OK, let's unpack this. We are embarking on a
deep dive into a state that has arguably the
strongest, most defined, unofficial brand identity
in the nation. I mean, it's right there, proudly
displayed on its license plate. That's right.
We are diving deep into Missouri, the show me
state. And this famous motto, this expression
of, you know, non -credulous, wary skepticism,
it's iconic. But what's so fascinating is that
the sources point to not one, but two. distinct
and honestly equally compelling origins for the
phrase. I find that duality so reflective of
the state itself, the whole idea that I'm from
Missouri, you have gotten to show me. It just
captures this essence of demanding proof, right?
Refusing to be swayed by just words. Right. So
the first origin, and this is certainly the one
you hear cited most often in political lore,
it dates back to a speech. It was given by Congressman
Willard Van Dyver in Philadelphia back in 1899.
He was speaking to a Naval Affairs Committee
and he was getting frustrated with all the smooth
talk and big promises. So he expressed his profound
skepticism by stating quite memorably, I'm from
Missouri and you have got to show me. And just
like that, it became this defining statement.
Skepticism toward authority, intellectual independence,
all of it. Exactly. It immediately connects the
state's identity to a sort of political wariness.
But the second origin story is completely separate.
It gives the phrase this gritty blue collar foundation.
It's rooted in labor and, well, learning a new
skill. Oh, this is the one about the miners.
Precisely. This involves Missouri miners who
were sent west to Leadville, Colorado. They were
there to replace striking workers in the hard
rock mines. The thing is, the techniques used
in Leadville, you know, handling hard gold and
silver or operating specific machinery, it was
all completely foreign to the Missouri men. They
were used to soft ore lead mining. So they needed
constant on -the -job training, step -by -step.
They did. And the Colorado pit bosses? They got
frustrated. They were constantly having to stop
and walk the new crew through every single step.
So they reportedly started muttering, that man
is from Missouri. You'll have to show him. So
it started as almost an insult, a term of frustration.
It did. It was a slight, implying a lack of skill.
But it was quickly adopted back home as a sign
of practicality. Yeah. You know, the refusal
to pretend you know something when you don't.
It became a virtue. Yeah. Demanding proof, demanding
to be taught correctly. So whether it's political
skepticism against frothy eloquence or vocational
necessity demanding practical instruction, the
core idea is the same. Insist on proof. Show
me. Our mission today is to really get to the
bottom of this crossroads state, a place that
somehow blends elements of the Midwestern heartland
with these deep traditions of the upland South.
It really is a blend. We're going to explore
its complex history, its surprising geography
as the cave state, its unique economic structure,
and its wildly contrasting cultural policies.
Okay, so to set the stage, let's get the quick
facts out of the way. Geographically, Missouri
is significant. Very. It ranks 21st in land area,
but its location is critical. It borders eight
different states. Eight. A figure that's only
equaled by Tennessee. Its capital is Jefferson
City, but the real economic and cultural power
that's concentrated in St. Louis, Kansas City,
Springfield, and Columbia. And before we move
on, we have to talk about the name itself, Missouri.
It's a true linguistic marker of its internal
identity. The name is derived from the indigenous
Missouri. which was a Siouan language tribe.
Their name translates to something like people
of the wooded canoes. And then French colonists
later adapted that name from an Illinois language
term, Wimizarita, meaning one who has dug out
canoes. A wonderful recognition of life on the
rivers, but the pronunciation. That's where the
division begins. You hear the traditional Midwestern
Mizuari. And then you hear the more southern
inflected Mizuari. It sounds like a minor thing,
but it's a political minefield. It really is.
And the sources highlight how deep this goes.
It's not like some other states where there's
a clear right or wrong. No one can definitively
say one is purely native or purely outsider or
rural versus urban. The division is historical
and it's regional. And the politicians exploit
this. It's incredible. They use what our sources
call the linguistic hedge. Sometimes they'll
consciously use both pronunciations in a single
speech, pivoting from Missouri to Missouri to
try and signal authenticity to this broader,
culturally segmented electorate. It's the ultimate
reflection of the state's internal duality right
there in how they say the name. Yeah. OK, let's
start with a deep history and we need to go back
much, much further than the French. Our sources
confirm continuous human habitation in this region
for at least 12 ,000 years. Right, and that's
all backed up by extensive archaeological digs
along the major river valleys. That antiquity
provides the foundation. But the most dramatic
ancient chapter, that belongs to the Mississippian
culture. This was a highly sophisticated pre
-Columbian civilization that emerged before 1000
CE. This was not a primitive society. They developed
these centralized political and religious centers.
The most famous example, of course, is just across
the Mississippi River at Cahokia in what's now
Illinois. But St. Louis itself was a major satellite
center. This is the era of the massive earthwork
mounds. Platform mounds for temples or the chief's
residence. Ridgetop mounds. Conical burial shapes.
I mean, they were constructed for religious,
political... And Cahokia was, for a time, the
largest city in North America north of Mexico.
Its influence was immense. It became the central
hub of this vast, complex regional trading network
that ran from the Great Lakes all the way down
to the Gulf of Mexico. This sophisticated civilization
managed trade, agriculture, political administration.
It was on an impressive scale. And the tragic
fact is that St. Louis was once actually named
Mound City by European Americans just because
of the sheer number of surviving prehistoric
mounds. It's heartbreaking. As St. Louis industrialized
and expanded through the 19th century, nearly
all of these irreplaceable historical landmarks
were just destroyed, leveled to make way for
urban development. A powerful illustration of
cultural erasure. And the Mississippian civilization
itself was already in decline by 1400 CE. Most
of its descendants had dispersed or migrated
before the Europeans even arrived. The French
were the first Europeans to claim the area. They
named the entire massive region... Louisiana.
And they established settlements in what they
called the Illinois country on both sides of
the Mississippi. And the first permanent European
settlement in what is now Missouri wasn't St.
Louis. It was St. Genevieve, founded around 1750.
These are French Canadians, often called Creoles.
And they were migrating west across the river
because the intensive commercial agriculture
they practiced on the East Bank had just exhausted
the soil there. And this early economy was heavily,
heavily reliant on forced labor. Slavery was
central to the fur trade and to commercial agriculture.
And it involved both enslaved Africans and Native
Americans. St. Genevieve's role was absolutely
critical to the larger French colony. They became
a major agricultural supplier. They shipped surplus
wheat, corn, tobacco, all of it, downriver to
feed the population of lower Louisiana and New
Orleans. It was the breadbasket of the colony.
St. Louis was founded a bit later, 1764, by French
fur traders, Gilbert -Antoine de Saint -Maxence,
Pierre Lecled, and... And St. Louis quickly eclipsed
St. Genevieve. Its location was just superior,
right there near the confluence of the Missouri
and Mississippi rivers. It became the undisputed
central hub of the vast regional fur trade, with
trappers pushing deep into the Louisiana Purchase
Territory. And all that business volume made
St. Louis an early financial center for the developing
West. And the city's future as this global financial
and trade center was basically cemented after
the invention of the steamboat in the early 1800s.
That just drastically increased river commerce.
But before the U .S. took over, there was that
brief interlude of Spanish rule. A fascinating
period. From 1764 to 1803, the land west of the
Mississippi was controlled by Spain. It was part
of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was. And
while the territory was nominally Spanish, the
economy, the culture, the language, it all remained
largely French Creole. Spanish rule mostly just
meant new administrative and land grant regulations.
The French financial interests, they continued
to dominate. And then the region becomes part
of the U .S. with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.
And that is when the area truly earns its most
famous historical nickname, the Gateway to the
West. And that gateway, it wasn't just figurative.
It was the literal staging ground for the most
important American exploration mission. St. Charles.
just upriver from St. Louis, was both the starting
and return point for the Lewis and Clark expedition
in 1804. And for the next four decades, St. Louis
served as the irreplaceable major supply point
for waves of American settlers heading west.
Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, California Trail,
the entire logistics chain for Manifest Destiny
basically began right there. But as the population
boomed, the push for statehood brought immediate
acute conflict, and it revolved entirely around
slavery. When Missouri was admitted as the 24th
state on August 10th, 1821, it was the result
of a political bombshell, the Missouri Compromise.
It was admitted as a slave state, balanced by
Maine being admitted as a free state. And the
nature of the early settlement really explains
this tension. Most American migrants came from
the upland South Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia,
and they brought enslaved people with them. They
settled predominantly in this flat, fertile stretch
of 17 counties along the Missouri River. which
became known as Little Dixie. Right. And that
was a region highly conducive to plantation agriculture.
It was culturally, economically, and politically
Southern. That initial concentration of Southern
culture and economics set the enduring internal
fault lines. We should also note the sheer scale
of the state back then. It was initially the
largest state in the Union until the boundaries
were formalized. And the boundaries were adjusted
later. Right. They were, most notably with the
Platte Purchase in 1836. That added six counties
to the northwest corner by making the Missouri
River the boundary north of the Kansas River,
a crucial addition of fertile land. And speaking
of early instability, we can't skip the massive
foundational trauma of the 1811 -1812 New Madrid
earthquakes. These were among the largest earthquakes
ever recorded in North America. I mean, they
created this profound, lasting impact on the
land and the consciousness of the population.
Contemporary reports say the shocks caused church
bells to ring as far away as Boston. And it caused
the Mississippi River to flow backward? I mean,
can you even imagine that? Briefly, yes. Yeah.
The quakes permanently reshaped the topography,
creating new lakes and these vast, swampy areas
in the Bootheel region. There was also that short,
strange border dispute with Iowa, the Honeylands
conflict. It sounds comical now, doesn't it?
But it was a serious territorial disagreement
over a vaguely defined boundary line. It flared
up when a Missouri sheriff crossed the line to
collect taxes. And the area was nicknamed the
Honeylands because of the abundance of wild honey.
Exactly. Troops were mobilized on both sides.
The only casualty was supposedly a pig. But the
border issue had to be settled later by the Supreme
Court. It just shows how territorial and sensitive
the state was during its formation. So the decades
leading up to the Civil War saw the population
nearly double every 10 years. between the 1830s
and the 1860s. And that brought those cultural
tensions to a boil. The Mormon War of 1838 is
a key internal conflict here. Mormon migrants
seeking religious freedom settled in the northern
parts of the state. They were primarily from
northern and Midwestern states and were often
anti -slavery. Which immediately put them at
odds with the old settlers who were largely from
the south and intensely pro -slavery. The conflict
quickly escalated over land, religion. politics,
and it resulted in violence. By 1839, it had
grown so severe that Governor Lilburn Boggs issued
the infamous Extermination Order. Extermination
Order. It formally authorized the militia to
treat Mormons as enemies and force their removal
from the state. It stands as one of the darkest
chapters in Missouri history. And this cultural
tension was just compounded by massive European
immigration, especially the Germans who started
arriving in the late 1840s and 50s. These German
immigrants were often educated, middle class,
and strongly anti -slavery. They established
highly successful communities, particularly the
wine industry along the Missouri Rhineland. That's
a region along the Missouri River west of St.
Louis. They also founded the major breweries
that would make St. Louis world famous. most
notably Anheuser -Busch. Their political leanings
were largely with the Republican Unionist cause.
But the sources also point to a competing immigrant
group, the Irish. Yes. Many Irish immigrants
concentrated in the cities and competing for
low -skilled labor jobs were often strongly pro
-slavery. Their reasoning was purely economic.
They were terrified that if enslaved African
-Americans were emancipated, they would flood
the labor market and drastically drive down wages
for all unskilled workers. So you have this incredibly
complex, culturally polarized environment, fault
lines running through natives and immigrants,
rural and urban, north and south. It was a powder
keg. And that polarization made Missouri's role
in the Civil War absolutely devastating. As a
border state, it never formally seceded, but
its division was immediate and violent. A special
state convention voted against secession, but
this support for the union was... deeply qualified.
It was conditional. The crisis kicked off almost
immediately after Fort Sumter with the Camp Jackson
affair in St. Louis in May 1861. This event is
so critical because it just crystallized that
internal division. The pro -Southern governor,
Claiborne F. Jackson, had secretly mobilized
the state militia at Camp Jackson. He'd reportedly
requested heavy arms from the Confederacy to
secure the St. Louis arsenal. And Union General
Nathaniel Lyon, supported heavily by the German
immigrant militias who were intensely unionist,
he acted preemptively. Lyon surrounded the camp
and forced the state militia to surrender. But
here's where the tactical blunder happens, and
the tragedy. Lyon marched the captured militia,
who were primarily local citizens, through the
streets of St. Louis, guarded by his largely
German -speaking troops. The citizens, many of
whom were pro -secession, they saw this as a
deliberate provocation. An occupation. Violence
erupted, escalating into a fatal riot that killed
dozens of civilians and Union soldiers. The Camp
Jackson affair instantly turned St. Louis into
a war zone and cemented the state's internal
schism. And this event immediately leads to rival
governments. Governor Jackson, after being chased
from Jefferson City, calls this a session session
in Neosho. which was then recognized by the Confederacy.
At the same time, the remaining state convention,
which favored the Union, declared the offices
vacant. and installed Hamilton Gamble as the
new pro -union governor. And he was immediately
recognized by President Lincoln. So you have
a state with two capitals and two governments,
one union, one Confederate. Exactly. And once
regular Confederate forces retreated after early
battles like Wilson's Creek, the conflict just
devolved. It became years of vicious, unregulated
guerrilla warfare, a style of fighting that was
really unique to the Missouri -Kansas borderlands.
A brutal conflict characterized by the Bushwhackers,
these citizen soldiers or insurgents like Captain
William Quantrill, Frank and Jesse James, the
younger brothers. And they pioneered devastating
small unit tactics. They used speed and local
knowledge to launch these terrifying raids and
ambushes against Union garrisons and civilians.
And the myth making started right away. The James
brothers, who began their careers as Confederate
guerrillas, later leveraged this history when
they became bank and train riders. robbers, these
stories were heavily romanticized into the enduring
American Robin Hood myth, a narrative of anti
-authority resistance that still resonates today.
Moving beyond the war, Missouri went through
this massive, profound identity transformation.
It transitioned from its foundation as a rural
southern slave state into a hybrid industrial
service and agricultural Midwestern state. And
the primary catalyst for that shift was infrastructure.
The rapid expansion of railroads after the war
just fundamentally reoriented the state's economy.
It transformed Kansas City into this colossal
transportation and commercial hub. And that expansion
attracted a massive new wave of Midwestern. migrants
from Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, who eventually outnumbered
the state's original southern descended population.
The state's center of gravity shifted definitively
westward and northward. The rail infrastructure,
specifically the development of the refrigerated
boxcar, that's what fueled the explosion of Kansas
City's meatpacking boom. Well, the sources reveal
this logistical marvel. The Texas cattle drives,
which previously ended in Kansas cow towns, they
shifted their focus. They started shipping their
herds by rail directly to Kansas City. So KC
becomes a massive processing center. It becomes
the link between the western ranching economy
and the dense consumer markets of the east. This
industrial powerhouse status led to KC's prominence
in the first half of the 20th century. And the
result was an architectural boom. Downtown Kansas
City became famous for its stylish Art Deco skyscrapers,
reflecting its stature as a major American industrial
city. And this era also saw profound political
shifts during the Progressive Era, roughly 1890s
through the 1920s. This is an attempt to modernize
and clean up the politics and industries of the
state. You're thinking of Governor Joseph Holy
Joe Folk, who championed the Missouri idea. That's
it. This was the notion that public morality
could be achieved through popular control and
strict law enforcement against corrupt politicians
and businesses. And Folk was incredibly successful.
Progressive legislation was passed that established
mechanisms for direct democracy, the initiative
and referendum provision, alongside new regulations
for child labor, food safety, business practices
and utilities. It was a serious, sustained effort
to move away from the post -Civil War corruption
and establish modern governance. But, you know,
mirroring the fate of many older industrial centers.
the mid -1950s and 60s brought significant economic
pain. Deindustrialization. St. Louis and Kansas
City suffered massive deindustrialization, compounded
by the loss of rail and manufacturing jobs. This
hit the core cities hard. At the same time, Highway
Construction St. Charles actually claims the
distinction of hosting the first interstate project
in 1956 that just accelerated suburban flight.
And those core cities went through decades of
painful contraction. But the sources show a promising
21st century rebirth driven by targeted investment.
Absolutely. Both metro areas have seen intensive
downtown redevelopment. You've got Kansas City's
Power and Light District, St. Louis' Ballpark
Village, massive renovation projects breathing
new life into historical buildings. Casey's new
residential towers, like the three light apartments,
signal new urban living, and St. Louis' new MLS
expansion team, St. Louis City SC, has driven
significant adjacent development. And a major
institutional anchor was secured for Kansas City's
modern economy, the relocation of federal agencies.
This was a huge move. The U .S. Department of
Agriculture decided to move the Economic Research
Service, or ERS, and the National Institute of
Food and Agriculture, NIFA, to downtown Kansas
City. And that provides hundreds of high wage,
stable federal jobs and cements the city's role
as a key agricultural policy center, a massive
economic anchor in the core city. The state's
cultural complexity is clear, but let's look
at the bedrock that supports all of this. the
physical landscape, and the core economy it enables.
Missouri is defined by its two colossal rivers,
the Mississippi to the east and the Missouri
River, which snakes from west to east, acting
as this natural corridor connecting Kansas City
and St. Louis. And the topography creates a striking
geographic divide. North of the Missouri River,
you have the northern plains rolling hills, sculpted
by ancient glaciation, creating these rich, deep
soils, perfect for large -scale row crop farming.
But south of the river, the landscape changes
dramatically. That's the Ozark Mountains region.
The Ozarks are fascinating. They aren't true
mountains, but rather an incredibly ancient,
uplifted plateau. It's a massive, deeply eroded
tableland, and it surrounds the even older, pre
-Cambrian, igneous St. Francois Mountains. The
terrain is rugged, heavily wooded, and defined
by a very specific geological feature. Karst
topography. And that leads directly to the cave
state nickname. Karst means the underlying bedrock
has a high limestone content. It's easily dissolved
by slightly acidic groundwater, which leads to
sinkholes and, critically, caves. And we're not
talking about just a handful of caves. Missouri
has over 7 ,300 recorded caves. 7 ,300. It places
it second only to Tennessee nationally. This
network of subterranean spaces is immense. It
attracts cavers, biologists, tourists. Perry
County in the southeastern Ozarks has the highest
concentration and the state's single longest
map cave system. Places like the Marama Caverns
are world -famous tourist attractions. And then
you have the completely anomalous geographical
outlier, which looks like it belongs in Arkansas
or Louisiana, the boot heel. The boot heel. in
the southeastern corner, is a remnant of that
dramatic seismic activity from the New Madrid
quakes. It's the lowest, flattest, warmest, and
wettest part of the state, benefiting from rich
alluvial soil. And that climate makes it suitable
for commercial crops you usually associate with
the Deep South. Precisely. It's ideal for growing
cotton and rice, illustrating how Missouri's
climate diversity allows it to bridge Deep South
agriculture with Midwestern corn and soy. That
interior location, far from oceans or high mountain
ranges, also subjects Missouri to some pretty
extreme weather events. The climate is generally
humid continental, so you get cool or cold winters
and hot, humid, very wet summers. Only the boot
heel dips into a true humid subtropical classification.
And because the state is located where cold Arctic
air masses frequently collide with warm, moist
air streaming up from the Gulf of Mexico, the
temperature swings are wild and the potential
for severe weather is immense. And being firmly
in Tornado Alley, the history of catastrophic
tornadoes in Missouri is significant. The sources
defiled two particularly devastating examples.
More recently, the May 22, 2011 EF5 tornado that
destroyed Joplin was one of the deadliest in
U .S. history. It killed 158 people and caused
up to $3 billion in damages. But going back,
the 1896 St. Louis tornado was a catastrophe
on an entirely different scale. That storm was
one of the worst in American history. It killed
at least 255 people and caused massive destruction
that, if you adjust for inflation, would equate
to over $5 .7 billion in today's dollars. The
severity of these storms just underscores the
vulnerability inherent in the state's mid -continent
location. Moving to the economic engine, Missouri
is without a doubt an agricultural powerhouse.
The output is incredible. Beef, soybeans, pork,
corn, hay, poultry, cotton, rice, and eggs. It
demonstrates how Missouri manages to encompass
multiple agricultural profiles, and the sheer
scale is notable. Missouri ranks second only
to Texas in the number of farms, with 108 ,000.
It also ranks nationally in the top five for
soybeans, seventh for cattle, sixth for hogs,
and fourth for rice production, thanks largely
to the boot heel. But the earth gives up mineral
wealth, too. Missouri is a major mining state.
It's defined by its resources. The state extracts
vast quantities of limestone, and significantly,
it ranks first among all states in lead production,
with most of those mines concentrated in the
old lead belt area of the eastern Ozarks. It's
also a leading producer of lime, which is a key
raw material for Portland cement. Energy -wise,
coal is still dominant, but there are other players.
Coal generated about 82 % of the state's electricity
as recently as 2011, though that percentage has
started to decrease. The state also operates
the Callaway nuclear plant, which supplies about
10 % of the state's power. And while it's still
small, the capacity for wind and solar is growing,
with about 141 megawatts of solar installed as
of 2016. Okay, here's a detail that just reveals
how fundamentally central Missouri has been to
the national economy. The Federal Reserve anomaly.
This is a truly unique historical finding. Missouri
is the only state in the union to host two main
Federal Reserve banks. one in St. Louis and one
in Kansas City. That's such a powerful confirmation
of its location spanning the western and eastern
economic regions. But why? Why did the original
Federal Reserve architects in 1914 decide they
needed two separate hubs in one state? The rationale
lies right in that historical duality we've been
talking about. By 1914, St. Louis was the established
financial center for the grain trade and the
entire Mississippi River corridor. It served
states like Arkansas, parts of Illinois and Kentucky.
It managed the older industrial economy. And
Kansas City. Kansas City had become the absolute
undisputed center for the rapidly expanding Western
economy cattle, meatpacking, and the vast agricultural
production of the Great Plains, states like Wyoming,
Colorado, and Oklahoma. The financial architects
recognized that one bank could not adequately
oversee the monetary policy and banking needs
of two such diverse and sprawling economic empires.
This duality truly cements Missouri's historical
role as the nation's central economic pivot point.
And to wrap up economics, we have to mention
the major corporations historically based there.
Absolutely. The St. Louis area was the longtime
headquarters of the historical agricultural biotech
giant Monsanto, which was a massive employer
and research center until its acquisition by
Bayer AG in 2018. Let's turn to the cultural
footprint of Missouri. It is surprisingly significant
and incredibly broad, particularly in music and
literature, bridging that divide between the
South and the Midwest. The state is nothing less
than the birthplace of foundational American
musical genres. We are talking about the distinct,
syncopated melodies of ragtime, the improvisational
complexity of Kansas City jazz, and the raw emotional
power of the St. Louis blues. I mean, think of
the giants connected to St. Louis, the rock and
roll pioneer Chuck Berry. The queen of rock.
Tina Turner. The legendary performer Josephine
Baker, Sheryl Crow, and modern hip -hop producers
like Metro Boomin and the rapper Nelly. And in
ragtime, you can't forget Scott Joplin. He spent
crucial years living and composing in Sedalia
and St. Louis. And in jazz, Kansas City claims
the great Charlie Parker, whose bebop innovations
fundamentally reshaped 20th century music. And
it's not just popular music. The St. Louis Symphony
Orchestra is the nation's second oldest. That
speaks to a deep, longstanding commitment to
classical arts. And of course, the Ozarks region
hosts Branson, which has become internationally
noted for its sheer concentration of music theaters.
The literary contributions are just as profound.
Mark Twain, arguably the most important American
writer, was a native of Hannibal, Missouri. The
Mississippi River setting of his state is immortalized
in classics like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
and Huckleberry Finn. And St. Louis claims three
other monumental figures. the groundbreaking
regionalist author Kate Chopin, the Nobel laureate
poet T .S. Eliot, and the Pulitzer Prize -winning
playwright Tennessee Williams. That is a truly
formidable literary concentration for a single
city. Shifting to sports, Missouri's heritage
is rich, dating back to hosting the 1904 Summer
Olympics in St. Louis. And today, the Major League
presence is strong. You've got the Cardinals
and the Royals and MLB, the Chiefs in the NFL
who have become a modern dynasty, the Blues in
the NHL, and the newest addition, St. Louis City
SC and MLS. But the emotional core of Missouri
sports for generations, it revolved around a
rivalry rooted in Civil War blood, the border
war between the University of Missouri -Mizzou
and the University of Kansas. That was the oldest
college rivalry west of the Mississippi, directly
rooted in the political violence and guerrilla
raids of the Civil War era. The intensity was
legendary. It really diminished significantly
after Mizzou moved to the Southeastern Conference,
the SEC, in 2012. But the historical weight of
that conflict is palpable even today. In terms
of heritage preservation, a unique and beautiful
site is the St. Genevieve National Historical
Park, which protects Missouri's oldest permanent
European settlement. This park is invaluable
because it preserves these rare examples of French
colonial architecture, particularly the Poteau
-en -Terre post and ground construction style.
It's an isolated, beautifully maintained remnant
of that deep French pioneer history that preceded
the American settlement and all the conflicts
that followed. From these historical markers
and the border war, we see a deep attachment
to local and individual identity. Now, let's
look at how that individualism translates into
the policy realm, because this links directly
back to that show me state skepticism. Missouri
has a distinctly hands off approach to regulation.
This is where that. stalwart, conservative, non
-credulous attitude really manifests in law.
It creates a genuinely laissez -faire regulatory
climate, particularly regarding personal vices
like alcohol and tobacco. For instance, in 2013,
the Mercatus Center ranked Missouri third in
the nation for alcohol freedom and, astonishingly,
first for tobacco freedom. First in the nation,
the alcohol laws are remarkably permissive, and
they reveal this deep -seated philosophical stance
against government interference and adult personal
choice. Missouri has a history of rejecting intervention.
It never enacted statewide prohibition. It has
no blue laws regulating Sunday sales. It has
low taxes on alcohol and broad retail access.
You can buy it virtually everywhere, including
drugstores and gas stations. But the most surprising
aspects relate to public behavior. Well, state
law protects persons from arrest or criminal
penalty, specifically for public intoxication.
It's treated as a non -criminal public health
matter. Furthermore, state law contains an explicit
exception allowing parents and guardians to serve
alcohol to their own children. Wow, that's a
profound reflection of a libertarian viewpoint
prioritizing the family unit and individual responsibility
over state control. And the tobacco laws follow
the exact same permissive pattern. It shows a
consistency in their regulatory philosophy. This
is where that skepticism translates into economics.
For years, Missouri has held the lowest cigarette
excise tax in the entire United States. a mere
17 cents per pack. Which is incredibly low compared
to its neighbors. And the sources show that voters
have repeatedly and decisively rejected efforts
to raise that tax, even when the revenue was
earmarked for specific public works. This rejection
is key. The skepticism here isn't just about
politicians. It's about the state distrusting
government control, even when linked to public
revenue. Their continuous low tobacco tax today
and the rejection of statewide prohibition a
century ago are two sides of the same skeptical
coin. The refusal to let the government dictate
personal adult consumption or extract funds through
punitive taxation. And that non -regulatory philosophy
extends right into employment law. Yes, state
law explicitly prohibits employers from disadvantaging
a person for the lawful use of alcohol or tobacco
outside of work hours. It protects off -duty
personal choices from employer scrutiny. Finally,
on cannabis laws, Missouri has shown some movement
away from total restriction. It proves that the
skeptical attitude can be directed toward challenging
older laws, too. Partial decriminalization happened
in 2014. making first -time possession of up
to 10 grams punishable by a fine rather than
jail time. And then in 2018, voters went much
further. They approved a constitutional amendment
to legalize medical marijuana with a substantial
66 % voter approval, establishing a licensing
and taxing system. This blend of extreme conservatism
on vice taxation alongside voter -driven moves
toward medical cannabis perfectly illustrates
the complexity of the show -me -states character.
Moving into the modern era. Let's look at the
demographics and the political landscape. And
this reveals deep, persistent geographic divisions.
Missouri's population is now over 6 .2 million,
making it the 19th most populous state. And over
half of those people live in either St. Louis
or the Kansas City metropolitan areas. That urbanization
is a key demographic factor. And here's a fun
geographic fact that just reinforces its historical
centrality. The population center of the entire
United States has been in Missouri since 1980.
The 2010 census located it near Springfield in
Texas County. Ethnically, German -Americans remain
a deeply widespread ancestry group, reflecting
those massive 19th century migrations. However,
modern diversity is heavily concentrated in the
urban areas and the southeastern boot heel. African
-Americans are a substantial population in St.
Louis and Kansas City, reflecting the historical
settlement patterns of the Civil War era and
also in the Bootheel region. And the state has
seen significant recent immigration, which is.
diversifying the cities. Kansas City has growing
communities of Latin Americans, particularly
from Mexico and Colombia, and immigrants from
Africa, like Sudan and Nigeria. And St. Louis
is notable for hosting one of the largest Bosnian
American communities in the world, largely settled
after the conflicts in the Balkans. And we have
to mention the endangered dialect that is a direct
link back to its French foundation, Missouri
French. This is a distinct dialect spoken by
Creole descendants of those original French pioneers,
particularly around St. Genevieve. It developed
in complete isolation from both Canadian and
Louisiana French varieties. Sadly, our sources
indicate it is now nearly extinct, with only
a few elderly speakers remaining. It's a critical,
fading piece of American linguistic history.
The religious landscape remains overwhelmingly
Christian. About 80 % of Missourians identify
with a religion and 77 % affiliate with Christianity.
The largest denominations are the Southern Baptist
Convention, the Roman Catholic Church, and the
United Methodist Church. But what stands out
is the state status as a denominational center.
That speaks to its longstanding importance in
American Protestantism. Multiple major national
and international headquarters are based here.
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is headquartered
in Kirkwood. The United Pentecostal Church International
is in Hazelwood. And the Assemblies of God USA
and Baptist Bible Fellowship International are
both based in Springfield. Springfield, in the
southwestern part of the state, is often referred
to as a key buckle of the Bible Belt due to its
density of denominational leadership in colleges.
And we also have to mention independence. near
Kansas City, which holds immense historical and
spiritual significance for several Latter -day
Saint branches. It serves as the headquarters
for the Community of Christ and the Church of
Christ, Temple Lot. Shifting now to politics,
Missouri used to have this enviable, almost perfect
reputation as the ultimate political bellwether.
It was famous for this status. It voted for the
winning presidential candidate from 1904 all
the way to 2004, with only one single exception
in 1956. This incredible track record made it
the quintessential swing state, a genuine microcosm
of the national political climate. If you won
Missouri, you were virtually guaranteed the presidency.
But the sources reveal that this status has collapsed
completely and dramatically. Since 2000, Missouri
has voted exclusively Republican for president.
They even voted against Barack Obama, a candidate
from neighboring Illinois, twice. This dramatic
shift highlights a profound national realignment
where the old complex center that Missouri represented
has fractured into a deeply polarized political
landscape. And the political shift hasn't been
narrow or competitive. The margins of victory
for Republicans have become substantial 15 percent
or more in recent elections. And that translates
down the ballot entirely. As of early 2023, no
Democrats hold any statewide elected position.
The former bellwether, the state that once perfectly
mirrored the nation, has become a reliably red
state, defined by this deep urban -rural divide.
Highly Democratic in the core cities, and overwhelmingly
Republican in the vast expanse of the state between
them. Finally, we have to confront the modern
challenges and social tensions that have brought
Missouri national attention, specifically the
tragic events and unrest that occurred in Ferguson
in 2014. The protests and riots, followed the
shooting of Michael Brown. And the subsequent
investigations conducted by the U .S. Department
of Justice, the DOJ, produced complex, often
contrasting findings, which the sources highlight
as central to the ongoing national conversation
about race and justice. The sources outlined
two distinct investigations. In the specific
criminal review of the incident, the DOJ concluded
that the police officer legitimately feared for
his safety. That was a critical finding in the
criminal aspect of the case. However, in a completely
separate and much broader pattern or practice
investigation, the DOJ found severe systemic
issues within the Ferguson Police Department
and the city of Ferguson. This investigation
determined that the city was relying on unconstitutional
practices, specifically the issuance of excessive
fines and disproportionate targeting of Black
citizens, as a deliberate institutionalized method
to balance the municipal budget. So the DOJ found
that the policing and judicial apparatus were
essentially operating as a revenue -generating
tool, and that created this pervasive environment
of systemic discrimination and mistrust. And
this deep -seated discrimination led to the highly
unusual and unprecedented step of the NAACP issuing
a statewide travel advisory in 2017. It was the
first ever covering an entire state, and it cited
pervasive racial discrimination in Missouri.
And this advisory was supported by hard data.
A 2018 Attorney General report found that African
Americans were a striking 85 percent more likely
to be pulled over during traffic stops in 2017
compared to white drivers. These issues highlight
profound, continuing racial disparities and trust
deficits that remain central to the state's modern
political and social identity. And it demonstrates
that the legacies of the Civil War era, the tension
between Southern and Northern influence, the
urban -rural divide, issues of equity, are far
from settled. So what does this all mean? Our
deep dive into Missouri reveals a state truly
defined by confluence and by internal tension.
It's where the two massive rivers, the Mississippi
and the Missouri, meet. Historically, it's where
ancient Mississippian culture clashed with European
traders, where Southern tradition met Northern
migration, and where the devastating nature of
the border conflict left a permanent, defining
mark. And economically, its centrality is undeniable.
I mean, demonstrated by being the only state
with two Federal Reserve Banks requiring financial
eyes on both the Western cattle economy and the
eater industrial and grain economy. Yet this
deep -seated status contrasts sharply with its
famously skeptical, anti -regulatory, laissez
-faire approach to lawmaking regarding everything
from alcohol taxation to tobacco control. It's
a state that trusts its people to choose, often
resulting in some of the most permissive laws
in the nation. This complexity, this constant
duality, that defines the show -me state. But
let's leave you with one final thought to mull
over, connecting the state's foundational philosophy
to its ongoing challenges. The official state
motto is, Salis Populi Suprema Lex Esto, which
is Latin for, let the welfare of the people be
the supreme law. Considering Missouri's intense
history with internal conflict, the legacy of
the Civil War, and the profound disparity found
in modern policing and traffic stops, What does
this foundational legal principle truly mean
in practice today? What is the supreme law when
the welfare of the people is experienced so dramatically
and tragically, differently, across demographic
and geographic lines? We encourage you to explore
the state further, perhaps beginning with the
story of St. Genevieve National Historical Park
and the surviving influence of its rare French
colonial heritage, a tangible reminder of the
state's earliest, less conflicted origins. Until
next time, keep digging.