Missouri

thumb|Flag of Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): 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 into the Mississippi River, which makes up the eastern border. With more than six million residents, it is the 19th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia; the capital is Jefferson City. 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. Quotes Missouri is called "The Show-Me State," because that was the winner of the Dumbest State Nickname Contest, narrowly edging out "The Nanny Nanny Boo Boo State." The largest city is St. Louis, which features a 630-foot-tall stainless-steel arch, a monument to the early pioneers who came west with nothing but their wagons, their guns, their dreams, and their 630-foot-tall stainless-steel arches. Visitors may ride to the top of the arch, high above the Missouri River, where they will experience the thrill of wanting really badly to get back down on the ground. At least that was how we felt. You'll also want to go to visit Hannibal, the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens, who grew up, adopted a pen name, and became one of Missouri's, and America's, most beloved characters: Harry Truman. Missouri is also dynamic. Dave Barry, Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need (1991), New York: Fawcett Columbine, p. 85 Some people think that St. Louis is in the South. It's not, it's in the Midwest, but Missouri was a slave state. The legacies of slavery and de jure segregation affect every aspect of society here. Cori Bush The Forerunner: A Story of Pain and Perseverance in America (2022) The issue of slavery was soon to trouble the relations of the North and South. In 1819 a Bill was tabled in Congress to admit Missouri as a state to the Union. This territory lay inside the bounds of the Louisiana Purchase, where the future of slavery had not so far been decided by Federal law. As the people of Missouri proposed to allow slavery in their draft constitution the Northerners looked upon this Bill as an aggressive move to increase the voting power of the South. A wild campaign of mutual recrimination followed. But with the increasing problem of the West facing them both, North and South could not afford to quarrel, and the angry sectional strife stirred up by this Bill ended in a compromise which was to hold until the middle of the century. Missouri was admitted as a slave-holding state, and slavery was prohibited north of latitude 36° 30' within the existing territories of the Union which did not yet enjoy statehood. As part of the compromise Maine, which had just severed itself from Massachusetts, was admitted as a free state, making the division between slave and free equal, being twelve each. Far-seeing men realised the impending tragedy of this division. John Quincy Adams noted in his diary, “I considered it at once as the knell of the Union. I take it for granted that the present question is a mere preamble — a title-page to a great, tragic volume.” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Volume IV: The Great Democracies (1958), pp. 105-106 The Missouri Supreme Court handed Democrats a major victory Thursday by blocking a Republican-backed congressional map from being used in the November midterm elections, ruling that the map must first be approved by voters. The unanimous decision means Missouri will instead use its previous congressional boundaries for the 2026 general election, dealing a setback to Republicans who had hoped the new map would help them gain a seat in the U.S. House.Midterm elections are commonly seen as a measure of public approval for the current president, and the president’s party has traditionally lost seats during them. Republicans currently hold a thin majority in the House, with 218 seats compared to Democrats’ 212.The Cook Political Report gives Democrats the edge in the battle for control of the House, though it cautions that the outcome is not a foregone conclusion. In its House analysis in July, Cook says Democrats remain in a strong position to win the majority, while Republicans are still favored to hold 212 seats.Trump sharply criticized the ruling in a post to Truth Social on Thursday night, calling it a “Dark Day for ‘Justice’ in Missouri!” He also called the decision “horrible, ridiculous, and unConstitutional,” while arguing that it would disrupt the election process by forcing changes to congressional districts so close to the midterms. The decision adds Missouri to a growing national fight over congressional maps ahead of the midterms, as both parties seek to use redistricting to improve their chances of controlling the House. Anna Commander, "Trump warns of "dark day" for justice after Missouri map ruling", Newsweek (3 September 2026) The redistricting plan, backed by Trump and approved by Missouri Republicans, was designed to make the state’s congressional delegation more favorable to the GOP. The map would have dismantled the Kansas City-based district held by Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver, Reuters reports. Cleaver welcomed Thursday’s ruling, saying in part, “Democracy prevails.”Judge Ginger Gooch wrote in part in one of the opinions of the court, “This Court reverses the circuit court’s judgment. The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise. HB 1 did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters. The congressional redistricting the General Assembly established in 2022 remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election.”Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Thursday night for comment.The ruling came after opponents of the map, organized under the group People Not Politicians, submitted enough signatures seeking a referendum. Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, rejected the petition, arguing that the state constitution’s referendum provisions did not apply to congressional redistricting, Reuters noted. The state’s highest court rejected that argument, finding that the petition was legal, sufficient and timely. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said Republicans will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Anna Commander, "Trump warns of "dark day" for justice after Missouri map ruling", Newsweek (3 September 2026) Between 1930 and 1940 the population of Missouri Nearly tripled. Epidemics broke out: Scarlet fever, Meningitis, Measles, Smallpox and Ague. Rick Steber in Oregon trail Last of the pioneers Page 2 External links Category:States of the United States