Outline of Missouri
Missouri, pronounced 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 have made Missouri a center of water, land, and air transportation.
The mighty Mississippi River forms Missouri's eastern border. The wide 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. They also are among the nation's top trucking centers. Several major railroad lines cross the state, including three that carry Amtrak passenger trains. Major highways, including five interstate highways, also crisscross Missouri.
Vast fields of golden grain and green grasses cover the rolling plains in the north and west. 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, and retail trade. The state's factories turn out large numbers of airplanes and automobiles. Some manufacturing activities, such as meat packing and fertilizer production, are related to Missouri's huge farm output. Missouri ranks among the leading producers of beef cattle, hogs, and soybeans.
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. 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.
Many outstanding Americans have lived in Missouri. They include Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States; Mark Twain, the creator of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn; Walt Disney, the famous motion-picture producer; Eugene Field, the beloved children's poet; George Washington Carver, the great scientist; Joseph Pulitzer, the famous journalist; Scott Joplin, a ragtime music composer; General John J. Pershing and General Omar N. Bradley, military commanders; and Thomas Hart Benton and George Caleb Bingham, noted painters.
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.
The state's name comes from the Missouri River. The word Missouri probably came from an Indian word meaning the town of the large canoes. me.'' Jefferson City is Missouri's capital, and Kansas City is the largest city. Missouri's nickname is the Show Me State. This nickname is usually traced to a speech by Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver of Missouri in 1899. Speaking in Philadelphia, Vandiver said: ''... frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.''
