Description of Missouri

The Midwestern United States state of Missouri is a great place to visit. As a result of its encirclement (eight states altogether, including Tennessee), Iowa is the largest state by total geographical area in the Midwest and is ranked 21st in terms of population. Forested mountains of the Ozarks supply timber, minerals, and recreational opportunities for southerners. With the Missouri River running through its heart, and the Mississippi River forming its eastern border, Missouri is the state's name. With a population of nearly six million, it ranks as the 19th most populous state in the United States. The state's major cities are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia, with Jefferson City serving as the state's capital.

For at least 12,000 years, the state of Missouri has been inhabited by people of some sort. The Mississippian culture, which began in the ninth century and lasted until the fourteenth century, built villages and mounds. The Osage and Missouria peoples were found by European explorers in the seventeenth century. Saint Genevieve was created in 1735 and St. Louis in 1764 as part of the Louisiana Territory. Following a brief time of Spanish rule, the United States purchased Missouri as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Missouri became a magnet for people from the Upland South, particularly those who had been slaves. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 recognized Missouri as a slave state. The Boonslick region in central Missouri became home to many Virginians, Kentuckians, and Tennesseans. As a result, the Missouri Rhineland was formed soon after.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis serves as a reminder of Missouri's pivotal role in the country's westward development. The Pony Express, the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, and the California Trail all began in Missouri. Throughout the American Civil War, Missouri's location on the border made it vulnerable to invasions, incursions, and guerilla warfare. As a result of World War II, the metropolitan areas of St. Louis and Kansas City became major centers for commerce and industry. The state of Missouri currently consists of 114 counties plus the city of St. Louis, which is an autonomous entity.

As a result, Missouri's culture is a blend of the Midwest and South. Ragtime, Kansas City jazz, and the St. Louis blues all have their roots here. Kansas City-style and St. Louis-style barbecue can be found all around the state and even further afield. In addition to being a major brewing center, Missouri also has some of the most lax alcohol restrictions in the country. Located in the heart of the Missouri Rhineland and Ozarks, Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest brewer, has its headquarters here. Table Rock Lake, Branson and the Lake of the Ozarks are three of the state's most popular tourist destinations.

Well-known natives of the state include Chuck Berry and Sheryl Crow; Walt Disney; Edwin Hubble; Nelly; Brad Pitt; Harry S. Truman; and Mark Twain. A few notable companies in the state include Cerner, Express Scripts, Monsanto, Emerson, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, H&R Block, Wells Fargo Advisors, Centene and O'Reilly Auto Parts. St. Louis' Washington University in St. Louis and Missouri's St. Louis University are just a few of the state's illustrious academic institutions. "Show Me State" has become the most well-known nickname for Missouri, which has also been referred to as the "Mother of the West" and the "Cave State".

Geographical Description of Missouri

With Tennessee as a neighbor, Missouri is bordered by eight other states. Along with Iowa to the north; Illinois and Kentucky to east across the Mississippi River from Missouri; Arkansas to the south; and Oklahoma to the west; Missouri is bordered by all of these states and more (the latter of which lies across the Missouri River). The Missouri Bootheel extends south between the St. Francis and Mississippi rivers, in contrast to the linear limitations to the north and south. In addition to the Mississippi River, which marks the state's eastern border, the Missouri River, which runs from west to east through the state, is the state's other major river, tying Kansas City and St. Louis together.

Prior to the Civil War, Missouri was seen by many as a border state, mostly due to the settlement of migrants from the South and its function as a slave state, with the influence of St. Louis as a counterbalance. In the middle of Missouri, surrounding the Missouri River, were the counties known as "Little Dixie," which were home to the state's largest concentration of slaveholders.

More than 16 million visitors came to Missouri's national parks and other recreational areas in 2005, producing $7.41 million in annual revenue or 26.6 percent of the state's operating costs.

Economy of Missouri

As of 2016, Missouri's gross state product was projected by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis to be $299.1 billion, placing it 22nd out of the 50 states. At $32,705 per person in 2006, it ranked 26th in the United States in per-capita income. All of these industries — as well as others including printing, publishing, electrical equipment, light manufacturing, financial services, and brewing — play an important role in the economy as a whole

The state's agricultural goods include beef, soybeans, pigs, dairy products, hay, corn, poultry, sorghum, cotton, rice, and eggs. The state of Missouri is ranked sixth in the country for hog production and seventh in the country for cattle. Soybean production in Missouri ranks in the top five states in the US, and rice production is ranked fourth. In 2001, there were 108,500 farms in the state, second only to Texas in terms of total number of farms. Wine is a fast-growing industry in Missouri, and the state is actively promoting it. An estimated $33 billion in GDP, $88 billion in sales, and 378,000 jobs are all attributed to Missouri's agriculture economy, according to the Missouri Partnership.

Limestone is abundant in Missouri. Lead, coal, and crushed stone are among the other commodities that can be mined. Missouri is the state that produces the most lead. Lead mining is concentrated primarily in the state's central eastern region. The state also leads the nation in the production of lime, an essential component of Portland cement.

In addition to these burgeoning industries, science, agricultural technology, and biotechnology are all increasing in Missouri. St. Louis was home to one of the largest American biotechnology companies, Monsanto, up until it was acquired by Bayer AG in 2018. In the United States, Crop Science, a subsidiary of the Bayer Corporation, presently operates the division.

The state's abundance of rivers, lakes, caves, and parks, as well as its richness of wholesale/retail commerce, help tourism. The Gateway Arch National Park, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and a network of state parks are all located in Missouri. Stanton's Meramec Caverns is a well-known tourist attraction.

Federal Reserve Banks in Kansas City and St. Louis are the only two in the United States that serve two different regions: western Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and northern New Mexico; eastern Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa; and southern Illinois (serving eastern Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, western Kentucky, western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and all of Arkansas).

Seasonally adjusted, the state's unemployment rate was 3.9% in April 2017. Right-to-work legislation was passed into law in Missouri in 2017, but voters there rejected it in August of this year by a 67 percent to 33 percent majority.