Missouri - Tidbits of History

Header image from National Park Service.gov, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri

Missouri became the 24th state on August 10, 1821.

Missouri Eastern Bluebird

A small thrush. Eastern bluebirds are very social birds. At times, they gather in flocks of a hundred or more. Bluebirds are generally monogamous, staying together throughout the breeding season, and may breed together for more than one season. However, some birds may switch mates during a breeding season to raise a second brood. A bluebird can spot caterpillars and insects in tall grass at the remarkable distance of over 50 yards.
State bird of Missouri, New York

Flower: Hawthorn

Hawthorn supports healthy circulation and cardiovascular functioning. Hawthorn leaf, flower, and berry have been praised over the centuries for their heart elevating properties. Believed to uplift and strengthen both the physical and emotional heart, hawthorn, as it supports healthy cardiovascular function, was also revered for ceremonial and spiritual purposes. The flavorful red berries have been used in candies, jams, jellies, wines, and cordials and are widely available in many forms as dietary supplements. In folklore, the story goes that Paul Bunyan used a hawthorn tree as a back scratcher.

Tree: Flowering Dogwood

This species has in the past been used in the production of inks, scarlet dyes, and as a quinine substitute. The hard, dense wood has been used for products such as golf club heads, mallets, wooden rake teeth, tool handles, jeweler’s boxes and butcher’s blocks. It is the state tree and flower of Virginia, the state tree of Missouri, and state flower of North Carolina. It was used to treat dogs with mange, which may be how it got its name.[19] The red berries are edible, but do not taste good.
In 1915, forty dogwood saplings were donated by U.S. to Japan in the 1912-15 exchange of flowers between Tokyo and Washington, D.C. While the cherry trees survived the ensuing sour relations of these two countries and are the main feature of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, all dogwood trees in Tokyo died except the one that had been planted in an agriculture high school. In 2012, the United States sent 3,000 dogwood saplings to Japan to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Washington D.C. cherry trees given as a gift to the U.S. by Japan in 1912.

State Quarter
From theus50.com

Missouri became the 24th state on August 10, 1821, as a part of the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri quarter depicts Lewis and Clark’s historic return to St. Louis down the Missouri River, with the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) in the background. The quarter is inscribed “Corps of Discovery 1804-2004”.

While much of the state’s history is tied to the mighty rivers that flow through it, the “Show Me State” got its nickname because of the devotion of its people to simple common sense. In 1899, Rep. Willard D. Vandiver said, “Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I’m from Missouri. You’ve got to show me.” It is easy to imagine President Thomas Jefferson saying “show me” as he sent Lewis and Clark forth on their trek into the uncharted Louisiana Purchase territory. Their 8,000-mile journey westward and back, which some claim was the greatest U.S. military expedition ever, began in St. Charles, Missouri just 20 miles west of St. Louis, in 1804 and ended when they returned to St. Louis, Missouri in 1806.

Capital: Jefferson
Nickname: Show Me State – The ‘Show Me State’ expression may have began in 1899 when Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver stated, “I’m from Missouri and you’ve got to show me.”

Motto: The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law.

The state animal is the Mule.

The “Missouri Waltz” became the state song under an act adopted by the General Assembly on June 30, 1949.

Missouri Facts and Trivia

Missouri was named after a tribe called Missouri Indians; meaning “town of the large canoes”.

In 1673, French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet entered Missouri traveling along the Missouri River. It was Father Marquette who first used the name “Missouri” when mapping out the region. A few years later, in 1682, another French explorer named Robert de La Salle arrived and claimed Missouri for France as part of the Louisiana Territory.

In the early 1700s, French fur traders and missionaries began to move into Missouri. Small missions and settlements were built including Fort Orleans which was built on the banks of the Missouri River in 1724.

Missouri’s oldest community, Saint Genevieve, was founded as early as 1735.

In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established by French merchant Pierre Laclede. Control of the Louisiana Territory changed hands to the Spanish in 1762 and then back to the French in 1800.

In 1803, the United States gained control of Missouri as part of the Louisiana Purchase from France. Explorers Lewis and Clark began their expedition to the west in Missouri near the city of St. Louis traveling up the Missouri River.

Missouri was a part of the Louisiana Territory until 1812 when the Missouri Territory was established. By 1817, Missouri was requesting to enter the Union and become a state. However, many northern members of congress voted against Missouri’s entrance because Missouri allowed slavery. Congress finally came to an agreement called the Missouri Compromise. They would allow Missouri to join the country as a slave slate, but at the same time they would also admit Maine as a free state. On August 10, 1821, Missouri was admitted as the 24th state.

In the mid-1800s, Missouri became known as the “Gateway to the West.” Many settlers would start out here on their way to California, Oregon, and other areas out west. This was one of the last places where wagon trains could stop for supplies before beginning their long trip. Both the Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon Trail began in Missouri.

1857 – The Supreme Court makes the Dred Scott Decision against Missouri slave Dred Scott. The Court ruled that black people could not be American citizens.

When the Civil War began in 1861 Missouri decided to stay with the Union even though it was a slave state. However, many people in the state wanted to secede and join the Confederacy. The two sides fought each other throughout the war, but the pro-Union side maintained control. Before the war ended, Missouri adopted a new law that abolished slavery in the state.

In 1889, Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented at St. Joseph, Missouri, was the first self-rising flour for pancakes and the first ready-mix food ever to be introduced commercially.

At the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, Richard Blechyden, served tea with ice and invented iced tea.

Also, at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, the ice cream cone was invented. An ice cream vendor ran out of cups and asked a waffle vendor to help by rolling up waffles to hold ice cream.

The St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 is the setting for the movie “Meet Me In St. Louis” with Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien in 1944.

1945 – Harry S. Truman becomes President of the United States.

1965 – Construction on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis is completed. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial consists of the Gateway Arch, the Museum of Westward Expansion, and St. Louis’ Old Courthouse. During a nationwide competition in 1947-48, architect Eero Saarinen’s inspired design for a 630-foot stainless steel arch was chosen as a perfect monument to the spirit of the western pioneers. Construction of the Arch began in 1963 and was completed on October 28, 1965.The Arch has foundations sunken 60 feet into the ground, and is built to withstand earthquakes and high winds. It sways up to one inch in a 20 mph wind, and is built to sway up to 18 inches.

According to rd.com, the town in Missouri that is most difficult to pronounce is Qulin. No, it’s not a typo. The tiny town of Qulin, Missouri (population approximately 450 at last count) has no vowel between the “Qu” and the rest of it, leaving most of us to wonder: WHICH vowel?The answer is: none. The town of Qulin is pronounced Q-lin. Why they spelled it that way remains a mystery.

Missouri was widely regarded as a bellwether in American politics, often making it a swing state. The state had a longer stretch of supporting the winning presidential candidate than any other state, having voted with the nation in every election from 1904 to 2004 with a single exception: 1956, when Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson of neighboring Illinois lost the election despite carrying Missouri. However, in recent years, areas of the state outside Kansas City, St. Louis, and Columbia have shifted heavily to the right, and so the state is no longer considered a bellwether by most analysts. Missouri twice voted against Democrat Barack Obama, who won in 2008 and 2012. Missouri voted for Romney by nearly 10% in 2012. In 2016 Donald Trump took Missouri’s 10 electoral votes by taking 56.4% of the vote to Clinton’s 38%.

Strange Laws:

In St. Louis it is illegal for an on-duty firefighter to rescue a woman wearing a nightgown. In order to be rescued, a woman must be fully dressed.
Brothel Law says that it is illegal for four or more unrelated women to rent an apartment/house together.
Anyone wanting to braid hair professionally must be a licensed cosmetologist or barber—despite the fact that neither licensing program offers any training on braiding
If a bull or ram over the age of one year runs rampant for more than three days, any person may castrate the animal without assuming liability for damage.
It is illegal to play hopscotch on Sunday afternoons.
Women are not allowed to wear corsets in Missouri because “the privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a young woman should not be denied to the normal, red-blooded American male.”

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