WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.060 OK, let's unpack this. We are embarking on a 00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:06.599 deep dive into a state that has arguably the 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:09.880 strongest, most defined, unofficial brand identity 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:12.439 in the nation. I mean, it's right there, proudly 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:14.339 displayed on its license plate. That's right. 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:16.620 We are diving deep into Missouri, the show me 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:19.739 state. And this famous motto, this expression 00:00:19.739 --> 00:00:22.280 of, you know, non -credulous, wary skepticism, 00:00:22.339 --> 00:00:24.660 it's iconic. But what's so fascinating is that 00:00:24.660 --> 00:00:28.280 the sources point to not one, but two. distinct 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:30.899 and honestly equally compelling origins for the 00:00:30.899 --> 00:00:33.619 phrase. I find that duality so reflective of 00:00:33.619 --> 00:00:35.939 the state itself, the whole idea that I'm from 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:38.079 Missouri, you have gotten to show me. It just 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:40.460 captures this essence of demanding proof, right? 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:44.039 Refusing to be swayed by just words. Right. So 00:00:44.039 --> 00:00:45.820 the first origin, and this is certainly the one 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:48.100 you hear cited most often in political lore, 00:00:48.219 --> 00:00:51.350 it dates back to a speech. It was given by Congressman 00:00:51.350 --> 00:00:53.890 Willard Van Dyver in Philadelphia back in 1899. 00:00:54.250 --> 00:00:56.030 He was speaking to a Naval Affairs Committee 00:00:56.030 --> 00:00:58.530 and he was getting frustrated with all the smooth 00:00:58.530 --> 00:01:01.329 talk and big promises. So he expressed his profound 00:01:01.329 --> 00:01:04.909 skepticism by stating quite memorably, I'm from 00:01:04.909 --> 00:01:07.269 Missouri and you have got to show me. And just 00:01:07.269 --> 00:01:09.290 like that, it became this defining statement. 00:01:10.189 --> 00:01:12.709 Skepticism toward authority, intellectual independence, 00:01:13.109 --> 00:01:16.400 all of it. Exactly. It immediately connects the 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:19.140 state's identity to a sort of political wariness. 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:23.819 But the second origin story is completely separate. 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:27.219 It gives the phrase this gritty blue collar foundation. 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:30.560 It's rooted in labor and, well, learning a new 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:32.280 skill. Oh, this is the one about the miners. 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:35.439 Precisely. This involves Missouri miners who 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:38.120 were sent west to Leadville, Colorado. They were 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:40.000 there to replace striking workers in the hard 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:42.760 rock mines. The thing is, the techniques used 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:44.700 in Leadville, you know, handling hard gold and 00:01:44.700 --> 00:01:47.579 silver or operating specific machinery, it was 00:01:47.579 --> 00:01:50.079 all completely foreign to the Missouri men. They 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:52.379 were used to soft ore lead mining. So they needed 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:54.599 constant on -the -job training, step -by -step. 00:01:54.819 --> 00:01:57.549 They did. And the Colorado pit bosses? They got 00:01:57.549 --> 00:01:59.870 frustrated. They were constantly having to stop 00:01:59.870 --> 00:02:01.829 and walk the new crew through every single step. 00:02:01.969 --> 00:02:03.750 So they reportedly started muttering, that man 00:02:03.750 --> 00:02:05.890 is from Missouri. You'll have to show him. So 00:02:05.890 --> 00:02:08.090 it started as almost an insult, a term of frustration. 00:02:08.530 --> 00:02:11.310 It did. It was a slight, implying a lack of skill. 00:02:11.750 --> 00:02:14.509 But it was quickly adopted back home as a sign 00:02:14.509 --> 00:02:16.330 of practicality. Yeah. You know, the refusal 00:02:16.330 --> 00:02:18.129 to pretend you know something when you don't. 00:02:18.289 --> 00:02:21.469 It became a virtue. Yeah. Demanding proof, demanding 00:02:21.469 --> 00:02:23.770 to be taught correctly. So whether it's political 00:02:23.770 --> 00:02:27.310 skepticism against frothy eloquence or vocational 00:02:27.310 --> 00:02:30.250 necessity demanding practical instruction, the 00:02:30.250 --> 00:02:33.449 core idea is the same. Insist on proof. Show 00:02:33.449 --> 00:02:36.550 me. Our mission today is to really get to the 00:02:36.550 --> 00:02:39.030 bottom of this crossroads state, a place that 00:02:39.030 --> 00:02:42.229 somehow blends elements of the Midwestern heartland 00:02:42.229 --> 00:02:44.870 with these deep traditions of the upland South. 00:02:44.969 --> 00:02:46.610 It really is a blend. We're going to explore 00:02:46.610 --> 00:02:49.229 its complex history, its surprising geography 00:02:49.229 --> 00:02:52.990 as the cave state, its unique economic structure, 00:02:53.110 --> 00:02:55.689 and its wildly contrasting cultural policies. 00:02:55.830 --> 00:02:57.930 Okay, so to set the stage, let's get the quick 00:02:57.930 --> 00:03:00.169 facts out of the way. Geographically, Missouri 00:03:00.169 --> 00:03:03.240 is significant. Very. It ranks 21st in land area, 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:05.840 but its location is critical. It borders eight 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:08.860 different states. Eight. A figure that's only 00:03:08.860 --> 00:03:11.520 equaled by Tennessee. Its capital is Jefferson 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:14.419 City, but the real economic and cultural power 00:03:14.419 --> 00:03:17.259 that's concentrated in St. Louis, Kansas City, 00:03:17.379 --> 00:03:19.599 Springfield, and Columbia. And before we move 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:22.159 on, we have to talk about the name itself, Missouri. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:25.139 It's a true linguistic marker of its internal 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:28.099 identity. The name is derived from the indigenous 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:30.889 Missouri. which was a Siouan language tribe. 00:03:31.449 --> 00:03:33.969 Their name translates to something like people 00:03:33.969 --> 00:03:37.569 of the wooded canoes. And then French colonists 00:03:37.569 --> 00:03:40.009 later adapted that name from an Illinois language 00:03:40.009 --> 00:03:43.409 term, Wimizarita, meaning one who has dug out 00:03:43.409 --> 00:03:45.849 canoes. A wonderful recognition of life on the 00:03:45.849 --> 00:03:49.009 rivers, but the pronunciation. That's where the 00:03:49.009 --> 00:03:51.650 division begins. You hear the traditional Midwestern 00:03:51.650 --> 00:03:54.449 Mizuari. And then you hear the more southern 00:03:54.449 --> 00:03:57.789 inflected Mizuari. It sounds like a minor thing, 00:03:57.849 --> 00:03:59.849 but it's a political minefield. It really is. 00:03:59.949 --> 00:04:02.330 And the sources highlight how deep this goes. 00:04:02.469 --> 00:04:04.110 It's not like some other states where there's 00:04:04.110 --> 00:04:06.069 a clear right or wrong. No one can definitively 00:04:06.069 --> 00:04:08.689 say one is purely native or purely outsider or 00:04:08.689 --> 00:04:11.090 rural versus urban. The division is historical 00:04:11.090 --> 00:04:13.810 and it's regional. And the politicians exploit 00:04:13.810 --> 00:04:15.830 this. It's incredible. They use what our sources 00:04:15.830 --> 00:04:18.930 call the linguistic hedge. Sometimes they'll 00:04:18.930 --> 00:04:21.410 consciously use both pronunciations in a single 00:04:21.410 --> 00:04:25.310 speech, pivoting from Missouri to Missouri to 00:04:25.310 --> 00:04:28.610 try and signal authenticity to this broader, 00:04:28.750 --> 00:04:32.290 culturally segmented electorate. It's the ultimate 00:04:32.290 --> 00:04:34.930 reflection of the state's internal duality right 00:04:34.930 --> 00:04:37.290 there in how they say the name. Yeah. OK, let's 00:04:37.290 --> 00:04:39.149 start with a deep history and we need to go back 00:04:39.149 --> 00:04:41.639 much, much further than the French. Our sources 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:44.439 confirm continuous human habitation in this region 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:47.199 for at least 12 ,000 years. Right, and that's 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:49.480 all backed up by extensive archaeological digs 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:51.819 along the major river valleys. That antiquity 00:04:51.819 --> 00:04:54.399 provides the foundation. But the most dramatic 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:56.819 ancient chapter, that belongs to the Mississippian 00:04:56.819 --> 00:04:59.560 culture. This was a highly sophisticated pre 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.579 -Columbian civilization that emerged before 1000 00:05:02.579 --> 00:05:05.800 CE. This was not a primitive society. They developed 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:07.939 these centralized political and religious centers. 00:05:08.139 --> 00:05:09.899 The most famous example, of course, is just across 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:12.120 the Mississippi River at Cahokia in what's now 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:15.319 Illinois. But St. Louis itself was a major satellite 00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:17.899 center. This is the era of the massive earthwork 00:05:17.899 --> 00:05:20.939 mounds. Platform mounds for temples or the chief's 00:05:20.939 --> 00:05:24.379 residence. Ridgetop mounds. Conical burial shapes. 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:26.139 I mean, they were constructed for religious, 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:30.360 political... And Cahokia was, for a time, the 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:32.740 largest city in North America north of Mexico. 00:05:32.980 --> 00:05:36.319 Its influence was immense. It became the central 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:40.199 hub of this vast, complex regional trading network 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:42.759 that ran from the Great Lakes all the way down 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:45.319 to the Gulf of Mexico. This sophisticated civilization 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:49.079 managed trade, agriculture, political administration. 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:51.959 It was on an impressive scale. And the tragic 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.300 fact is that St. Louis was once actually named 00:05:54.300 --> 00:05:56.740 Mound City by European Americans just because 00:05:56.740 --> 00:05:59.079 of the sheer number of surviving prehistoric 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:02.339 mounds. It's heartbreaking. As St. Louis industrialized 00:06:02.339 --> 00:06:04.439 and expanded through the 19th century, nearly 00:06:04.439 --> 00:06:07.000 all of these irreplaceable historical landmarks 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:10.120 were just destroyed, leveled to make way for 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.279 urban development. A powerful illustration of 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:14.500 cultural erasure. And the Mississippian civilization 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:18.329 itself was already in decline by 1400 CE. Most 00:06:18.329 --> 00:06:20.269 of its descendants had dispersed or migrated 00:06:20.269 --> 00:06:22.589 before the Europeans even arrived. The French 00:06:22.589 --> 00:06:25.269 were the first Europeans to claim the area. They 00:06:25.269 --> 00:06:27.939 named the entire massive region... Louisiana. 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:30.439 And they established settlements in what they 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:32.959 called the Illinois country on both sides of 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:35.199 the Mississippi. And the first permanent European 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:38.220 settlement in what is now Missouri wasn't St. 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:41.199 Louis. It was St. Genevieve, founded around 1750. 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:43.860 These are French Canadians, often called Creoles. 00:06:44.019 --> 00:06:46.420 And they were migrating west across the river 00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:48.259 because the intensive commercial agriculture 00:06:48.259 --> 00:06:50.899 they practiced on the East Bank had just exhausted 00:06:50.899 --> 00:06:53.560 the soil there. And this early economy was heavily, 00:06:53.579 --> 00:06:56.720 heavily reliant on forced labor. Slavery was 00:06:56.750 --> 00:06:59.329 central to the fur trade and to commercial agriculture. 00:06:59.769 --> 00:07:02.930 And it involved both enslaved Africans and Native 00:07:02.930 --> 00:07:05.769 Americans. St. Genevieve's role was absolutely 00:07:05.769 --> 00:07:08.350 critical to the larger French colony. They became 00:07:08.350 --> 00:07:11.170 a major agricultural supplier. They shipped surplus 00:07:11.170 --> 00:07:14.250 wheat, corn, tobacco, all of it, downriver to 00:07:14.250 --> 00:07:16.310 feed the population of lower Louisiana and New 00:07:16.310 --> 00:07:18.089 Orleans. It was the breadbasket of the colony. 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:21.269 St. Louis was founded a bit later, 1764, by French 00:07:21.269 --> 00:07:24.110 fur traders, Gilbert -Antoine de Saint -Maxence, 00:07:24.490 --> 00:07:28.680 Pierre Lecled, and... And St. Louis quickly eclipsed 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:31.579 St. Genevieve. Its location was just superior, 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:33.980 right there near the confluence of the Missouri 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:36.800 and Mississippi rivers. It became the undisputed 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:40.120 central hub of the vast regional fur trade, with 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:42.759 trappers pushing deep into the Louisiana Purchase 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:45.139 Territory. And all that business volume made 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:47.759 St. Louis an early financial center for the developing 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:50.399 West. And the city's future as this global financial 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:53.120 and trade center was basically cemented after 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:55.899 the invention of the steamboat in the early 1800s. 00:07:55.899 --> 00:07:58.699 That just drastically increased river commerce. 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:01.779 But before the U .S. took over, there was that 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:04.579 brief interlude of Spanish rule. A fascinating 00:08:04.579 --> 00:08:09.339 period. From 1764 to 1803, the land west of the 00:08:09.339 --> 00:08:12.139 Mississippi was controlled by Spain. It was part 00:08:12.139 --> 00:08:14.959 of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was. And 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:16.779 while the territory was nominally Spanish, the 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:19.139 economy, the culture, the language, it all remained 00:08:19.139 --> 00:08:21.870 largely French Creole. Spanish rule mostly just 00:08:21.870 --> 00:08:24.110 meant new administrative and land grant regulations. 00:08:24.310 --> 00:08:26.529 The French financial interests, they continued 00:08:26.529 --> 00:08:28.910 to dominate. And then the region becomes part 00:08:28.910 --> 00:08:31.629 of the U .S. with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. 00:08:31.629 --> 00:08:34.110 And that is when the area truly earns its most 00:08:34.110 --> 00:08:37.129 famous historical nickname, the Gateway to the 00:08:37.129 --> 00:08:39.809 West. And that gateway, it wasn't just figurative. 00:08:39.870 --> 00:08:41.909 It was the literal staging ground for the most 00:08:41.909 --> 00:08:45.169 important American exploration mission. St. Charles. 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.360 just upriver from St. Louis, was both the starting 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:50.419 and return point for the Lewis and Clark expedition 00:08:50.419 --> 00:08:53.759 in 1804. And for the next four decades, St. Louis 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:56.759 served as the irreplaceable major supply point 00:08:56.759 --> 00:08:58.919 for waves of American settlers heading west. 00:08:59.179 --> 00:09:01.620 Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, California Trail, 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:04.379 the entire logistics chain for Manifest Destiny 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:06.720 basically began right there. But as the population 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:09.580 boomed, the push for statehood brought immediate 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:12.580 acute conflict, and it revolved entirely around 00:09:12.580 --> 00:09:15.080 slavery. When Missouri was admitted as the 24th 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:17.519 state on August 10th, 1821, it was the result 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:20.200 of a political bombshell, the Missouri Compromise. 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:22.559 It was admitted as a slave state, balanced by 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:25.179 Maine being admitted as a free state. And the 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:27.320 nature of the early settlement really explains 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:30.080 this tension. Most American migrants came from 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:32.620 the upland South Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, 00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:36.299 and they brought enslaved people with them. They 00:09:36.299 --> 00:09:39.059 settled predominantly in this flat, fertile stretch 00:09:39.059 --> 00:09:42.690 of 17 counties along the Missouri River. which 00:09:42.690 --> 00:09:45.250 became known as Little Dixie. Right. And that 00:09:45.250 --> 00:09:48.129 was a region highly conducive to plantation agriculture. 00:09:48.409 --> 00:09:51.070 It was culturally, economically, and politically 00:09:51.070 --> 00:09:54.190 Southern. That initial concentration of Southern 00:09:54.190 --> 00:09:57.029 culture and economics set the enduring internal 00:09:57.029 --> 00:09:59.669 fault lines. We should also note the sheer scale 00:09:59.669 --> 00:10:01.730 of the state back then. It was initially the 00:10:01.730 --> 00:10:03.789 largest state in the Union until the boundaries 00:10:03.789 --> 00:10:05.370 were formalized. And the boundaries were adjusted 00:10:05.370 --> 00:10:07.929 later. Right. They were, most notably with the 00:10:07.929 --> 00:10:11.679 Platte Purchase in 1836. That added six counties 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:14.320 to the northwest corner by making the Missouri 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.539 River the boundary north of the Kansas River, 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.600 a crucial addition of fertile land. And speaking 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:22.059 of early instability, we can't skip the massive 00:10:22.059 --> 00:10:25.080 foundational trauma of the 1811 -1812 New Madrid 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:27.700 earthquakes. These were among the largest earthquakes 00:10:27.700 --> 00:10:30.259 ever recorded in North America. I mean, they 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:33.220 created this profound, lasting impact on the 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:35.159 land and the consciousness of the population. 00:10:36.110 --> 00:10:38.350 Contemporary reports say the shocks caused church 00:10:38.350 --> 00:10:41.090 bells to ring as far away as Boston. And it caused 00:10:41.090 --> 00:10:43.570 the Mississippi River to flow backward? I mean, 00:10:43.570 --> 00:10:46.129 can you even imagine that? Briefly, yes. Yeah. 00:10:46.330 --> 00:10:48.629 The quakes permanently reshaped the topography, 00:10:48.830 --> 00:10:51.909 creating new lakes and these vast, swampy areas 00:10:51.909 --> 00:10:54.090 in the Bootheel region. There was also that short, 00:10:54.149 --> 00:10:57.370 strange border dispute with Iowa, the Honeylands 00:10:57.370 --> 00:10:59.529 conflict. It sounds comical now, doesn't it? 00:10:59.730 --> 00:11:02.230 But it was a serious territorial disagreement 00:11:02.230 --> 00:11:05.710 over a vaguely defined boundary line. It flared 00:11:05.710 --> 00:11:08.070 up when a Missouri sheriff crossed the line to 00:11:08.070 --> 00:11:10.750 collect taxes. And the area was nicknamed the 00:11:10.750 --> 00:11:12.830 Honeylands because of the abundance of wild honey. 00:11:12.929 --> 00:11:15.389 Exactly. Troops were mobilized on both sides. 00:11:15.450 --> 00:11:18.029 The only casualty was supposedly a pig. But the 00:11:18.029 --> 00:11:19.970 border issue had to be settled later by the Supreme 00:11:19.970 --> 00:11:22.850 Court. It just shows how territorial and sensitive 00:11:22.850 --> 00:11:25.870 the state was during its formation. So the decades 00:11:25.870 --> 00:11:28.230 leading up to the Civil War saw the population 00:11:28.230 --> 00:11:31.580 nearly double every 10 years. between the 1830s 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:34.100 and the 1860s. And that brought those cultural 00:11:34.100 --> 00:11:37.379 tensions to a boil. The Mormon War of 1838 is 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:40.320 a key internal conflict here. Mormon migrants 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:43.080 seeking religious freedom settled in the northern 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:45.460 parts of the state. They were primarily from 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:47.860 northern and Midwestern states and were often 00:11:47.860 --> 00:11:50.399 anti -slavery. Which immediately put them at 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:52.679 odds with the old settlers who were largely from 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:55.320 the south and intensely pro -slavery. The conflict 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:58.840 quickly escalated over land, religion. politics, 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:02.580 and it resulted in violence. By 1839, it had 00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:05.519 grown so severe that Governor Lilburn Boggs issued 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:08.659 the infamous Extermination Order. Extermination 00:12:08.659 --> 00:12:10.960 Order. It formally authorized the militia to 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:13.500 treat Mormons as enemies and force their removal 00:12:13.500 --> 00:12:15.899 from the state. It stands as one of the darkest 00:12:15.899 --> 00:12:18.080 chapters in Missouri history. And this cultural 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:20.620 tension was just compounded by massive European 00:12:20.620 --> 00:12:22.940 immigration, especially the Germans who started 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:25.940 arriving in the late 1840s and 50s. These German 00:12:25.940 --> 00:12:29.039 immigrants were often educated, middle class, 00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:31.720 and strongly anti -slavery. They established 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:34.240 highly successful communities, particularly the 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:36.940 wine industry along the Missouri Rhineland. That's 00:12:36.940 --> 00:12:38.559 a region along the Missouri River west of St. 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:41.120 Louis. They also founded the major breweries 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:43.470 that would make St. Louis world famous. most 00:12:43.470 --> 00:12:46.570 notably Anheuser -Busch. Their political leanings 00:12:46.570 --> 00:12:49.370 were largely with the Republican Unionist cause. 00:12:49.649 --> 00:12:52.190 But the sources also point to a competing immigrant 00:12:52.190 --> 00:12:55.549 group, the Irish. Yes. Many Irish immigrants 00:12:55.549 --> 00:12:57.730 concentrated in the cities and competing for 00:12:57.730 --> 00:13:00.429 low -skilled labor jobs were often strongly pro 00:13:00.429 --> 00:13:03.149 -slavery. Their reasoning was purely economic. 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:05.960 They were terrified that if enslaved African 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:08.080 -Americans were emancipated, they would flood 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.299 the labor market and drastically drive down wages 00:13:10.299 --> 00:13:13.100 for all unskilled workers. So you have this incredibly 00:13:13.100 --> 00:13:15.580 complex, culturally polarized environment, fault 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:17.059 lines running through natives and immigrants, 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:19.220 rural and urban, north and south. It was a powder 00:13:19.220 --> 00:13:21.919 keg. And that polarization made Missouri's role 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:24.440 in the Civil War absolutely devastating. As a 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:26.559 border state, it never formally seceded, but 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:29.399 its division was immediate and violent. A special 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:31.799 state convention voted against secession, but 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:35.909 this support for the union was... deeply qualified. 00:13:35.990 --> 00:13:38.429 It was conditional. The crisis kicked off almost 00:13:38.429 --> 00:13:40.850 immediately after Fort Sumter with the Camp Jackson 00:13:40.850 --> 00:13:44.350 affair in St. Louis in May 1861. This event is 00:13:44.350 --> 00:13:47.370 so critical because it just crystallized that 00:13:47.370 --> 00:13:49.850 internal division. The pro -Southern governor, 00:13:50.110 --> 00:13:53.070 Claiborne F. Jackson, had secretly mobilized 00:13:53.070 --> 00:13:55.889 the state militia at Camp Jackson. He'd reportedly 00:13:55.889 --> 00:13:58.330 requested heavy arms from the Confederacy to 00:13:58.330 --> 00:14:00.710 secure the St. Louis arsenal. And Union General 00:14:00.710 --> 00:14:03.190 Nathaniel Lyon, supported heavily by the German 00:14:03.190 --> 00:14:05.490 immigrant militias who were intensely unionist, 00:14:05.529 --> 00:14:08.649 he acted preemptively. Lyon surrounded the camp 00:14:08.649 --> 00:14:11.009 and forced the state militia to surrender. But 00:14:11.009 --> 00:14:13.149 here's where the tactical blunder happens, and 00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:16.029 the tragedy. Lyon marched the captured militia, 00:14:16.029 --> 00:14:18.269 who were primarily local citizens, through the 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:20.389 streets of St. Louis, guarded by his largely 00:14:20.389 --> 00:14:23.210 German -speaking troops. The citizens, many of 00:14:23.210 --> 00:14:25.789 whom were pro -secession, they saw this as a 00:14:25.789 --> 00:14:28.899 deliberate provocation. An occupation. Violence 00:14:28.899 --> 00:14:31.980 erupted, escalating into a fatal riot that killed 00:14:31.980 --> 00:14:34.919 dozens of civilians and Union soldiers. The Camp 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:37.500 Jackson affair instantly turned St. Louis into 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:39.779 a war zone and cemented the state's internal 00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:43.139 schism. And this event immediately leads to rival 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:45.740 governments. Governor Jackson, after being chased 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:48.200 from Jefferson City, calls this a session session 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:51.830 in Neosho. which was then recognized by the Confederacy. 00:14:51.909 --> 00:14:54.009 At the same time, the remaining state convention, 00:14:54.190 --> 00:14:56.450 which favored the Union, declared the offices 00:14:56.450 --> 00:14:59.200 vacant. and installed Hamilton Gamble as the 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:01.679 new pro -union governor. And he was immediately 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:03.659 recognized by President Lincoln. So you have 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:05.320 a state with two capitals and two governments, 00:15:05.419 --> 00:15:08.279 one union, one Confederate. Exactly. And once 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:10.679 regular Confederate forces retreated after early 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:13.200 battles like Wilson's Creek, the conflict just 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:16.360 devolved. It became years of vicious, unregulated 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:19.039 guerrilla warfare, a style of fighting that was 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:21.440 really unique to the Missouri -Kansas borderlands. 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:24.580 A brutal conflict characterized by the Bushwhackers, 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:28.240 these citizen soldiers or insurgents like Captain 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:31.080 William Quantrill, Frank and Jesse James, the 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:33.539 younger brothers. And they pioneered devastating 00:15:33.539 --> 00:15:37.039 small unit tactics. They used speed and local 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.539 knowledge to launch these terrifying raids and 00:15:39.539 --> 00:15:42.259 ambushes against Union garrisons and civilians. 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:44.799 And the myth making started right away. The James 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:46.940 brothers, who began their careers as Confederate 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:49.740 guerrillas, later leveraged this history when 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:52.090 they became bank and train riders. robbers, these 00:15:52.090 --> 00:15:55.090 stories were heavily romanticized into the enduring 00:15:55.090 --> 00:15:58.289 American Robin Hood myth, a narrative of anti 00:15:58.289 --> 00:16:01.009 -authority resistance that still resonates today. 00:16:01.549 --> 00:16:03.330 Moving beyond the war, Missouri went through 00:16:03.330 --> 00:16:06.029 this massive, profound identity transformation. 00:16:06.389 --> 00:16:08.710 It transitioned from its foundation as a rural 00:16:08.710 --> 00:16:11.409 southern slave state into a hybrid industrial 00:16:11.409 --> 00:16:14.610 service and agricultural Midwestern state. And 00:16:14.610 --> 00:16:16.809 the primary catalyst for that shift was infrastructure. 00:16:17.149 --> 00:16:19.990 The rapid expansion of railroads after the war 00:16:19.990 --> 00:16:22.389 just fundamentally reoriented the state's economy. 00:16:22.570 --> 00:16:25.009 It transformed Kansas City into this colossal 00:16:25.009 --> 00:16:28.029 transportation and commercial hub. And that expansion 00:16:28.029 --> 00:16:31.440 attracted a massive new wave of Midwestern. migrants 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:35.639 from Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, who eventually outnumbered 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:37.899 the state's original southern descended population. 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:41.340 The state's center of gravity shifted definitively 00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:43.879 westward and northward. The rail infrastructure, 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:46.240 specifically the development of the refrigerated 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:49.220 boxcar, that's what fueled the explosion of Kansas 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:52.080 City's meatpacking boom. Well, the sources reveal 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:54.720 this logistical marvel. The Texas cattle drives, 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:57.840 which previously ended in Kansas cow towns, they 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:00.080 shifted their focus. They started shipping their 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:03.320 herds by rail directly to Kansas City. So KC 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:05.859 becomes a massive processing center. It becomes 00:17:05.859 --> 00:17:07.559 the link between the western ranching economy 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:10.940 and the dense consumer markets of the east. This 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:14.059 industrial powerhouse status led to KC's prominence 00:17:14.059 --> 00:17:16.460 in the first half of the 20th century. And the 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:19.119 result was an architectural boom. Downtown Kansas 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:22.480 City became famous for its stylish Art Deco skyscrapers, 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.640 reflecting its stature as a major American industrial 00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:29.079 city. And this era also saw profound political 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:32.200 shifts during the Progressive Era, roughly 1890s 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:35.359 through the 1920s. This is an attempt to modernize 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:37.480 and clean up the politics and industries of the 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:39.569 state. You're thinking of Governor Joseph Holy 00:17:39.569 --> 00:17:42.849 Joe Folk, who championed the Missouri idea. That's 00:17:42.849 --> 00:17:45.069 it. This was the notion that public morality 00:17:45.069 --> 00:17:47.529 could be achieved through popular control and 00:17:47.529 --> 00:17:50.109 strict law enforcement against corrupt politicians 00:17:50.109 --> 00:17:52.869 and businesses. And Folk was incredibly successful. 00:17:53.549 --> 00:17:55.670 Progressive legislation was passed that established 00:17:55.670 --> 00:17:58.609 mechanisms for direct democracy, the initiative 00:17:58.609 --> 00:18:01.230 and referendum provision, alongside new regulations 00:18:01.230 --> 00:18:04.029 for child labor, food safety, business practices 00:18:04.029 --> 00:18:07.269 and utilities. It was a serious, sustained effort 00:18:07.269 --> 00:18:09.349 to move away from the post -Civil War corruption 00:18:09.349 --> 00:18:11.950 and establish modern governance. But, you know, 00:18:11.970 --> 00:18:14.690 mirroring the fate of many older industrial centers. 00:18:15.309 --> 00:18:18.130 the mid -1950s and 60s brought significant economic 00:18:18.130 --> 00:18:20.789 pain. Deindustrialization. St. Louis and Kansas 00:18:20.789 --> 00:18:24.230 City suffered massive deindustrialization, compounded 00:18:24.230 --> 00:18:27.509 by the loss of rail and manufacturing jobs. This 00:18:27.509 --> 00:18:30.869 hit the core cities hard. At the same time, Highway 00:18:30.869 --> 00:18:33.490 Construction St. Charles actually claims the 00:18:33.490 --> 00:18:35.430 distinction of hosting the first interstate project 00:18:35.430 --> 00:18:38.529 in 1956 that just accelerated suburban flight. 00:18:38.809 --> 00:18:41.529 And those core cities went through decades of 00:18:41.529 --> 00:18:44.660 painful contraction. But the sources show a promising 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:48.160 21st century rebirth driven by targeted investment. 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:51.109 Absolutely. Both metro areas have seen intensive 00:18:51.109 --> 00:18:53.730 downtown redevelopment. You've got Kansas City's 00:18:53.730 --> 00:18:55.730 Power and Light District, St. Louis' Ballpark 00:18:55.730 --> 00:18:58.250 Village, massive renovation projects breathing 00:18:58.250 --> 00:19:01.069 new life into historical buildings. Casey's new 00:19:01.069 --> 00:19:03.230 residential towers, like the three light apartments, 00:19:03.490 --> 00:19:06.069 signal new urban living, and St. Louis' new MLS 00:19:06.069 --> 00:19:08.349 expansion team, St. Louis City SC, has driven 00:19:08.349 --> 00:19:10.329 significant adjacent development. And a major 00:19:10.329 --> 00:19:12.869 institutional anchor was secured for Kansas City's 00:19:12.869 --> 00:19:15.410 modern economy, the relocation of federal agencies. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:18.759 This was a huge move. The U .S. Department of 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:20.819 Agriculture decided to move the Economic Research 00:19:20.819 --> 00:19:24.119 Service, or ERS, and the National Institute of 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:26.900 Food and Agriculture, NIFA, to downtown Kansas 00:19:26.900 --> 00:19:29.539 City. And that provides hundreds of high wage, 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:32.359 stable federal jobs and cements the city's role 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:35.119 as a key agricultural policy center, a massive 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.279 economic anchor in the core city. The state's 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:39.140 cultural complexity is clear, but let's look 00:19:39.140 --> 00:19:41.640 at the bedrock that supports all of this. the 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:44.619 physical landscape, and the core economy it enables. 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:48.339 Missouri is defined by its two colossal rivers, 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:51.200 the Mississippi to the east and the Missouri 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.839 River, which snakes from west to east, acting 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:56.299 as this natural corridor connecting Kansas City 00:19:56.299 --> 00:19:59.299 and St. Louis. And the topography creates a striking 00:19:59.299 --> 00:20:02.000 geographic divide. North of the Missouri River, 00:20:02.059 --> 00:20:04.880 you have the northern plains rolling hills, sculpted 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:07.660 by ancient glaciation, creating these rich, deep 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:10.460 soils, perfect for large -scale row crop farming. 00:20:10.750 --> 00:20:12.630 But south of the river, the landscape changes 00:20:12.630 --> 00:20:14.829 dramatically. That's the Ozark Mountains region. 00:20:15.049 --> 00:20:17.630 The Ozarks are fascinating. They aren't true 00:20:17.630 --> 00:20:19.890 mountains, but rather an incredibly ancient, 00:20:20.009 --> 00:20:23.329 uplifted plateau. It's a massive, deeply eroded 00:20:23.329 --> 00:20:26.450 tableland, and it surrounds the even older, pre 00:20:26.450 --> 00:20:29.910 -Cambrian, igneous St. Francois Mountains. The 00:20:29.910 --> 00:20:32.569 terrain is rugged, heavily wooded, and defined 00:20:32.569 --> 00:20:35.619 by a very specific geological feature. Karst 00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:37.779 topography. And that leads directly to the cave 00:20:37.779 --> 00:20:40.700 state nickname. Karst means the underlying bedrock 00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:43.500 has a high limestone content. It's easily dissolved 00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:46.279 by slightly acidic groundwater, which leads to 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:48.880 sinkholes and, critically, caves. And we're not 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:50.680 talking about just a handful of caves. Missouri 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:54.940 has over 7 ,300 recorded caves. 7 ,300. It places 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:57.400 it second only to Tennessee nationally. This 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:00.099 network of subterranean spaces is immense. It 00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:02.319 attracts cavers, biologists, tourists. Perry 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:04.380 County in the southeastern Ozarks has the highest 00:21:04.380 --> 00:21:06.700 concentration and the state's single longest 00:21:06.700 --> 00:21:09.619 map cave system. Places like the Marama Caverns 00:21:09.619 --> 00:21:11.519 are world -famous tourist attractions. And then 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:13.539 you have the completely anomalous geographical 00:21:13.539 --> 00:21:15.960 outlier, which looks like it belongs in Arkansas 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:19.130 or Louisiana, the boot heel. The boot heel. in 00:21:19.130 --> 00:21:21.769 the southeastern corner, is a remnant of that 00:21:21.769 --> 00:21:23.730 dramatic seismic activity from the New Madrid 00:21:23.730 --> 00:21:26.869 quakes. It's the lowest, flattest, warmest, and 00:21:26.869 --> 00:21:29.730 wettest part of the state, benefiting from rich 00:21:29.730 --> 00:21:32.230 alluvial soil. And that climate makes it suitable 00:21:32.230 --> 00:21:34.750 for commercial crops you usually associate with 00:21:34.750 --> 00:21:37.910 the Deep South. Precisely. It's ideal for growing 00:21:37.910 --> 00:21:40.130 cotton and rice, illustrating how Missouri's 00:21:40.130 --> 00:21:42.369 climate diversity allows it to bridge Deep South 00:21:42.369 --> 00:21:46.099 agriculture with Midwestern corn and soy. That 00:21:46.099 --> 00:21:48.819 interior location, far from oceans or high mountain 00:21:48.819 --> 00:21:51.700 ranges, also subjects Missouri to some pretty 00:21:51.700 --> 00:21:54.119 extreme weather events. The climate is generally 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:57.240 humid continental, so you get cool or cold winters 00:21:57.240 --> 00:22:00.779 and hot, humid, very wet summers. Only the boot 00:22:00.779 --> 00:22:03.519 heel dips into a true humid subtropical classification. 00:22:04.349 --> 00:22:06.630 And because the state is located where cold Arctic 00:22:06.630 --> 00:22:09.009 air masses frequently collide with warm, moist 00:22:09.009 --> 00:22:11.569 air streaming up from the Gulf of Mexico, the 00:22:11.569 --> 00:22:13.710 temperature swings are wild and the potential 00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:16.250 for severe weather is immense. And being firmly 00:22:16.250 --> 00:22:18.089 in Tornado Alley, the history of catastrophic 00:22:18.089 --> 00:22:20.970 tornadoes in Missouri is significant. The sources 00:22:20.970 --> 00:22:22.970 defiled two particularly devastating examples. 00:22:23.849 --> 00:22:27.750 More recently, the May 22, 2011 EF5 tornado that 00:22:27.750 --> 00:22:30.390 destroyed Joplin was one of the deadliest in 00:22:30.390 --> 00:22:33.650 U .S. history. It killed 158 people and caused 00:22:33.650 --> 00:22:36.849 up to $3 billion in damages. But going back, 00:22:37.130 --> 00:22:40.130 the 1896 St. Louis tornado was a catastrophe 00:22:40.130 --> 00:22:42.789 on an entirely different scale. That storm was 00:22:42.789 --> 00:22:44.859 one of the worst in American history. It killed 00:22:44.859 --> 00:22:48.119 at least 255 people and caused massive destruction 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:50.559 that, if you adjust for inflation, would equate 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:53.839 to over $5 .7 billion in today's dollars. The 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:55.980 severity of these storms just underscores the 00:22:55.980 --> 00:22:58.480 vulnerability inherent in the state's mid -continent 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:00.799 location. Moving to the economic engine, Missouri 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:03.099 is without a doubt an agricultural powerhouse. 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:05.859 The output is incredible. Beef, soybeans, pork, 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:09.160 corn, hay, poultry, cotton, rice, and eggs. It 00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:10.940 demonstrates how Missouri manages to encompass 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:13.079 multiple agricultural profiles, and the sheer 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:15.660 scale is notable. Missouri ranks second only 00:23:15.660 --> 00:23:18.119 to Texas in the number of farms, with 108 ,000. 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:20.680 It also ranks nationally in the top five for 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:22.920 soybeans, seventh for cattle, sixth for hogs, 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:24.960 and fourth for rice production, thanks largely 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:27.059 to the boot heel. But the earth gives up mineral 00:23:27.059 --> 00:23:30.259 wealth, too. Missouri is a major mining state. 00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:33.539 It's defined by its resources. The state extracts 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:36.339 vast quantities of limestone, and significantly, 00:23:36.619 --> 00:23:39.279 it ranks first among all states in lead production, 00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:41.759 with most of those mines concentrated in the 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:45.000 old lead belt area of the eastern Ozarks. It's 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:47.880 also a leading producer of lime, which is a key 00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:50.380 raw material for Portland cement. Energy -wise, 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:52.480 coal is still dominant, but there are other players. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:55.720 Coal generated about 82 % of the state's electricity 00:23:55.720 --> 00:23:58.680 as recently as 2011, though that percentage has 00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:01.180 started to decrease. The state also operates 00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:03.019 the Callaway nuclear plant, which supplies about 00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:05.539 10 % of the state's power. And while it's still 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:08.119 small, the capacity for wind and solar is growing, 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:11.259 with about 141 megawatts of solar installed as 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:13.819 of 2016. Okay, here's a detail that just reveals 00:24:13.819 --> 00:24:16.539 how fundamentally central Missouri has been to 00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:19.319 the national economy. The Federal Reserve anomaly. 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:22.299 This is a truly unique historical finding. Missouri 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:24.339 is the only state in the union to host two main 00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:27.299 Federal Reserve banks. one in St. Louis and one 00:24:27.299 --> 00:24:29.660 in Kansas City. That's such a powerful confirmation 00:24:29.660 --> 00:24:32.339 of its location spanning the western and eastern 00:24:32.339 --> 00:24:35.980 economic regions. But why? Why did the original 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:38.920 Federal Reserve architects in 1914 decide they 00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:42.000 needed two separate hubs in one state? The rationale 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:44.640 lies right in that historical duality we've been 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:48.200 talking about. By 1914, St. Louis was the established 00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:50.220 financial center for the grain trade and the 00:24:50.220 --> 00:24:52.789 entire Mississippi River corridor. It served 00:24:52.789 --> 00:24:55.490 states like Arkansas, parts of Illinois and Kentucky. 00:24:55.710 --> 00:24:58.309 It managed the older industrial economy. And 00:24:58.309 --> 00:25:00.750 Kansas City. Kansas City had become the absolute 00:25:00.750 --> 00:25:03.210 undisputed center for the rapidly expanding Western 00:25:03.210 --> 00:25:06.069 economy cattle, meatpacking, and the vast agricultural 00:25:06.069 --> 00:25:08.369 production of the Great Plains, states like Wyoming, 00:25:08.589 --> 00:25:11.480 Colorado, and Oklahoma. The financial architects 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:13.740 recognized that one bank could not adequately 00:25:13.740 --> 00:25:16.119 oversee the monetary policy and banking needs 00:25:16.119 --> 00:25:19.539 of two such diverse and sprawling economic empires. 00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:22.059 This duality truly cements Missouri's historical 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:25.200 role as the nation's central economic pivot point. 00:25:25.319 --> 00:25:27.240 And to wrap up economics, we have to mention 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:29.460 the major corporations historically based there. 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:32.059 Absolutely. The St. Louis area was the longtime 00:25:32.059 --> 00:25:35.039 headquarters of the historical agricultural biotech 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:37.579 giant Monsanto, which was a massive employer 00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:40.079 and research center until its acquisition by 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:43.200 Bayer AG in 2018. Let's turn to the cultural 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:45.890 footprint of Missouri. It is surprisingly significant 00:25:45.890 --> 00:25:48.829 and incredibly broad, particularly in music and 00:25:48.829 --> 00:25:51.190 literature, bridging that divide between the 00:25:51.190 --> 00:25:53.829 South and the Midwest. The state is nothing less 00:25:53.829 --> 00:25:55.910 than the birthplace of foundational American 00:25:55.910 --> 00:25:59.150 musical genres. We are talking about the distinct, 00:25:59.289 --> 00:26:02.630 syncopated melodies of ragtime, the improvisational 00:26:02.630 --> 00:26:06.309 complexity of Kansas City jazz, and the raw emotional 00:26:06.309 --> 00:26:08.829 power of the St. Louis blues. I mean, think of 00:26:08.829 --> 00:26:11.190 the giants connected to St. Louis, the rock and 00:26:11.190 --> 00:26:13.609 roll pioneer Chuck Berry. The queen of rock. 00:26:13.869 --> 00:26:16.009 Tina Turner. The legendary performer Josephine 00:26:16.009 --> 00:26:18.630 Baker, Sheryl Crow, and modern hip -hop producers 00:26:18.630 --> 00:26:21.369 like Metro Boomin and the rapper Nelly. And in 00:26:21.369 --> 00:26:24.009 ragtime, you can't forget Scott Joplin. He spent 00:26:24.009 --> 00:26:26.470 crucial years living and composing in Sedalia 00:26:26.470 --> 00:26:29.809 and St. Louis. And in jazz, Kansas City claims 00:26:29.809 --> 00:26:32.250 the great Charlie Parker, whose bebop innovations 00:26:32.250 --> 00:26:35.289 fundamentally reshaped 20th century music. And 00:26:35.289 --> 00:26:38.150 it's not just popular music. The St. Louis Symphony 00:26:38.150 --> 00:26:40.710 Orchestra is the nation's second oldest. That 00:26:40.710 --> 00:26:42.930 speaks to a deep, longstanding commitment to 00:26:42.930 --> 00:26:45.710 classical arts. And of course, the Ozarks region 00:26:45.710 --> 00:26:47.950 hosts Branson, which has become internationally 00:26:47.950 --> 00:26:50.730 noted for its sheer concentration of music theaters. 00:26:50.990 --> 00:26:53.569 The literary contributions are just as profound. 00:26:53.990 --> 00:26:56.589 Mark Twain, arguably the most important American 00:26:56.589 --> 00:27:00.089 writer, was a native of Hannibal, Missouri. The 00:27:00.089 --> 00:27:02.950 Mississippi River setting of his state is immortalized 00:27:02.950 --> 00:27:05.509 in classics like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 00:27:05.509 --> 00:27:08.410 and Huckleberry Finn. And St. Louis claims three 00:27:08.410 --> 00:27:11.150 other monumental figures. the groundbreaking 00:27:11.150 --> 00:27:14.369 regionalist author Kate Chopin, the Nobel laureate 00:27:14.369 --> 00:27:16.970 poet T .S. Eliot, and the Pulitzer Prize -winning 00:27:16.970 --> 00:27:19.589 playwright Tennessee Williams. That is a truly 00:27:19.589 --> 00:27:22.190 formidable literary concentration for a single 00:27:22.190 --> 00:27:24.789 city. Shifting to sports, Missouri's heritage 00:27:24.789 --> 00:27:27.829 is rich, dating back to hosting the 1904 Summer 00:27:27.829 --> 00:27:30.490 Olympics in St. Louis. And today, the Major League 00:27:30.490 --> 00:27:32.609 presence is strong. You've got the Cardinals 00:27:32.609 --> 00:27:35.309 and the Royals and MLB, the Chiefs in the NFL 00:27:35.309 --> 00:27:37.769 who have become a modern dynasty, the Blues in 00:27:37.769 --> 00:27:40.529 the NHL, and the newest addition, St. Louis City 00:27:40.529 --> 00:27:44.069 SC and MLS. But the emotional core of Missouri 00:27:44.069 --> 00:27:47.250 sports for generations, it revolved around a 00:27:47.250 --> 00:27:50.490 rivalry rooted in Civil War blood, the border 00:27:50.490 --> 00:27:52.890 war between the University of Missouri -Mizzou 00:27:52.890 --> 00:27:55.769 and the University of Kansas. That was the oldest 00:27:55.769 --> 00:27:58.849 college rivalry west of the Mississippi, directly 00:27:58.849 --> 00:28:01.250 rooted in the political violence and guerrilla 00:28:01.250 --> 00:28:04.250 raids of the Civil War era. The intensity was 00:28:04.250 --> 00:28:06.500 legendary. It really diminished significantly 00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:08.640 after Mizzou moved to the Southeastern Conference, 00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:12.559 the SEC, in 2012. But the historical weight of 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:16.039 that conflict is palpable even today. In terms 00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:18.779 of heritage preservation, a unique and beautiful 00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:21.839 site is the St. Genevieve National Historical 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:24.960 Park, which protects Missouri's oldest permanent 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:27.599 European settlement. This park is invaluable 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:30.140 because it preserves these rare examples of French 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:32.460 colonial architecture, particularly the Poteau 00:28:32.460 --> 00:28:34.579 -en -Terre post and ground construction style. 00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:37.660 It's an isolated, beautifully maintained remnant 00:28:37.660 --> 00:28:40.680 of that deep French pioneer history that preceded 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:42.380 the American settlement and all the conflicts 00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:44.440 that followed. From these historical markers 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:47.460 and the border war, we see a deep attachment 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:50.960 to local and individual identity. Now, let's 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:53.160 look at how that individualism translates into 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:55.099 the policy realm, because this links directly 00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:58.539 back to that show me state skepticism. Missouri 00:28:58.539 --> 00:29:01.240 has a distinctly hands off approach to regulation. 00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:04.920 This is where that. stalwart, conservative, non 00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:07.859 -credulous attitude really manifests in law. 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:11.299 It creates a genuinely laissez -faire regulatory 00:29:11.299 --> 00:29:13.799 climate, particularly regarding personal vices 00:29:13.799 --> 00:29:16.740 like alcohol and tobacco. For instance, in 2013, 00:29:17.099 --> 00:29:19.480 the Mercatus Center ranked Missouri third in 00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:21.700 the nation for alcohol freedom and, astonishingly, 00:29:21.700 --> 00:29:24.039 first for tobacco freedom. First in the nation, 00:29:24.200 --> 00:29:26.920 the alcohol laws are remarkably permissive, and 00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:28.859 they reveal this deep -seated philosophical stance 00:29:28.859 --> 00:29:31.000 against government interference and adult personal 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:33.460 choice. Missouri has a history of rejecting intervention. 00:29:33.859 --> 00:29:36.559 It never enacted statewide prohibition. It has 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:39.279 no blue laws regulating Sunday sales. It has 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:41.559 low taxes on alcohol and broad retail access. 00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:43.119 You can buy it virtually everywhere, including 00:29:43.119 --> 00:29:45.420 drugstores and gas stations. But the most surprising 00:29:45.420 --> 00:29:48.019 aspects relate to public behavior. Well, state 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:50.240 law protects persons from arrest or criminal 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:52.920 penalty, specifically for public intoxication. 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:55.700 It's treated as a non -criminal public health 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:59.400 matter. Furthermore, state law contains an explicit 00:29:59.400 --> 00:30:02.339 exception allowing parents and guardians to serve 00:30:02.339 --> 00:30:04.799 alcohol to their own children. Wow, that's a 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:06.920 profound reflection of a libertarian viewpoint 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:10.019 prioritizing the family unit and individual responsibility 00:30:10.019 --> 00:30:12.680 over state control. And the tobacco laws follow 00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:15.519 the exact same permissive pattern. It shows a 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:18.339 consistency in their regulatory philosophy. This 00:30:18.339 --> 00:30:20.359 is where that skepticism translates into economics. 00:30:20.759 --> 00:30:23.279 For years, Missouri has held the lowest cigarette 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:26.140 excise tax in the entire United States. a mere 00:30:26.140 --> 00:30:29.680 17 cents per pack. Which is incredibly low compared 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:31.819 to its neighbors. And the sources show that voters 00:30:31.819 --> 00:30:34.420 have repeatedly and decisively rejected efforts 00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:36.859 to raise that tax, even when the revenue was 00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:39.720 earmarked for specific public works. This rejection 00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:42.519 is key. The skepticism here isn't just about 00:30:42.519 --> 00:30:45.140 politicians. It's about the state distrusting 00:30:45.140 --> 00:30:47.380 government control, even when linked to public 00:30:47.380 --> 00:30:51.019 revenue. Their continuous low tobacco tax today 00:30:51.019 --> 00:30:53.599 and the rejection of statewide prohibition a 00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:56.259 century ago are two sides of the same skeptical 00:30:56.259 --> 00:30:59.000 coin. The refusal to let the government dictate 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:02.500 personal adult consumption or extract funds through 00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:05.420 punitive taxation. And that non -regulatory philosophy 00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:08.349 extends right into employment law. Yes, state 00:31:08.349 --> 00:31:11.609 law explicitly prohibits employers from disadvantaging 00:31:11.609 --> 00:31:14.450 a person for the lawful use of alcohol or tobacco 00:31:14.450 --> 00:31:17.130 outside of work hours. It protects off -duty 00:31:17.130 --> 00:31:19.730 personal choices from employer scrutiny. Finally, 00:31:19.829 --> 00:31:22.269 on cannabis laws, Missouri has shown some movement 00:31:22.269 --> 00:31:24.730 away from total restriction. It proves that the 00:31:24.730 --> 00:31:26.849 skeptical attitude can be directed toward challenging 00:31:26.849 --> 00:31:29.789 older laws, too. Partial decriminalization happened 00:31:29.789 --> 00:31:32.789 in 2014. making first -time possession of up 00:31:32.789 --> 00:31:35.250 to 10 grams punishable by a fine rather than 00:31:35.250 --> 00:31:38.549 jail time. And then in 2018, voters went much 00:31:38.549 --> 00:31:41.130 further. They approved a constitutional amendment 00:31:41.130 --> 00:31:43.869 to legalize medical marijuana with a substantial 00:31:43.869 --> 00:31:47.470 66 % voter approval, establishing a licensing 00:31:47.470 --> 00:31:51.250 and taxing system. This blend of extreme conservatism 00:31:51.250 --> 00:31:53.730 on vice taxation alongside voter -driven moves 00:31:53.730 --> 00:31:56.069 toward medical cannabis perfectly illustrates 00:31:56.069 --> 00:31:58.049 the complexity of the show -me -states character. 00:31:58.430 --> 00:32:01.119 Moving into the modern era. Let's look at the 00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:03.440 demographics and the political landscape. And 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:06.140 this reveals deep, persistent geographic divisions. 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:09.299 Missouri's population is now over 6 .2 million, 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:12.079 making it the 19th most populous state. And over 00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:14.480 half of those people live in either St. Louis 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:17.640 or the Kansas City metropolitan areas. That urbanization 00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:19.960 is a key demographic factor. And here's a fun 00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:22.279 geographic fact that just reinforces its historical 00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:24.640 centrality. The population center of the entire 00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:26.880 United States has been in Missouri since 1980. 00:32:27.099 --> 00:32:29.799 The 2010 census located it near Springfield in 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:32.359 Texas County. Ethnically, German -Americans remain 00:32:32.359 --> 00:32:35.339 a deeply widespread ancestry group, reflecting 00:32:35.339 --> 00:32:38.859 those massive 19th century migrations. However, 00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:41.640 modern diversity is heavily concentrated in the 00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:44.809 urban areas and the southeastern boot heel. African 00:32:44.809 --> 00:32:47.250 -Americans are a substantial population in St. 00:32:47.309 --> 00:32:49.630 Louis and Kansas City, reflecting the historical 00:32:49.630 --> 00:32:51.690 settlement patterns of the Civil War era and 00:32:51.690 --> 00:32:54.230 also in the Bootheel region. And the state has 00:32:54.230 --> 00:32:56.470 seen significant recent immigration, which is. 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:59.200 diversifying the cities. Kansas City has growing 00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:01.339 communities of Latin Americans, particularly 00:33:01.339 --> 00:33:03.680 from Mexico and Colombia, and immigrants from 00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:06.619 Africa, like Sudan and Nigeria. And St. Louis 00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:09.019 is notable for hosting one of the largest Bosnian 00:33:09.019 --> 00:33:11.680 American communities in the world, largely settled 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:13.720 after the conflicts in the Balkans. And we have 00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:16.640 to mention the endangered dialect that is a direct 00:33:16.640 --> 00:33:19.160 link back to its French foundation, Missouri 00:33:19.160 --> 00:33:21.960 French. This is a distinct dialect spoken by 00:33:21.960 --> 00:33:24.220 Creole descendants of those original French pioneers, 00:33:24.500 --> 00:33:27.279 particularly around St. Genevieve. It developed 00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:29.740 in complete isolation from both Canadian and 00:33:29.740 --> 00:33:32.960 Louisiana French varieties. Sadly, our sources 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:35.460 indicate it is now nearly extinct, with only 00:33:35.460 --> 00:33:38.599 a few elderly speakers remaining. It's a critical, 00:33:38.740 --> 00:33:40.940 fading piece of American linguistic history. 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:43.480 The religious landscape remains overwhelmingly 00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:46.670 Christian. About 80 % of Missourians identify 00:33:46.670 --> 00:33:50.369 with a religion and 77 % affiliate with Christianity. 00:33:50.730 --> 00:33:52.849 The largest denominations are the Southern Baptist 00:33:52.849 --> 00:33:55.250 Convention, the Roman Catholic Church, and the 00:33:55.250 --> 00:33:57.950 United Methodist Church. But what stands out 00:33:57.950 --> 00:34:00.250 is the state status as a denominational center. 00:34:00.450 --> 00:34:03.049 That speaks to its longstanding importance in 00:34:03.049 --> 00:34:05.769 American Protestantism. Multiple major national 00:34:05.769 --> 00:34:07.869 and international headquarters are based here. 00:34:08.269 --> 00:34:10.489 The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is headquartered 00:34:10.489 --> 00:34:13.170 in Kirkwood. The United Pentecostal Church International 00:34:13.170 --> 00:34:16.010 is in Hazelwood. And the Assemblies of God USA 00:34:16.010 --> 00:34:18.469 and Baptist Bible Fellowship International are 00:34:18.469 --> 00:34:21.250 both based in Springfield. Springfield, in the 00:34:21.250 --> 00:34:23.449 southwestern part of the state, is often referred 00:34:23.449 --> 00:34:26.429 to as a key buckle of the Bible Belt due to its 00:34:26.429 --> 00:34:28.730 density of denominational leadership in colleges. 00:34:29.469 --> 00:34:31.960 And we also have to mention independence. near 00:34:31.960 --> 00:34:34.960 Kansas City, which holds immense historical and 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:37.420 spiritual significance for several Latter -day 00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:39.679 Saint branches. It serves as the headquarters 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:42.079 for the Community of Christ and the Church of 00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:44.840 Christ, Temple Lot. Shifting now to politics, 00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:48.139 Missouri used to have this enviable, almost perfect 00:34:48.139 --> 00:34:51.059 reputation as the ultimate political bellwether. 00:34:51.469 --> 00:34:53.849 It was famous for this status. It voted for the 00:34:53.849 --> 00:34:56.090 winning presidential candidate from 1904 all 00:34:56.090 --> 00:34:59.070 the way to 2004, with only one single exception 00:34:59.070 --> 00:35:02.809 in 1956. This incredible track record made it 00:35:02.809 --> 00:35:05.809 the quintessential swing state, a genuine microcosm 00:35:05.809 --> 00:35:07.869 of the national political climate. If you won 00:35:07.869 --> 00:35:09.889 Missouri, you were virtually guaranteed the presidency. 00:35:10.150 --> 00:35:12.809 But the sources reveal that this status has collapsed 00:35:12.809 --> 00:35:15.809 completely and dramatically. Since 2000, Missouri 00:35:15.809 --> 00:35:18.130 has voted exclusively Republican for president. 00:35:18.519 --> 00:35:20.920 They even voted against Barack Obama, a candidate 00:35:20.920 --> 00:35:24.280 from neighboring Illinois, twice. This dramatic 00:35:24.280 --> 00:35:27.260 shift highlights a profound national realignment 00:35:27.260 --> 00:35:30.159 where the old complex center that Missouri represented 00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:32.619 has fractured into a deeply polarized political 00:35:32.619 --> 00:35:35.139 landscape. And the political shift hasn't been 00:35:35.139 --> 00:35:37.699 narrow or competitive. The margins of victory 00:35:37.699 --> 00:35:40.699 for Republicans have become substantial 15 percent 00:35:40.699 --> 00:35:43.500 or more in recent elections. And that translates 00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:47.539 down the ballot entirely. As of early 2023, no 00:35:47.539 --> 00:35:50.119 Democrats hold any statewide elected position. 00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:53.260 The former bellwether, the state that once perfectly 00:35:53.260 --> 00:35:55.440 mirrored the nation, has become a reliably red 00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:58.360 state, defined by this deep urban -rural divide. 00:35:58.940 --> 00:36:01.599 Highly Democratic in the core cities, and overwhelmingly 00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:03.900 Republican in the vast expanse of the state between 00:36:03.900 --> 00:36:05.659 them. Finally, we have to confront the modern 00:36:05.659 --> 00:36:07.500 challenges and social tensions that have brought 00:36:07.500 --> 00:36:09.719 Missouri national attention, specifically the 00:36:09.719 --> 00:36:11.920 tragic events and unrest that occurred in Ferguson 00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:15.409 in 2014. The protests and riots, followed the 00:36:15.409 --> 00:36:17.929 shooting of Michael Brown. And the subsequent 00:36:17.929 --> 00:36:20.010 investigations conducted by the U .S. Department 00:36:20.010 --> 00:36:23.610 of Justice, the DOJ, produced complex, often 00:36:23.610 --> 00:36:26.349 contrasting findings, which the sources highlight 00:36:26.349 --> 00:36:28.989 as central to the ongoing national conversation 00:36:28.989 --> 00:36:32.030 about race and justice. The sources outlined 00:36:32.030 --> 00:36:35.050 two distinct investigations. In the specific 00:36:35.050 --> 00:36:37.769 criminal review of the incident, the DOJ concluded 00:36:37.769 --> 00:36:40.329 that the police officer legitimately feared for 00:36:40.329 --> 00:36:42.989 his safety. That was a critical finding in the 00:36:42.989 --> 00:36:45.469 criminal aspect of the case. However, in a completely 00:36:45.469 --> 00:36:48.150 separate and much broader pattern or practice 00:36:48.150 --> 00:36:51.090 investigation, the DOJ found severe systemic 00:36:51.090 --> 00:36:53.110 issues within the Ferguson Police Department 00:36:53.110 --> 00:36:56.110 and the city of Ferguson. This investigation 00:36:56.110 --> 00:36:58.849 determined that the city was relying on unconstitutional 00:36:58.849 --> 00:37:01.590 practices, specifically the issuance of excessive 00:37:01.590 --> 00:37:03.670 fines and disproportionate targeting of Black 00:37:03.670 --> 00:37:06.849 citizens, as a deliberate institutionalized method 00:37:06.849 --> 00:37:10.010 to balance the municipal budget. So the DOJ found 00:37:10.010 --> 00:37:11.829 that the policing and judicial apparatus were 00:37:11.829 --> 00:37:13.630 essentially operating as a revenue -generating 00:37:13.630 --> 00:37:16.090 tool, and that created this pervasive environment 00:37:16.090 --> 00:37:18.869 of systemic discrimination and mistrust. And 00:37:18.869 --> 00:37:21.650 this deep -seated discrimination led to the highly 00:37:21.650 --> 00:37:25.690 unusual and unprecedented step of the NAACP issuing 00:37:25.690 --> 00:37:29.289 a statewide travel advisory in 2017. It was the 00:37:29.289 --> 00:37:32.349 first ever covering an entire state, and it cited 00:37:32.349 --> 00:37:34.389 pervasive racial discrimination in Missouri. 00:37:34.610 --> 00:37:36.949 And this advisory was supported by hard data. 00:37:37.150 --> 00:37:40.050 A 2018 Attorney General report found that African 00:37:40.050 --> 00:37:42.969 Americans were a striking 85 percent more likely 00:37:42.969 --> 00:37:45.369 to be pulled over during traffic stops in 2017 00:37:45.369 --> 00:37:48.320 compared to white drivers. These issues highlight 00:37:48.320 --> 00:37:51.219 profound, continuing racial disparities and trust 00:37:51.219 --> 00:37:53.760 deficits that remain central to the state's modern 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:56.739 political and social identity. And it demonstrates 00:37:56.739 --> 00:37:59.159 that the legacies of the Civil War era, the tension 00:37:59.159 --> 00:38:01.460 between Southern and Northern influence, the 00:38:01.460 --> 00:38:04.219 urban -rural divide, issues of equity, are far 00:38:04.219 --> 00:38:06.489 from settled. So what does this all mean? Our 00:38:06.489 --> 00:38:08.489 deep dive into Missouri reveals a state truly 00:38:08.489 --> 00:38:10.769 defined by confluence and by internal tension. 00:38:11.110 --> 00:38:13.610 It's where the two massive rivers, the Mississippi 00:38:13.610 --> 00:38:16.210 and the Missouri, meet. Historically, it's where 00:38:16.210 --> 00:38:18.550 ancient Mississippian culture clashed with European 00:38:18.550 --> 00:38:20.829 traders, where Southern tradition met Northern 00:38:20.829 --> 00:38:23.210 migration, and where the devastating nature of 00:38:23.210 --> 00:38:25.230 the border conflict left a permanent, defining 00:38:25.230 --> 00:38:28.989 mark. And economically, its centrality is undeniable. 00:38:29.360 --> 00:38:31.599 I mean, demonstrated by being the only state 00:38:31.599 --> 00:38:34.019 with two Federal Reserve Banks requiring financial 00:38:34.019 --> 00:38:36.579 eyes on both the Western cattle economy and the 00:38:36.579 --> 00:38:39.440 eater industrial and grain economy. Yet this 00:38:39.440 --> 00:38:41.920 deep -seated status contrasts sharply with its 00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:44.860 famously skeptical, anti -regulatory, laissez 00:38:44.860 --> 00:38:47.000 -faire approach to lawmaking regarding everything 00:38:47.000 --> 00:38:50.659 from alcohol taxation to tobacco control. It's 00:38:50.659 --> 00:38:53.179 a state that trusts its people to choose, often 00:38:53.179 --> 00:38:55.159 resulting in some of the most permissive laws 00:38:55.159 --> 00:38:57.869 in the nation. This complexity, this constant 00:38:57.869 --> 00:39:00.510 duality, that defines the show -me state. But 00:39:00.510 --> 00:39:02.269 let's leave you with one final thought to mull 00:39:02.269 --> 00:39:04.329 over, connecting the state's foundational philosophy 00:39:04.329 --> 00:39:07.150 to its ongoing challenges. The official state 00:39:07.150 --> 00:39:10.630 motto is, Salis Populi Suprema Lex Esto, which 00:39:10.630 --> 00:39:12.869 is Latin for, let the welfare of the people be 00:39:12.869 --> 00:39:15.110 the supreme law. Considering Missouri's intense 00:39:15.110 --> 00:39:18.309 history with internal conflict, the legacy of 00:39:18.309 --> 00:39:20.650 the Civil War, and the profound disparity found 00:39:20.650 --> 00:39:23.639 in modern policing and traffic stops, What does 00:39:23.639 --> 00:39:26.079 this foundational legal principle truly mean 00:39:26.079 --> 00:39:29.400 in practice today? What is the supreme law when 00:39:29.400 --> 00:39:31.699 the welfare of the people is experienced so dramatically 00:39:31.699 --> 00:39:34.320 and tragically, differently, across demographic 00:39:34.320 --> 00:39:37.639 and geographic lines? We encourage you to explore 00:39:37.639 --> 00:39:39.599 the state further, perhaps beginning with the 00:39:39.599 --> 00:39:41.780 story of St. Genevieve National Historical Park 00:39:41.780 --> 00:39:44.460 and the surviving influence of its rare French 00:39:44.460 --> 00:39:47.400 colonial heritage, a tangible reminder of the 00:39:47.400 --> 00:39:50.239 state's earliest, less conflicted origins. Until 00:39:50.239 --> 00:39:51.239 next time, keep digging.