Missouri is a state in the Midwestern United States. With over six million residents, it is the 18th most populous state. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia. The capitol is in Jefferson City on the Missouri River. The state is the 21st most extensive in area. In the South are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Mississippi River forms the eastern border of the state.

Humans have inhabited the land now known as Missouri for at least 12,000 years. The Mississippian culture built cities and mounds, before declining in the 1300s. When European explorers arrived in the 1600s they encountered the Osage and Missouria nations. The French established Louisiana, a part of New France, and founded Ste. Genevieve in 1735 and St. Louis in 1764. After a brief period of Spanish rule, the United States acquired the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Americans from the Upland South, including enslaved African Americans, rushed into the new Missouri Territory. Many from Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee settled in the Boonslick area of Mid-Missouri. Soon after, heavy German immigration formed the Missouri Rhineland.

Missouri played a central role in the westward expansion of the United States, as memorialized by the Gateway Arch. The Pony Express, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, and California Trail all began in Missouri. As a border state, Missouri's role in the American Civil War was complex and there were many conflicts within. After the war, both Greater St. Louis and the Kansas City metropolitan area became centers of industrialization and business. Today, the state is divided into 114 counties and the independent city of St. Louis.

1. What did European explorers find in the 1600's?
2. Who founded Louisiana?
3. Did they claim other areas?
4. Which ones?
5. When was that?
6. What about St. Louis?
7. Who acquired the Louisiana Purchase?
8. When?
9. Who was it immediately populated by?
10. How many people live in Missouri now?
11. What is the capital?
12. Did it play a role in the Civil War?
13. How come?
14. Was it considered a border state?
15. Did it play a small or large roll in westward expansion?
16. What notable trails began in Missouri?
17. Where in the US is it located?
18. What rivers are in it?
19. Is there another?
20. How many counties are in it?

Provide a numbered list of answers.
1. Osage and Missouria nations.
2. The French
3. yes
4. Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis
5. Ste. Genevieve in 1735
6. 1764
7. United States
8. 1803
9. Americans from the Upland South
10. over six million
11. Jefferson City
12. yes
13. there were many conflicts within
14. yes
15. large
16. The Pony Express, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, and California Trail
17. Midwest
18. The Mississippi River
19. unknown
20. 114