Missouri, named after the Missouri Siouan Indian tribe meaning
"town of the large canoes", is a U.S. state in the United
States with Jefferson City as its capital. It is a midwestern state, with some Northern, Eastern, Western, and
Southern cultural influences. The state's nickname is the
Show-Me State; the Mississippi and Missouri rivers are the two
large rivers which flow through this state.
Originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, Missouri was
admitted as a state in 1821 as part of the Missouri
Compromise. It earned the nickname "Gateway to the West"
because it served as a departure point for settlers heading to
the west. It was the starting point and the return destination
of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. During the Civil War,
Missouri, a slave state, remained in the Union, but sentiment
was split with a significant portion of the populace
supporting the Confederate cause.
