密苏里(Missouri)

美国中西部一州。面积180,514平方公里。首府杰佛逊城。密苏里河由西至东流贯该州，北部地区是起伏的丘陵和肥沃的平原，南部地区有深的谷地和湍急的溪流。该地的原始住民是数个印第安部落，密苏里人是其中一支，也是该州名称的由来。1735年法国猎人和铅矿工人在圣吉纳维夫设立第一个欧洲永久居民点。1764年建立圣路易。1803年因为路易斯安那购地的一部分，美国取得该地区的控制权。1805年属路易斯安那准州，1812年则属密苏里准州。1812年战争後大批美国居民移入。1821年密苏里成为美国第二十四州，但密苏里妥协案通过後，准许该州成为奴隶州。该州常苦於蓄奴者和废奴者间的关系紧张，1857年的德雷德.司各脱裁决便是一项证明。美国南北战争期间密苏里仍留在联邦内，虽然其居民为双方作战。战後，其经济成长扩大，1904年举行圣路易博览会。第二次世界大战後，该州经济从农业移转为制造业。主要以奥沙克地区为基础的铅制品居全国领导地位。人口约5,592,211（2000）。

English version：

Missouri

State (pop., 1997 est.: 5,402,000), midwestern U.S. It covers 69,697 sq mi (180,515 sq km); its capital is Jefferson City. The Missouri River runs from west to east across the state. The area north of it has rolling hills and fertile plains, the area south has deep valleys and swift streams. The region was originally inhabited by different Indian tribes, one of which, the Missouri, gave the state its name. The first permanent European settlement was made in 1735 at Ste. Genevieve by French hunters and lead miners. St. Louis was founded in 1764. The U.S. gained control of the region in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. It was part of Louisiana Territory in 1805 and Missouri Territory in 1812. An influx of U.S. settlers occurred after the War of 1812. Missouri became the 24th state in 1821, but only after the Missouri Compromise allowed its admission as a slave state. It suffered much tension between slaveholders and abolitionists, evidenced in the Dred Scott decision in 1857. Missouri remained in the Union during the American Civil War, though its citizens fought on both sides. After the war, its economic growth expanded and was celebrated in the St. Louis Exhibition of 1904. After World War II, its economy shifted from agriculture to manufacturing. It leads the nation in lead production, based mainly in the Ozarks region.