Download Missouri at a Glance - Missouri Division of Tourism

MISSOURI DIVISION OF TOURISM
OVERVIEW OF MISSOURI
WELCOME TO MISSOURI - THE “SHOW-ME” STATE
Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, who descended the Mississippi from
the north in 1673, supplied the first written accounts of exploration in Missouri. The
early Indians in Missouri were the Osages, Sacs, Foxes, Otos, Iowas,
Missouris, Miamis, Kickapoos, Delawares, Shawnees and Kansas. Although
named for an Indian tribe, today there are no organized tribes left in Missouri. As part
of the Louisiana Purchase territory, Missouri has belonged to three nations: France,
Spain and the United States. First claimed
for France by LaSalle in 1682, Missouri was
ceded to Spain in 1762. Although Spain
held the country for 40 years, its influence
was slight.
The early development of Missouri was
closely associated with lead mining.
Galena, a lead ore, was first discovered
in 1701 near Potosi and began to be
mined in earnest in 1720 upon the discovery of significant deposits at Mine La
Motte. Mining, the earliest commercial
activity in Missouri, lured early French
settlers and continues to be a major
enterprise today.
It was the French who were
responsible for the first permanent
d
settlement
of
Ste.
Genevieve
in the mid 1730s. This
a
e
ilh
ra
d Clark T
Lewis an
settlement survived alone in the huge Upper Louisiana Territory
until the establishment of St. Louis as a fur trading post in 1764. Because of its
excellent location where the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi, St. Louis
became the largest settlement in the state and today is one of the nation’s larger cities.
By secret treaty in 1802, Spain ceded the Louisiana Territory back to France. Napoleon
Bonaparte, anxious to rid himself of the vast and troublesome frontier, sold it to the
United States in 1803 for a total of $15,000,000. About this time President Jefferson
organized the Lewis and Clark Expedition which was the first extensive exploration of
the northwestern part of the new territory. The expedition left the St. Louis area in 1804.
Missouri was organized as a territory in 1812 and was admitted to the Union as the
24th state on August 10, 1821. Missouri was the second state (after Louisiana) of the
Louisiana Purchase to be admitted to the Union.
How Missouri Got
Its Name
When Father Jacques Marquette,
accompanying explorer Louis Joliet,
traveled down the Mississippi River in
1673, he wrote, “We descend following
the course of the river, toward another
called Pekitanoui, which empties into the
Mississippi, coming from the northwest.”
Although he called the river “Pekitanoui”
– a name apparently given to him by
the Sauk Indians – he noted on his map
that a large tribe of Indians called the
Missouri lived upstream. The name had
been given to them by their enemies,
the Fox tribe of Algonquins, and in the
Fox language means “people with big
canoes.”
The Missouris, a branch of the Sioux,
called the river Nishodse, which means
“muddy water.” This may explain the
wide-spread (but incorrect)
assumption that Missouri means muddy
water. Whatever its earlier names, the
mighty river which flowed into the
Mississippi eventually was identified with
the Indians who lived along its banks. It
became the Missouri River.
Later, when settlers came, the vast area
it drained (extending westward to the
Rocky Mountains) became known as
the Missouri Territory. In 1821, when the
new state was formed in this territory, it
adopted the name Missouri.
In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was passed whereby Missouri was to be admitted as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
Although admitted as a slave state, Missouri nevertheless remained with the Union throughout the Civil War. At the beginning of the
Civil War, most Missourians wanted only to preserve the peace. However, the state governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson, was strongly
pro southern and attempted to align Missouri with the Confederacy. He and most of the legislature were forced to flee to southern
Missouri where they actually passed an ordinance of secession. However, this government was no longer recognized by most
Missourians.
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How Missouri
Became the
“Show-Me State”
Missouri has had many nicknames through the years, but the one most widely known is
the “Show Me State.” No one knows exactly when or where the expression originated.
Much of the credit for popularizing the term, however, goes to Congressman Willard
Duncan Vandiver of Cape Girardeau County.
Vandiver – a scholar, writer and lecturer who served as a U.S. Representative from 1897
to 1905 – used the expression during an 1899 speech in Philadelphia. Vandiver bore a strong facial resemblance to another
famous Missourian, Mark Twain, and was noted as a colorful orator. Speaking to Philadelphia’s Five O’Clock Club, he questioned
the accuracy of an earlier speaker’s remarks, concluding with the phrase, “I’m from Missouri and you’ve got to show me.” The
expression soon caught the public fancy, portraying Missourians as tough-minded demanders of proof.
Some have suggested other origins for the phrase. About 1897, one version goes, hundreds of free railroad passes were issued
to people connected with the Missouri legislature. The conductor, when told that passengers on the train had passes, would insist,
“You’ve got to show me.”
Another version dates to 1898, shortly after the start of the Spanish-American War. About 60,000 soldiers were stationed in
Chickamauga Park in Tennessee. Gate guards were from St. Louis and soldiers were told that anyone claiming to have passes
to town would be stopped at the gates, for the guards were from Missouri and had to be shown. The “Show Me” expression also
appears in songs and poems published in the late 1890s.
The most important and bloodiest battle fought in Missouri was the Battle of Wilson’s Creek near Springfield. Other important battles
in Missouri were fought at Carthage, Lexington, Westport and Boonville – the first engagement within the state. Missouri contributed
109,000 men to the northern cause while sending at least 30,000 men into the Confederate ranks.
During World War I, Missouri provided 140,257 soldiers, one third being
volunteers. Missouri contributed such notable leaders as Gen. John J.
Pershing of Laclede, commander of the
American Expeditionary Forces in
Europe, and Provost Marshall Enoch H.
Crowder of Grundy County who drew
up the Selective Service Act.
The Battle of W
ilson’s Creek
During World War II, Missouri contributed a total of over 450,000 men and
women to the various armed forces.
Eighty nine top officers were from Missouri including Gen. Omar N. Bradley of
Clark and Moberly and Lt. Gen. James H.
Doolittle of St. Louis.
The nation’s leader during the last year of the war was Lamar-born Harry S.
Truman, first Missourian to become President of the United States. After
assuming office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, President Truman
was re-elected to a full four year term. His was the fateful decision to use the atom
bomb and hasten the Japanese surrender consummated on the deck of the
battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
Missourians later served in the Korean and Vietnam wars and Dr. Thomas A. Dooley
and Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor emerged as noted figures. Like the rest of the country,
Missouri has moved into the 21st century with modernized technology, nuclear
energy, transportation, education; progress in civil rights and women’s rights; and
shifts in the economy and business outlook.
General Information
Entered the Union: August 10, 1821 (24th state).
Capitol: Jefferson City.
Present Constitution adopted: 1945.
Motto: “Salus populi suprema lex esto” which is Latin for “The welfare of the
people shall be the supreme law.”
Nickname: The Show Me State.
Origin of state name: “Missouri” is most likely a French rendition of the
Algonquian word meaning “town of large canoes.”
Land area in square miles (national rank): 68,741.52 (18).
Number of counties: 114 with one independent city (St. Louis).
Harry Truman
National Historic
Site
CONTACTS
Stephen Foutes
[email protected]
573.751.3280
Missouri Division of Tourism
301 W. High Street, Room 290
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Lori Simms
[email protected]
573.526.8027
Missouri Division of Tourism
301 W. High Street, Room 290
Jefferson City, MO 65102