Our Community – Missouri Personal Injury Attorneys, The Show Me State, Illinois, The Prairie State

Missouri is known by many nicknames, but the most famous is “The Show Me State.” The nickname is usually traced to a speech by Willard Duncan Vandiver – a scholar, writer, lecturer and Congressman from Cape Girardeau County. During an 1899 speech in Philadelphia, he questioned the accuracy of an earlier speaker’s remarks, concluding “ … frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”

Old Courthouse, St. Louis, MO © 2003 - 2004 Brown & Crouppen, PC. Photos by Consultwebs.com The state is also known as the “Mother of the West,” because it once lay at the frontier of the country. St. Louis, St. Charles, Independence, St. Joseph, and Westport Landing (now Kansas City) served as settling points for westbound pioneers. Today, Missouri’s proximity to the geographical and population centers of the nation makes it an ideal center for business, industry and tourism.

The state’s total resident population in Census 2000 was 5,595,211, ranking Missouri 17th among all U.S. states. Jefferson City, Missouri’s state capital, isn’t the state’s largest. That honor goes to St. Louis, located just below the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, making it a key center for transportation and trade since the days of Lewis and Clark. From St. Louis you can catch a nonstop plane to popular European destinations, making it an international gateway. Anheuser Busch Inc., the world’s largest brewer, is headquartered in St. Louis, as is the Monsanto Company, a leader in genetic technology. Also in St. Louis is Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, manufacturer of military aircraft, missiles and electronic equipment used worldwide. About 4.5 hours from St. Louis is Missouri’s second major metro area, Kansas City, home of Hallmark Inc., blues and barbecue.

Famous Missourians include: Harry S. Truman, 33rd president of the United Stated, born in Lamar; Samuel Clemens, commonly known by his pen name, Mark Twain, born in Hannibal; George Washington Carver, born a slave near Diamond, Mo., known as a great scientist; distinguished military leader John J. Pershing, born in 1860 near Laclede, Mo.; notorious outlaw Jesse James, notorious outlaw, born in Kearney; and the legendary pioneer scout Daniel Boone, born in Defiance, in the Missouri Territory as it was known before becoming a state.

Missouri is home to two NFL teams – The Kansas City Chiefs and the St. Louis Rams; two major league baseball teams – the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Rams; as well as the St. Louis Blues hockey team. There are more than 80 state parks and historic sites with a variety of features: winding rivers and streams, clear blue springs and limestone bluffs. There are also more than 5,500 recorded caves.

Lake of the Ozarks Garden © 2003 - 2004 Brown & Crouppen, PC, Photos by Consultwebs.com Links:
St. Louis Science Center
American Jazz Museum
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Thomas Hart Benton Home
Harry S Truman Home National Historic Site
Bingham-Waggoner Estate
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis
Gateway Arch/Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Missouri Botanical Garden
Baldknobbers Jamboree

State Bird: Bluebird
State Floral Emblem: White Hawthorn Blossom
State Tree: Flowering dogwood
State Tree Nut: Eastern black walnut
State Animal: Missouri mule
State Horse: Missouri fox trotting horse
State Fish: Channel catfish
State Aquatic Animal: Paddlefish
State Motto: “The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law”
State Insect: Honeybee
State Beautification Plant:
State Fossil: Crinoid
State Mineral: Galena
State Rock: Mozarkite
State Song: “The Missouri Waltz”
State American Folk Dance: Square dance
State Musical Instrument: Fiddle
Statehood: August 10, 1821; the 24th state

Chicago, Illinois © 2003 - 2004 Brown & Crouppen, PC. Photos by Consultwebs.com

From brassy big cities to serene small towns, Illinois has something for everyone. At nearly 58,000 square miles, Illinois is the 25th largest state, and its 13 million residents have made it the nation’s fifth most populous state – after California, New York, Texas and Florida. Despite the number of people, the major industries of The Prairie State remain agriculture (corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, barley, rye sorghum), cattle, manufacturing and mining.

Illinois has birthed one president – Ronald Wilson Reagan, born in Tampico on Feb. 6, 1911. He was our 40th president, serving from 1981 to 1989. (Contrary to popular belief, President Abraham Lincoln was not born here in “The Land of Lincoln” – Illinois’ state slogan – but in Kentucky.) Other famous Illinoisans include Walt Disney, film animator and producer (Chicago); Wild Bill Hickock, scout (Troy Grove); Miles Davis, musician (Alton); Ernest Hemmingway, author (Oak Park); Mary Astor, actress (Quincy), and Jane Addams, social worker (Cedarville).

The name Illinois comes from the word Illini, a confederation of the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Moingwena, Peoria and Tamaroa Indian tribes. The state capital is Springfield, located midway between Chicago and St. Louis, along the famed Route 66.

Whatever your sport, whatever your season, Illinois has a team for you, all centrally located in the state’s powerhouse city, Chicago. Big baseball buff? Head for Wrigley Field on the north side to see the Cubs, or Comiskey Park on the south side for the White Sox. Ready for some hoops action? The Bulls are six-time NBA champions. During football season, the Bears take to Soldier Field on Lake Michigan’s north shore. And surely all hockey fans know about the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the original six NHL teams since 1926. After 65 years in the historic Chicago Stadium, the Blackhawks moved to the United Center in 1994, which they share with the Bulls.

For those who prefer their entertainment outdoors, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources manages 262 state parks and recreational sites located on more than 400,000 acres of land. These sites represent the beauty and diversity of Illinois, from its rolling grasslands and woodlands to its craggy ravines and beautiful waterways. The state’s biggest park is the Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area. The park overlooks the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 19,000-acre Rend Lake Reservoir, and is the hands-down favorite of people who like water sports, hunting, horseback riding, camping, picnicking, hiking or any other outdoor recreation. Bird enthusiasts flock to Wayne Fitzgerrell to see the great blue heron, American bald eagle and the red-tailed hawk, among others.

Links:
Anderson Gardens
Lincoln Highway
Sears Tower Skydeck
Hancock Observatory
The Magnificent Mile
Great River Road
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum
Route 66
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows
Rend Lake

State Bird: Cardinal
State Flower: Illinois native (purple) violet
State Tree: White oak
State Grass: Big bluestem
State Mammal: White-tailed deer
State Fish: Bluegill
State Motto: “State sovereignty, national union”
State Slogan: “Land of Lincoln”
State Insect: Monarch butterfly
State Fossil: Tully Monster
State Mineral: Fluorite
State Song: “Illinois”
Statehood: December 3, 1818, the 21st state