Missouri (/mɪˈzʊəriː/ mih-ZOOR-ee) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it borders Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to the west. In the south are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Missouri River, after which the state is named, flows through the center and into the Mississippi River, which makes up the eastern border. With over six million residents, it is the 18th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia; the capital is Jefferson City.
Humans have inhabited present-day Missouri for at least 12,000 years. The Mississippian culture, which emerged at least in the ninth century, built cities and mounds before declining in the 14th century. When European explorers arrived in the 17th century, they encountered the Osage and Missouria nations. The French incorporated the territory into Louisiana, founding Ste. Genevieve in 1735 and St. Louis in 1764. After a brief period of Spanish rule, the United States acquired Missouri as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Americans from the Upland South rushed into the new Missouri Territory. Missouri was admitted as a slave state as part of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Many from Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee settled in the Boonslick area of Mid-Missouri. Soon after, a heavy settlement of Rhinelanders created the Missouri Rhineland, a German cultural region specializing in wine production.
Missouri played a central role in the westward expansion of the United States, as memorialized by the Gateway Arch. The Pony Express, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail and California Trail all began in Missouri. As a border state, Missouri's role in the American Civil War was complex, and it was subject to rival governments, raids, and guerilla warfare. After the war, both Greater St. Louis and the Kansas City metropolitan area became centers of industrialization and business. Today the state is divided into 114 counties and the independent city of St. Louis.
Missouri's culture blends elements of the Midwestern and Southern United States. It is the birthplace of the musical genres ragtime, Kansas City jazz and St. Louis blues. The well-known Kansas City-style barbecue, and the lesser-known St. Louis-style barbecue, can be found across the state and beyond. Missouri is a major center of beer brewing and has some of the most permissive alcohol laws in the U.S. It is home to Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest beer producer, and produces an eponymous wine produced in the Missouri Rhineland and Ozarks. Outside the state's major cities, popular tourist destinations include the Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock Lake and Branson.
Well-known Missourians include Chuck Berry, Sheryl Crow, Walt Disney, Edwin Hubble, Nelly, Brad Pitt, Harry S. Truman, and Mark Twain. Some of the largest companies based in the state include Cerner, Express Scripts, Monsanto, Emerson Electric, Edward Jones, H&R Block, Wells Fargo Advisors, Centene Corporation, and O'Reilly Auto Parts. Well-known universities in Missouri include the University of Missouri, Saint Louis University, and Washington University in St. Louis. Missouri has been called the "Mother of the West", the "Cave State", and the "Show Me State".
Etymology and pronunciation
The state is named for the Missouri River, which was named after the indigenous Missouria, a Siouan-language tribe. French colonists adapted a form of the Illinois language-name for the people: Wimihsoorita. Their name means "One who has dugout canoes".
The name Missouri has several different pronunciations even among its present-day inhabitants, the two most common being /mɪˈzɜːri/ ⓘ mih-ZUR-ee and /mɪˈzɜːrə/ ⓘ mih-ZUR-ə. Further pronunciations also exist in Missouri or elsewhere in the United States, involving the realization of the medial consonant as either /z/ or /s/; the vowel in the second syllable as either /ɜːr/ or /ʊər/; and the third syllable as /i/ or /ə/. Any combination of these phonetic realizations may be observed coming from speakers of American English. In British received pronunciation, the preferred variant is /mɪˈzʊəri/, with /mɪˈsʊəri/ being a possible alternative.
St. Louis was founded soon after by French fur traders, Pierre Laclède and stepson Auguste Chouteau from New Orleans in 1764. From 1764 to 1803, European control of the area west of the Mississippi to the northernmost part of the Missouri River basin, called Louisiana, was assumed by the Spanish as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, due to Treaty of Fontainebleau (in order to have Spain join with France in the war against England). The arrival of the Spanish in St. Louis was in September 1767.
St. Louis became the center of a regional fur trade with Native American tribes that extended up the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, which dominated the regional economy for decades. Trading partners of major firms shipped their furs from St. Louis by river down to New Orleans for export to Europe. They provided a variety of goods to traders for sale and trade with their Native American clients. The fur trade and associated businesses made St. Louis an early financial center and provided the wealth for some to build fine houses and import luxury items. Its location near the confluence of the Illinois River meant it also handled produce from the agricultural areas. River traffic and trade along the Mississippi were integral to the state's economy. As the area's first major city, St. Louis expanded greatly after the invention of the steamboat and the increased river trade.
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- SERVES
- 4
- COOK TIME
- 20 Min
Get ready for a true Southern favorite we like to call our Chicken Salad Bake. Discovered in an old cookbook, this recipe combines the best of old-fashioned flavor and comfort in one casserole dish. Take this dish on a picnic or send it to a potluck; no matter where you serve it, this is a dish you can be proud of.
- 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 (2-ounce) jar chopped pimientos
- 1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup (3-ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup crushed potato chips
- Preheat oven to 425º.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, celery, onion, pimientos, soup, and mayonnaise; mix well and pour into an 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and potato chips.
- Bake 20 minutes, or until heated through.
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- The Vienna Zoo is the oldest existing zoo and was opened to the public in 1765.
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- There are 350 zoos in the United States
- Approximately 175 million people visit a zoo each year.
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom has had more than 9.8 million annual visitors.
- More than 3.2 million people visit the San Diego Zoo each year.
