Editing Missouri (section)

===19th century===
[[File:Louisiana Purchase.png|thumb|283x283px|Areas of [[Spanish Louisiana]] around 1803 overlayed over the current American states that it encompassed.]]
Part of the 1803 [[Louisiana Purchase]] by the United States, Missouri earned the nickname ''Gateway to the West'' because it served as a significant departure point for expeditions and settlers heading to the West during the 19th century. [[St. Charles, Missouri|St. Charles]], just west of St. Louis, was the starting point and the return destination of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]], which ascended the Missouri River in 1804, to explore the western lands to the Pacific Ocean. For decades, [[St. Louis]] was a major supply point for parties of settlers heading west.

As many of the early settlers in western Missouri migrated from the [[Upper South]], they brought enslaved [[African American]]s as agricultural laborers, and they desired to continue their culture and the institution of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]]. They settled predominantly in 17 counties along the [[Missouri River]], in an area of flatlands that enabled [[Plantations in the American South|plantation]] agriculture and became known as "[[Little Dixie (Missouri)|Little Dixie]]".

The state was rocked by the [[1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes]]. Casualties were few due to the sparse population.