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.
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