USA Missouri - The History : USA  

USA Missouri - The History - Travel guide

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USA Missouri - The History

The History

As part of the Louisiana Purchase territory, Missouri has belonged to three nations: France, Spain and the United States. First claimed for France by LaSalle in 1682, Missouri was ceded to Spain in 1762. Although Spain held the country for 40 years, its in influence was slight.

The territory was much bigger than the present state of Missouri. The area to the west and northwest of the state, which had been in the territory, was commonly known as the "Missouri Country" until May 30, 1854, and certain of the post offices in this area show a Missouri abbreviation in the postmark.

By secret treaty in 1802, Spain ceded the Louisiana Territory back to France. Napoleon Bonaparte, anxious to rid himself of the vast and troublesome frontier, sold it to the United States in 1803 for a total of $15,000,000.

Pro-slavers became politically powerful, and Mormon settlers, who opposed slavery, were driven from the state in 1839. Residents also contributed to the violence that tore Kansas apart after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854.

But there were also anti-slavery leaders, including Senator Thomas Hart Benton, and residents voted against secession in 1861. Missouri was plagued with lawlessness during and after the war, but became more urbanized and industrialized and less southern as railroads tied it more closely to the East and North.

Missouri became the 24th State to united under America on August 10, 1821.