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© 2004 Justin Kase Conder Introduction Essay for Missouri 24/7 Either Way, It's Missouri By Sylvester Brown Ask about the slogan "The Show Me State" and you'll get conflicting answers. Missourians are staunch skeptics, some say. Others admit to needing direction now and then. Both sides are supported by legend. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Call it Missour-uh or Missour-ee. It's recognized either way. Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harry Truman, George Washington Carver--even Sheryl Crow and Nelly--made sure of it. This is Missouri--tamed by the Sioux, snatched by Spain, given to France, and sold to Jefferson. This was the country's compromise--a slave state, but only in part. Slavery made its way north by way of steamboats, saddlebags, and old southern habits. Missouri smiled at the union and winked at the south--even mixed a horse and a donkey and dubbed it the "Missouri mule." This is Missouri, baby, the middle state, something in between. Missouri represents America's adventurous teenage years--a time when Lewis and Clark stretched the wobbly legs of democracy westward, along the path of the mighty Missouri River. This was the muddy middle passage to golden dreams and fat, fertile land. Ours is the jambalaya on America's 50-course buffet. Creole-style villages of French settlers are preserved in St. Genevieve and in St. Charles. The heart of German immigration oompahs with gusto in Hermann, while the ragtime memories of Scott Joplin are celebrated midstate, in Sedalia, every year. St. Louis was the state's first big city. The "City of Kansas" soon followed. Businessmen with Yankee alliances cultivated their St. Louis fortunes while Kansas City got rich off countless cattle from the Wild West. Both are economic engines of the state, though the rural folk prefer it another way. The outlaw Jesse James reflects the spirit of a young Kansas City. The thief and murderer who carried the bitter banner of secession today is romanticized in his hometown of Kearney. Neither Republican nor Democrat, Missouri swings with both parties. Still, KC's "Boss" Pendergast built a machine that helped elect two presidents and inspire a "New Deal." Republicans get their way, too. In a strange twist of fate and metal Republican John Ashcroft lost his senate seat. It really didn't matter. Longtime politician Jim Talent got it back. And Aschroft? He got a spot in the nation's cabinet. Missouri's new division is really old division. Sprawl--urban, suburban and now, rural. Sprawl fuels rifts as power shifts. No one's wearing blue or gray but guns, abortion, education, stadiums, and tiffs divide us anyway. This book gets up close and personal with a complex state. Missouri. The middle state. United and divided, strengthened and weakened by diversity and invisible borders. Missouri is tree-covered hills, fish-filled lakes, timeless caverns, and the Santa Fe Trail. It's factories and farms, faiths and factions. It's barbecue, Branson, and Budweiser. It's bluegrass and country, Bootheel gospel, Kansas City jazz, St. Louie blues, and rock and roll --Chuck Berrytyle. It's a mix, you see... This is Missouri, baby, the middle state, something in between. Browse    View All    Either Way, It's Missouri    Hearth & Home    Hard at Work    Missouri at Play    Reason to Believe    Our Town Photos: 134 Photographers: 31 Towns: 59

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