covers about 55,300 acres (22,400 hectares). Lake of the Ozarks was also artificially created. Other artificially created lakes include Bull Shoals, Pomme de Terre, Stockton, Table Rock, and Taneycomo.
Springs and caves.
Thousands of springs bubble from the ground in Missouri. Hundreds of these springs have an average flow of more than 100 gallons (380 liters) of water per minute.
More than 6,000 caves have been found in Missouri. Underground streams formed these caves. The longest cave is Crevice Cave in Perry County, in the southeastern part of the state. It has more than 28 miles (45 kilometers) of passageways. The deepest cave is Marvel Cave in southwestern Missouri, near Branson. It has a depth of 383 feet (117 meters).
Plant and animal life.
Forests cover about a third of Missouri, chiefly the southern part of the state. The state’s forests are made up largely of hardwoods. Most of the forests consist of various types of oak or hickory. The state also has large growths of such trees as ash, baldcypress, cottonwood, elm, maple, shortleaf pine, and sweet gum.
Asters, dogwood, goldenrod, milkweed, roses, sweet Williams, verbenas, violets, and many kinds of mint and hawthorn grow throughout Missouri. Prairie blossoms include anemones, meadow roses, turtleheads, and white snakeroots. Mistletoe grows on many trees on the Mississippi Alluvial Plain region of Missouri. The Ozark Plateau probably has more flowers than any other region in the state.
White-tailed deer are the most numerous of Missouri’s big-game animals. Other animals include beavers, cottontail rabbits, foxes, muskrats, opossums, raccoons, skunks, and squirrels. The most common birds are the blue jay, cardinal, mockingbird, purple finch, and woodpecker. Baltimore orioles, goldfinch, and whip-poor-wills are also seen.
The bobwhite quail is Missouri’s most plentiful game bird. Fish found in Missouri’s lakes, rivers, and streams include bass, bluegills, catfish, crappies, jack salmon, and trout.
Climate.
Winters and summers are milder in the mountain areas of Missouri than in the lower-lying plains. In July, the average temperature is about 79 °F (26 °C). The state’s record high temperature is 118 °F (48 °C). It was set at Union and Warsaw on July 14, 1954. 
The average January temperature is about 31 °F (–1 °C). Missouri’s record low temperature of –40 °F (–40 °C) was set at Warsaw on Feb. 13, 1905. The average yearly precipitation ) ranges from about 50 inches (130 centimeters) in the southeast to 35 inches (89 centimeters) in the northwest. The growing season in Missouri ranges from 225 days in the southeastern part of the state to 170 days in the northern part.
Economy
Missouri’s variety—great and small rivers, big cities and rural communities—provides strength for its economy. Its important manufacturing and service industries are centered around cities, such as St. Louis and Kansas City. The state is also known for its natural resources—rich soil, valuable minerals, and scenic waterways.
Natural resources
of Missouri include fertile soils and large mineral deposits.
Soil.
The soils of the Dissected Till Plains are mainly glacial soils (clay mixed with sand and gravel) and loess (a fine-grained topsoil). A band of rich loess, often more than 50 feet (15 meters) deep, lies along the Missouri River. The Osage Plains have soils of medium fertility, ranging from dark brown loam to lighter colored sandy or silt loams.
Brown limestone soils cover most of the southwestern part of the Ozarks. Elsewhere in the Ozarks, the soils are shallow and stony. The Mississippi River has deposited rich soils on the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Rich alluvial soil also lies along the Missouri River.
Minerals.
The state’s most important metal is lead. Lead is found in the southeast part of Missouri. Copper, silver, and zinc are also recovered by processing the lead ore. Large deposits of fire clay, used in making firebrick and furnace linings, occur in east-central Missouri. Reserves of barite, a barium ore, lie south of St. Louis. Limestone, Missouri’s leading quarry product, is found in most of the state. Dolomite and granite are also quarried. Coal is found in about half of the state, in an area extending from the southwest to the northeast. Deposits of iron ore are found in the eastern Ozarks. Missouri also has small amounts of oil and natural gas along its western border. The state’s other mined products include gemstones and sand and gravel.
Service industries
account for the majority of both Missouri’s employment and its gross domestic product—the total value of all goods and services produced in the state in a year. Most of the service industries are concentrated in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas.
St. Louis and Kansas City are both among the Midwest’s leading financial cities. Each city is the home of a district branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. Many hotels, restaurants, and retail trade establishments are also in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas. 
Jefferson City, the state capital, is the center of government activities. Columbia, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Springfield are major centers of health care in Missouri.
Transportation services are important to Missouri’s economy. A major moving company is based in Fenton. Many railroads have large operations in Kansas City and St. Louis. Some firms use barges on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to transport freight.
Manufacturing.
Much of Missouri’s manufacturing is done in the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas. Chemicals, food and beverages, and transportation equipment are the leading manufactured products.
The chemical industry includes the production of fertilizers, paints, pesticides, pharmaceuticals (medicinal drugs), and soap. The St. Louis area accounts for about half of the state’s total chemical manufacturing. Dairy-processing plants are in Springfield and other cities. St. Louis is home to Anheuser-Busch, a leading beer brewer. Transportation equipment manufactured in Missouri includes airplanes, boats, railroad cars, trucks, and truck trailers. Missouri ranks as a leading state in truck production. Plants in Kansas City and Wentzville manufacture trucks. St. Louis is one of the leading areas in the United States for the production of military aircraft. 
Other products made in Missouri include fabricated metal products, machinery, paper products, and printed materials. Missouri’s fabricated metal products include ammunition and machine shop products. Plants in the St. Louis area make heating and cooling machinery. Paper products are made in the Cape Girardeau, Kansas City, and St. Louis areas. Kansas City is home to Hallmark Cards, the leading greeting card producer in the United States.
Agriculture.
Farms cover about three-fifths of Missouri’s land area. Livestock and livestock products account for over half of Missouri’s farm income. Missouri is an important producer of beef cattle, hogs, and turkeys. Beef and dairy cattle operations are concentrated in central and southwestern Missouri. Hog farms are important throughout the state. Farmers in central and southwestern Missouri raise the most turkeys.
Crops also account for much of Missouri’s farm income. Missouri is an important producer of corn and soybeans, the state’s two leading cops. The heaviest concentration of both corn and soybean farms is in the northern half of the state and in the southeast corner. Cotton, rice, and wheat are all grown in the southeastern corner of the state. Farmers also raise large amounts of apples, grain sorghum, hay, potatoes, and watermelons in Missouri. 
Mining.
Lead, lime, limestone, and portland cement provide most of Missouri’s mining income. Lead is mined in the southeastern part of the state, especially in Iron and Reynolds counties. Copper, silver, and zinc are also produced from the lead mines. Missouri leads the states in lime production. Limestone is mined throughout the state. Missouri is a leading producer of portland cement. The state also has reserves of coal. Coal comes mainly from surface mines in Bates County. Missouri’s other mined products include clays, dolomite, gemstones, granite, oil, and sand and gravel.
Electric power and utilities.
Coal-fired steam plants generate the majority of Missouri’s electric power. Much of the remaining power comes from wind turbines and plants that burn natural gas. A nuclear power plant in Callaway County also supplies electric power.
Transportation.
Missouri’s central location, its nearness to raw materials, and the great Mississippi and Missouri waterways have made the state a leading transportation center in the nation.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Kansas City International Airport are among the busiest airports in the midwestern United States. Small airports are scattered throughout the state.
St. Louis and Kansas City are among the largest United States railroad centers. Missouri has thousands of miles of freight railroad track.
In 1860 and 1861, St. Joseph was the eastern terminal of the pony express mail system. Independence marked the eastern starting point of the Oregon Trail and, for much of its history, that of the Santa Fe Trail. Today, Missouri has an extensive system of roads and highways.
Boats and barges can use the Mississippi River for about 500 miles (805 kilometers) along the state’s eastern border. The Missouri River has about 550 miles (885 kilometers) of commercially navigable waters in the state. St. Louis is one of the busiest inland U.S. ports.
Communication.
Missouri is well known for its connection to journalism. Two Missouri journalists made newspaper history and influenced journalism across the country. William Rockhill Nelson, founder of The Kansas City Star, fought for government reform. Joseph Pulitzer, who founded the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, established the Pulitzer Prizes (see Pulitzer Prizes). In 1908, the University of Missouri-Columbia established the world’s first school of journalism.
The first Missouri newspaper, the Missouri Gazette, began publication in St. Louis in 1808. Today, The Kansas City Star and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have the largest daily circulations.
Government
Constitution
of Missouri was adopted in 1945. The state had three earlier constitutions, adopted in 1820, 1865, and 1875. An amendment to the Constitution may be proposed by a majority of the members of the state legislature. Or it may be proposed by a petition signed by 8 percent of the voters in two-thirds of the state’s congressional districts. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be approved by a majority of the voters voting on the amendment. The Constitution requires that the people vote every 20 years, starting in 1962, on whether to call a convention to amend the Constitution.
Executive.
The governor of Missouri is elected to a four-year term and is limited to two terms. The governor appoints many of the key officials of state government agencies. The other top state officials are the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and state auditor. These officials are elected to four-year terms.
Legislature
of Missouri is known as the General Assembly. It consists of a Senate of 34 members and a House of Representatives of 163 members. Senators serve four-year terms and may serve no more than two terms. Representatives serve two-year terms and may serve no more than four terms. 
The General Assembly meets every year on the Wednesday after the first Monday in January. The General Assembly’s session lasts until May 30. The governor may call special sessions of the Assembly. Special sessions may also be called by petition by three-fourths of the members of the Senate or three-fourths of the members of the House of Representatives.
Courts
in Missouri are headed by the state Supreme Court, composed of seven judges. The state Court of Appeals has three districts—the Western district in Kansas City, the Eastern district in St. Louis, and the Southern district in Springfield. The governor appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and the appeals courts for 12-year terms. They are selected from candidates proposed by nonpartisan commissions. Appointed judges must be approved by the voters in the next general election. When their term expires, they must again be approved by the voters to remain in office. Every two years, the Supreme Court selects one member to serve as chief justice.
The state Constitution also provides for circuit courts, associate circuit courts, and municipal courts. Circuit-court judges serve six-year terms; associate circuit-court judges serve four years; and term limits for municipal court judges are locally determined. Judges of circuit and associate circuit courts in Clay, Greene, Jackson, Platte, and St. Louis counties—and in the city of St. Louis—are selected in the same way that Supreme Court judges are selected. All other Missouri judges are elected.
Local government.
Voters in Missouri’s 114 counties elect local officials. These officials generally include three commissioners of the county commission, a sheriff, recorder of deeds, prosecuting attorney, collector of revenue, assessor, treasurer, coroner, public administrator, and surveyor. The county commissioners serve as the chief administrators of the county. They are responsible for health, welfare, and public works in the county, and set the county tax rate.
The Constitution provides that any county with more than 85,000 residents, or any city with over 5,000 people, may organize its government in the way that best suits its people. Most Missouri cities have a mayor-council form of government. St. Louis is an independent city and is not part of any county. It is governed by a mayor, a 28-member Board of Aldermen, and the board president.
Revenue.
Taxes bring in about two-fifths of the state government’s general revenue (income). Federal government grants and programs also account for about two-fifths of the revenue. A personal income tax and a general sales tax together provide about three-fourths of the tax revenue. Other taxes include those on motor fuels, corporate income, and motor vehicle licenses. A statewide lottery and riverboat gaming also contribute to the state’s revenue.
Politics.
In national elections, Missouri is often considered a bellwether—that is, a leading indicator of political trends. From 1904 to 2016, Missouri voted for the eventual winner in the presidential contest in every election year but three. In 1956, Missouri voters chose Adlai Stevenson, the former governor of neighboring Illinois, over President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 2008 and 2012, Missouri went to the Republican candidates, instead of Barack Obama, who won the presidency.
In national and statewide elections, St. Louis and Kansas City have tended to vote strongly Democratic. Most of the state’s rural counties vote chiefly Republican. In elections for the General Assembly, Democrats are strongest near St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia, and along some parts of the Mississippi River. Republicans are strongest in the southwest. Most of the state’s governors have been Democrats.
History
Early days.
Indigenous (native) people known as mound builders lived in the Missouri region long before other people came there. These people built large earthwork mounds that still may be seen in various sections of the state (see Mound builders). Many Indigenous tribes lived in Missouri when Europeans first arrived. The Missouri people dwelt in what is now east-central Missouri. The Osage lived and hunted in the areas to the south and the west. Other tribes included the Fox and the Sauk, who lived in the north.
Exploration.
The French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet were probably the first Europeans to see the mouth of the Missouri River (see Jolliet, Louis; Marquette, Jacques). In 1673, they marked the spot where the Missouri joins the Mississippi. In 1682, another French explorer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, traveled down the Mississippi River and claimed the Mississippi Valley for France. La Salle named the region Louisiana in honor of France’s King Louis XIV (see La Salle, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de).
During the years that followed, French trappers and fur traders established trading posts along the river. French missionaries, eager to convert Indigenous people, founded a number of missions. Native American tales of gold and silver attracted other French prospectors. These adventurers found lead and salt in what is now St. Francois County and remained to mine these minerals.
Settlement.
About 1700, Jesuit missionaries established the first European settlement in Missouri, the Mission of St. Francis Xavier. They built it near the present site of St. Louis. The mission was abandoned in 1703 because of unhealthful swamps nearby. About 1735, settlers from what is now Illinois established Missouri’s first permanent white settlement, at Ste. Genevieve. In 1764, Pierre Laclede Liguest and Rene Auguste Chouteau founded St. Louis (see Chouteau, Rene Auguste). 
By a secret treaty, signed in 1762, France gave up all its territory west of the Mississippi River to Spain. France and Spain had been allies in the Seven Years’ War (see Seven Years’ War). The Spaniards encouraged pioneers from the East to come to the region, and settlers poured into the Spanish land. One of the pioneers was Daniel Boone, the famous frontiersman. He moved to what is now St. Charles County in 1799, after the Spanish had granted him about 850 acres (340 hectares) of land. In 1800, the Spanish appointed Boone a syndic, or judge (see Boone, Daniel).
Napoleon Bonaparte, the ruler of France, forced Spain to return the territory west of the Mississippi to France in 1800. By that time, much of present-day Missouri had been explored and many communities had been established. Napoleon, badly in need of money to finance his wars in Europe, sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803 (see Louisiana Purchase). The northern part of the territory was called Upper Louisiana, and it included the present state of Missouri. Upper Louisiana extended north from the 33rd parallel to Canada, and west to the Rocky Mountains. In 1812, Congress organized the Missouri Territory. 
In late 1811 and early 1812, three of the strongest earthquakes ever to hit the United States struck Missouri’s New Madrid area. Scientists believe they measured up to 8 on the Richter scale and were probably more powerful than the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Fortunately, not many people lived in the region. Property damage and the death toll thus were small compared with the earthquakes’ violence.
Territorial days.
The Missouri Territory began with a population of more than 20,000. The farming and mining industries were well established, and schools and churches had been built. So many settlers poured into the Missouri Territory that Indigenous groups became aroused by the loss of their ancient hunting grounds. For several years, Indigenous warriors conducted raids against the frontier settlements.
In 1812, war broke out between the United States and the United Kingdom (see War of 1812). The British gave weapons to Indigenous groups and encouraged them to attack the Missouri pioneers. The settlers built forts and blockhouses for protection. Even after the war between the United States and the United Kingdom ended, Indigenous groups continued to raid many settlements. The attacks ended in 1815, when Indigenous leaders and U.S. government officials signed a peace treaty at Portage des Sioux.
Statehood and expansion.
In 1818, Missouri asked the U.S. Congress to be admitted into the Union. The territory had been settled mainly by Southerners who had brought enslaved Black people with them. Missouri’s application for admission as a slave state caused a nationwide dispute between slavery and antislavery sympathizers. This dispute was not settled until 1820, when Congress passed the Missouri Compromise. Under this legislation, Missouri entered the Union as a slave state on Aug. 10, 1821. A census in 1820 showed that the territory had 66,586 people, including 10,222 enslaved people. Missourians elected Alexander McNair as the first governor. See Missouri Compromise. 
When Missouri entered the Union, it was the western frontier of the nation. The fur trade was the state’s most important industry. In 1822, John Jacob Astor organized a St. Louis branch of the American Fur Company. Within the next 12 years, Astor ruined or bought out most other fur companies. He had a near monopoly on the fur trade west of the Mississippi River.
In 1836, Congress approved the purchase from Indigenous people of an area known as the Platte Country. By presidential proclamation, it became part of Missouri in 1837. This region extended the northern part of Missouri’s western border to the Missouri River.
Since the 1820’s, Missourians had been carrying on a regular trade with Mexicans over the Santa Fe Trail. This famous trail linked Independence, Missouri, with Santa Fe in the Southwest. Tremendous wealth from the Southwest poured into Missouri, and Independence became a busy, thriving village. The great Oregon Trail, which thousands of settlers followed to the Pacific Northwest, also began in Independence. See Santa Fe Trail; Oregon Trail.
The American Civil War.
In 1857, the Supreme Court of the United States issued the historic Dred Scott Decision. The court ruled that Scott, a enslaved Missouri man, was merely property and did not have citizenship rights. The ruling greatly increased ill feeling between the North and the South (see Dred Scott Decision). Meanwhile, many Missourians who lived near the western border of the state feared that the newly organized Kansas Territory would become a free state. As more and more antislavery families settled in Kansas, scattered warfare broke out between the people of Missouri and the people of Kansas (see Brown, John; Kansas (“Bleeding Kansas”)). Kansas became a free state in 1861. Fighting between Kansans and Missourians continued into the American Civil War (1861–1865).
Missouri became the center of national interest in 1861. The nation wondered whether Missouri would secede (withdraw) from the Union and join the newly formed Confederacy. Early in 1861, Governor Claiborne F. Jackson recommended that a state convention be called to determine the will of the people. The convention was held in February and March. Jackson and some members of the convention were strongly pro-Confederacy, but the convention voted to remain in the Union. Most Missourians wanted to stay neutral if war should come.
After the Civil War began in April 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln called for troops from Missouri. Governor Jackson refused Lincoln’s call. Union soldiers and the Missouri state militia, which Jackson commanded as governor, clashed at Boonville on June 17, 1861. This battle was the first real fighting of the Civil War in Missouri. The Union troops, under General Nathaniel Lyon, routed the militia and gained control of northern Missouri. Jackson and his militia retreated to southwestern Missouri, where they reorganized. They then advanced to Wilson’s Creek, near Springfield. There, in August, the militia and Confederate troops defeated the Union forces in a bloody battle. Lyon became the first Union general to be killed in combat.
On July 22, the state convention had met again. It voted to remove pro-Confederate state leaders from office. The convention replaced them with pro-Union men. Hamilton R. Gamble became governor. In September 1861, Jackson called for the legislature to meet in Neosho in October. Not enough members attended to hold a legal session. But those present voted to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy.
The Confederate forces controlled a foothold in southwestern Missouri until March 1862, when Union forces defeated them at Pea Ridge, Arkansas. In 1864, General Sterling Price tried to recapture Missouri for the Confederacy in a daring raid. He was defeated at Westport, which is a part of present-day Kansas City. Price’s defeat marked the end of full-scale fighting in the state. Throughout the war, however, bands of both Union and Confederate guerrillas terrorized the Missouri countryside. They burned and looted towns and murdered innocent people.
After the war ended in 1865, Missouri adopted a new constitution. It included a clause that denied the right to vote to anyone who refused to swear that he had not sympathized with the South. This unpopular clause was repealed in 1870.
Progress as a state.
Between 1850 and 1870, many changes took place in Missouri. St. Louis and Kansas City became important transportation centers. The frontier disappeared. Trade with Mexico over the Santa Fe Trail ended. The fur trade grew less important, although St. Louis remained one of the world’s great fur markets. Tenant farmers replaced the relatively few enslaved people who worked the fields.
In 1875, Missouri adopted a new constitution. It reestablished the governor’s term from two to four years. It also established a state railroad commission to regulate rates and shipping conditions.
For almost 20 years after the Civil War, many former Confederate guerrillas turned to crime. They held up banks, stagecoaches, and trains. In 1881, Governor Thomas T. Crittenden began a campaign to stop the outlaws. He offered a $5,000 reward for the arrest of Jesse James, one of the most notorious bandits. James was killed by one of his own gang in 1882. 
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held in St. Louis in 1904. This world’s fair attracted almost 20 million visitors from the United States and other countries. A popular exhibit featured automobiles. One of the automobiles had been driven to St. Louis all the way from New York City.
In 1905, Governor Joseph W. Folk began one of the state’s most progressive administrations. Missouri adopted statewide primary elections and began political, social, and industrial reforms. Laws were passed calling for the inspection of working conditions in Missouri’s factories. Other laws regulated child labor and public utilities in the state.
After the United States entered World War I in 1917, Missouri’s mining, manufacturing, and agriculture expanded to supply the nation’s armed forces. General John J. Pershing, who was born in Linn County, became commander in chief of the U.S. forces in France. General Enoch H. Crowder, born in Grundy County, became the first director of the Selective Service System.
Bagnell Dam, an important source of electric power for the St. Louis area, was completed in 1931. The waters held back by the dam formed Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks. Many Missourians lost their jobs during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, and farmers suffered because of low prices. Under Governor Guy B. Park, the number of state government employees was cut and operating costs of government were reduced. The federal government set up several agencies in Missouri to provide employment and relief.
The mid-1900’s.
During World War II (1939-1945), many new industries were developed in Missouri to provide supplies for the armed forces. In 1945, the state adopted a new constitution.
In 1944, U.S. Senator Harry S. Truman of Independence was elected vice president of the United States under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Truman became president after Roosevelt died in 1945 and was elected to a full term as president in 1948. See Truman, Harry S..
New industrial plants boosted Missouri’s economy during the 1950’s. An electronics plant opened in Joplin, and factories in St. Louis and Neosho began producing parts for spacecraft. A uranium-processing plant went into operation in Weldon Spring.
During the 1960’s, Missouri conducted a strong drive to attract more industries. It also encouraged tourism, which became a $500-million business annually. The mining industry in Missouri expanded during the 1960’s with the discovery of iron ore deposits in Crawford, Dent, Franklin, Iron, and Washington counties.
By the early 1960’s, most public schools in Missouri were desegregated. The state Constitution had provided for segregated schools. But in 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that compulsory segregation of public schools was unconstitutional.
The late 1900’s.
Urban problems became increasingly serious in Missouri during the 1970’s. In St. Louis and Kansas City, for example, many middle-class families moved to the suburbs. The population shift drained the cities of much financial support. Inadequate transportation and increasing crime added to problems of Missouri’s cities. The big cities attempted to redevelop their downtown areas to attract new businesses and tourists.
Missouri’s farming community suffered during a national farm crisis in the mid-1980’s. Many farmers could not afford to keep their farms. A number of Missouri’s industries also suffered during this period as foreign trade restrictions were loosened. However, the state’s economy improved in the 1990’s.
Missouri also faced environmental problems. Runoff from new land developments muddied lakes and robbed the land of topsoil. Toxic substances, such as pesticides, were found in fish. Contamination from landfills and septic tanks threatened ground water supplies. In the early 1980’s, high levels of dioxin, a poisonous substance, were discovered in Times Beach near St. Louis and in other Missouri areas. The U.S. government bought all the homes and businesses in Times Beach. After completing a cleanup program in 1997, the government turned the land over to the state. Missouri established Route 66 State Park on the site.
In 1993, destructive flooding occurred along the Mississippi-Missouri river systems, severely affecting states in the Midwest. Missouri was one of the states hit hardest by the disaster. The floods damaged billions of dollars worth of property and crops in the state.
The early 2000’s.
In spite of problems, the state’s economy remained strong through the late 1990’s and into the beginning of the 2000’s. Many farm products continued to thrive, and new or expanded factories sprang up in the cities. In addition, tourism became a billion-dollar industry for Missouri. St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield attracted major business, religious, and political conventions. The Ozarks drew vacationers from a wide area. The Ozark town of Branson remained a major attraction. Branson had become an important center of the country music industry by the early 1990’s. Outlet shopping malls, developed in Branson in the mid-1990’s, also added to the town’s appeal. 
In May 2011, a devastating tornado struck the city of Joplin in southwestern Missouri. The tornado killed about 160 people and damaged more than 7,000 buildings. The twister was the nation’s single deadliest tornado in more than 60 years. In 1947, a tornado killed 181 people in Woodward, Oklahoma.
In June 2018, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens resigned from office. Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson was sworn in to replace him. Greitens had been facing a sexual misconduct scandal related to his alleged actions during an extramarital encounter. He had also faced legal questions about his campaign fundraising practices.
