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Missouri

*** Shopping-Tip: Missouri
{{US state | Name = Missouri | Fullname = State of Missouri| Flag = Missouri state flag.png | Flaglink = Flag of Missouri | Seal = Missouristateseal.png | Map = Map of USA highlighting Missouri.png | Nickname = The Show Me State''
| Capital = Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City | LargestCity = Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City | Largest Metropolitan
Area = St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis | Governor = Matt Blunt (R) | Senators = Kit Bond (R) Jim Talent (R) | PostalAbbreviation = MO | OfficialLang = none, English language English most common| AreaRank = 21^st | TotalArea = 69,709 Square mile miÂ²; 180,693 | LandArea = 68,898 miÂ²; 178,590 | WaterArea = 811 miÂ²; 2,101 | PCWater = 1.16 | PopRank = 17^th | 2000Pop = 5,595,211 | DensityRank = 27^th | 2000Density = 80.27/miÂ²; 31 | AdmittanceOrder = 24^th | AdmittanceDate = August 10, 1821 | TimeZone = Central Standard Time Zone Central : UTC-6/Daylight saving time -5 | Latitude = 36Â°N to 40Â°35'N | Longitude = 89Â°6'W to 95Â°42'W | Width = 240 mi; 385 | Length = 300 mi; 480 | HighestElev = 1772 feet; 540 | MeanElev = 800 feet; 240 | LowestElev = 230 feet; 70 | ISOCode = US-MO | Website = www.mo.gov }} :''For the Native Americans in the United States Native American tribe, see Missouri tribe.'' :''For the river North American river, see Missouri River.'' '''Missouri''' ({{IPA2|mÉ™ËˆzÊŠri}}, {{IPA|/mÉ™ËˆzÉ?i/}}, {{IPA|/mÉ™ËˆzÊŠrÉ™/}}, or {{IPA|/mÉ™ËˆzÉ?É™/}}; see Missouri#Miscellaneous topics the miscellaneous section below), is a central U.S. state state in the United States.

Geography
Image:National-atlas-missouri.png thumb|left|Missouri cities and geographic features Image:Missouri counties.jpg thumb|right|Missouri county borders {{main|Geography of Missouri}} Missouri's border physically touches a total of eight different states. It is bounded on the north by Iowa; on the east, across the Mississippi River, by Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee; on the south by Arkansas; and on the west by Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska (the latter two across the Missouri River.) The Mississippi River Mississippi and Missouri River Missouri rivers are the two large rivers which flow through this state. North of the Missouri River lie the Northern Plains that stretch into Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Here, gentle rolling hills remain behind from a glacier that once had extended from the north to the Missouri River. The Ozark plateau begins south of the river and extends into Arkansas, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma. Springfield, Missouri Springfield in southwestern Missouri lies on the Ozark plateau. Southern Missouri is the home of the Ozark Mountains, a dissected plateau surrounding the Precambrian igneous Saint Francois Mountain Range St. Francois Mountains. It is in the Ozarks that a distinct dialect, often compared to that of residents in certain areas of Kentucky and Tennessee, still exists. The southeastern part of the state is home to the Bootheel, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain or Mississippi embayment. This region is the lowest, flattest and wettest part of the state. It is also the most fertile. Cotton and rice production are prominent in this area. The Bootheel area was the part of the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811–1812. Although now generally considered part of the Midwest (US) Midwest, Missouri was once thought of as South (US) Southern, and still is by many Missourians today. For example, Mark Twain, who grew up in Hannibal, Missouri Hannibal, in Life on the Mississippi described his upbringing as in "the South". Still, while larger cities, especially those in the northern part of the state (St Louis, Missouri St. Louis, Columbia, Missouri Columbia, Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City) consider themselves "Midwestern", rural areas and cities further south (Cape Girardeau, Missouri Cape Girardeau and Springfield, Missouri Springfield) consider themselves more "Southern". ''See also: Climate of Missouri, Missouri National and State Parks, List of Missouri counties''

History
{{main|History of Missouri}} Originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, Missouri was admitted as a state in 1821 as part of the Missouri Compromise. It earned the nickname "Gateway to the West" because it served as a departure point for settlers heading to the west. It was the starting point and the return destination of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. During the American Civil War Civil War, Missouri, a History of slavery in the United States slave state, remained in the Union (American Civil War) Union, but sentiment was split with a significant portion of the populace supporting the Confederate States of America Confederate cause.

Demographics
{| class="toccolours" align="right" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="clear:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em; font-size: 95%;" |- ! colspan=2 bgcolor="#ccccff" align="center"| Historical populations |- ! align="center"| Census
year !! align="right"| Population |- | colspan=2|

|- | align="center"| 1810 || align="right"| 19,783 |- | align="center"| 1820 || align="right"| 66,586 |- | align="center"| 1830 || align="right"| 140,455 |- | align="center"| 1840 || align="right"| 383,702 |- | align="center"| 1850 || align="right"| 682,044 |- | align="center"| 1860 || align="right"| 1,182,012 |- | align="center"| 1870 || align="right"| 1,721,295 |- | align="center"| 1880 || align="right"| 2,168,380 |- | align="center"| 1890 || align="right"| 2,679,185 |- | align="center"| 1900 || align="right"| 3,106,665 |- | align="center"| 1910 || align="right"| 3,293,335 |- | align="center"| 1920 || align="right"| 3,404,055 |- | align="center"| 1930 || align="right"| 3,629,367 |- | align="center"| 1940 || align="right"| 3,784,664 |- | align="center"| 1950 || align="right"| 3,954,653 |- | align="center"| 1960 || align="right"| 4,319,813 |- | align="center"| 1970 || align="right"| 4,676,501 |- | align="center"| 1980 || align="right"| 4,916,686 |- | align="center"| 1990 || align="right"| 5,117,073 |- | align="center"| United States 2000 Census 2000 || align="right"| 5,595,211 |} Image:Missouri_population_map.png thumb|left|Missouri Population Density Map As of 2005, Missouri has an estimated population of 5,800,310, which is an increase of 40,778, or 0.7%, from the prior year and an increase of 203,627, or 3.6%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 115,403 people (that is 401,148 births minus 285,745 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 69,669 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 42,690 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 26,979 people. As of 2004, the population included 194,000 foreign-born (3.4% of the state population).

Race and ancestry
The racial makeup of the state and comparison to the prior census: {{Racial_demographics_begin | year1=2000 | year2=1990 }} {{Racial_demographics_White | year1=84.9% | year2=87.7% }} {{Racial_demographics_Black | year1=11.2% | year2=10.7% }} {{Racial_demographics_Asian | year1=1.1% | year2=0.8% }} {{Racial_demographics_Amerindian | year1=0.4% | year2=0.4% }} {{Racial_demographics_Other | race=Other race | year1=0.9% | year2=2.0% }} {{Racial_demographics_Mixed | year1=1.5% | year2=* }} {{Racial_demographics_Hispanic | year1White=83.8% | year2White=86.9% | year1Hispanic=2.1% | year2Hispanic=1.2% }} {{Racial_demographics_end}} The five largest ancestry groups in Missouri are: German American German (23.5%), Irish American Irish (12.7%), American (10.5%), British American English (9.5%), French American French (3.5%). 'American' includes those reported as Native American or African American. German-Americans are a large ancestry group present in most of Missouri. In southern Missouri, most residents are of British American British/American ancestry. The northern edge of the state also has a high proportion of residents of British and American ancestry. Blacks are populous in the City of St Louis and central Kansas City as well as in the southeastern bootheel and some areas of the Missouri River Valley, places where plantation agriculture was once important. Missouri Creoles of French ancestry are concentrated in the Mississippi River valley south of St. Louis. 6.6% of its population were reported as under 5, 25.5% under 18, and 13.5% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population. 3.4% of Missourians are foreign-born, and 5.1% speak a language other than English at home. The 1997 birth and death rates were:

Births:	74,037
Deaths:	54,322
Infant deaths:	564

81.3% were high school graduates (higher than the national average) while 21.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher. The mean commute time to work was 23.8 minutes. The homeownership rate in 2000 was 70.3% with the mean value of the owner occupied dwelling being $89,900. There were 2,194,594 households with 2.48 people per household. The median household money income for 1999 was $37,934 with the 1999 Per Capita Money Income of $19,936. There were 11.7% (637,891) Missourians living below the poverty line in 1999.

Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Missouri: *Christianity Christian – 83% **Protestantism Protestant – 62% ***Baptist (mostly Southern Baptist) – 23% ***Methodism Methodist – 8% ***Lutheranism Lutheran – 4% ***Episcopal – 4% ***Other Protestant – 23% **Roman Catholicism in the United States Roman Catholic – 20% **Other Christian – 1% *Other Religions – 1% *Non-Religious – 16% Of those Missourians who identify with a religion, three in four are Protestants. There is also a moderate-sized Catholic community present in the some parts of the state; approximately one out of five Missourians are Catholics. Heavily Catholic areas include Kansas City and St Louis. A number of religious organizations have their headquarters in Missouri, including the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod Lutheran Churchâ€”Missouri Synod, which has its headquarters in Kirkwood, Missouri Kirkwood, outside St. Louis. Kansas City is the headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene. Independence, Missouri Independence, outside of Kansas City, is the headquarters for the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), and the Latter Day Saints group Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Springfield is the headquarters of the Assemblies of God. The General Association of General Baptists has its headquarters in Poplar Bluff, Missouri Poplar Bluff.

Economy
{{Template:MetaSidebar|250px|#ffffaa|right|Missouri state symbols State symbols| *'''State amphibian Amphibian:''' American Bullfrog *'''State animal Animal:''' Missouri Mule *'''List of U.S. state birds Bird:''' Eastern Bluebird Bluebird *'''State flower Flower:''' Crataegus Hawthorn *'''State insect Insect:''' Honeybee *'''State motto Motto:''' ''"Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto"'' (Latin: ''"Let the Welfare of the People be the Supreme Law"'', compare with King Charles XIII of Sweden (1809) ''"The welfare of the people my highest law") *'''List of U.S. state fruit Fruit:''' Norton (grape) Norton Cynthiana grape *'''State song Song:''' "Missouri Waltz" *'''State tree Tree:''' Flowering Dogwood *'''State mineral Mineral:''' Galena }} [http://www.bea.gov/ The Bureau of Economic Analysis] estimates that Missouri's total state product in 2003 was $195 billion. Per capital personal income in 2003 was $29,464, 27^th in the nation. Major industries include aerospace, transportation equipment, food processing, chemical industry chemicals, printing/publishing, electrical equipment, light manufacturing. The agriculture products of the state are beef, soybeans, pork, dairy products, hay, hemp, maize corn, poultry, and egg (food) eggs. Missouri is ranked 6th in the nation for the production of hogs and 7th for cattle. Missouri is ranked in the top 5 states in the nation for production of soy beans. As of 2001, there were 108,000 farms, the second largest number in any state after Texas. Missouri also actively promotes its quickly-growing Missouri wine wine industry. Image:wiki_missouri.jpg thumb|left|275px|Greetings from Missouri Missouri has vast quantities of limestone. Other resources mined are lead, coal, Portland cement and crushed rock (geology) stone. Missouri produces the most lead of all of the states in the Union with most of these mines in the Lead Belt central eastern portion of the state. Missouri also ranks first or near first among the production of Lime (mineral) lime. Tourism, services and wholesale/retail trade follow manufacturing in importance. Personal income tax income is taxed in 10 different earning brackets, ranging from 1.5 percent to 6.0 percent. Missouri's sales tax rate for most items is 4.225 percent. Additional local levies may apply. More than 2,500 Missouri local governments rely on property taxes levied on real property (real estate) and personal property. Some personal property is exempt, including household goods, inventories, wearing apparel and items of personal use and adornment. Exempt real estate includes property owned by governments and property used as nonprofit cemeteries, exclusively for religious worship, for schools and colleges and for purely charitable purposes. There is no inheritance tax and limited Missouri estate tax related to federal estate tax collection.

Transportation
Image:MO00_706LEF.jpg thumb|right|Current Missouri License Plate Kansas City is still a major railroad hub for BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific. The state of Missouri also has two major airport hubs now as well with Kansas City International Airport and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Several highways also traverse the state. Following the passage of Amendment 3 in late 2004, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) began its Smoother, Safer, Sooner road-building program with a goal of bringing 2,200 miles of highways up to good condition by December 2007. In 2005 the number of traffic deaths in the state increased by 10% to 1,241.

Interstate highways
*Interstate 29, Interstate 229 (Missouri) Interstate 229 *Interstate 35, Interstate 435 (the Perimeter around the Kansas City Metropolitan Area), Interstate 635 (Kansas-Missouri) Interstate 635 *Interstate 44 *Interstate 55, Interstate 155 (Missouri-Tennessee) Interstate 155, Interstate 255 *Interstate 57 *Interstate 64 *Interstate 70, Interstate 170, Interstate 270 (Illinois-Missouri) Interstate 270 (the Perimeter around the Missouri side of the St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Metropolitan Area), Interstate 470 (Missouri) Interstate 470, Interstate 670 (Kansas-Missouri) Interstate 670 *Interstate 72 *Interstate 49 (Proposed)

United States highways

''North-south routes''	''East-west routes''
U.S. Route 59 U.S. Route 159 U.S. Route 61 U.S. Route 63 U.S. Route 65 U.S. Route 67 U.S. Route 69 U.S. Route 169 U.S. Route 71 U.S. Route 169 *U.S. Route 275	U.S. Route 412 U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 54 U.S. Route 56 U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 160 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 166 *U.S. Route 400

{{see also|List of Missouri state highways|Missouri Supplemental Route}}

Law and government
{{main articles|Law and Government of Missouri and List of Missouri Governors}} The current constitution of Missouri, the fourth constitution for the state, was adopted in 1945 and provides for three branches of government, the legislative, judicial and executive branches. The legislative branch consists of two bodies, the House of Representatives and the Senate. These bodies comprise the General Assembly of the State of Missouri. The House of Representatives has 163 members that are apportioned based on the last decennial census. The Senate consists of 34 members from districts divided such that the population of each district is approximately equal. The Judicial department consists of a Supreme Court of Missouri supreme court consisting of 7 judges. Superior and inferior courts are also provided. The executive branch is headed by the governor. *The '''Governor of Missouri''' is Matt Blunt (United States Republican Party Republican). *The '''Lieutenant Governor of Missouri''' is Peter Kinder (Republican Party of the United States Republican) *The '''Missouri Attorney General''' is Jay Nixon (Democratic Party of the United States Democrat) *The '''Missouri Secretary of State''' is Robin Carnahan (Democratic Party of the United States Democrat) *The '''Missouri State Auditor''' is Claire McCaskill (Democratic Party of the United States Democrat) *The '''Missouri State Treasurer''' is Sarah Steelman (Republican Party of the United States Republican) *The '''U.S. Congressional Delegations from Missouri Senior United States Senator''' is Kit Bond Christopher S. "Kit" Bond (Republican Party of the United States Republican) *The '''U.S. Congressional Delegations from Missouri Junior United States Senator''' is Jim Talent James M. Talent (Republican Party of the United States Republican) Although neither major party has traditionally been dominant in Missouri, the Republican Party has been gaining strength there in recent years. Missouri has a longer stretch of supporting the winning presidential candidate than any other state, having chosen with the nation in every election since 1904 with the exception of Adlai Stevenson in 1956. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state's 11 electoral votes by a margin of 7 percentage points with 53.3% of the vote. Democrat John Kerry only won four of the state's 115 counties—St Louis City, St Louis County, Ste Genevieve, and Jackson County.

Important cities
Image:Kansas-City-Missouri-Downtown at Twighlight.jpg thumb|Downtown Kansas City Skyline Image:SaintLouisSkyline.jpg thumb|left|Downtown St. Louis Skyline