Missouri Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===19th century=== [[File:George Caleb Bingham 001.jpg|thumb|''[[Fur Traders Descending the Missouri]]'' by Missouri painter [[George Caleb Bingham]]]] Napoleon Bonaparte had gained Louisiana for French ownership from Spain in 1800 under the [[Third Treaty of San Ildefonso|Treaty of San Ildefonso]] after it had been a Spanish colony since 1762, but the treaty was kept secret. Louisiana remained nominally under Spanish control until a transfer of power to France on November 30, 1803, just three weeks before the cession to the United States. 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. [[St. Louis]] was a major supply point for decades, 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 [[1811β12 New Madrid earthquakes]]. Casualties were few due to the sparse population. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page