Arkansas and Missouri
Or as many say “Missour UH” and wait a second, why is Arkansas pronounced like that? Well, that’s another video, buddy. Check it out. Anyway, Missouri and Arkansas
The Show-Me State and The Natural State Two bordering states where the South kind
of meets the West and Midwest in THESE United States And, I know I have talked some trash about
Missouri throughout my life being a Kansas boy, but I gotta admit it’s one of my favorite
places to visit, and I only don’t visit Arkansas as much since it’s a bit further
of a drive for me. There’s a relatively new rivalry between
the sports teams of the two major universities in each state. (Missouri Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks). The football rivalry is known as The Battle
Line Rivalry. But let’s first look at what these two wonderful
states have in common. First, both are named after major rivers that
go through each state. Both states have a low cost of living, although
it’s generally cheaper to live in Arkansas than Missouri. Residents of both tend to be more religious
than most other Americans. The biggest religion in both is Christianity,
of course. Specifically, Evangelical Protestant. Both are in the Bible Belt, a region of the
country where Protestant fundamentalism is widely practiced. Residents of both generally lean to the right
politically. Although Arkansas residents are generally
even more conservative than Missouri residents. The median age is about the same in both. (A- 38.8, M- 38.9) Both have mountains, although they’re small
ones. Most of the Ozarks, a region
of forested small mountain ranges and plateaus that make up an area of almost 47,000 square
miles (120,000 km2), are in both states. While the Ozarks bring lots of tourism to
both states for outdoorsy folks obviously, Missouri also has little gems like Branson,
which would draw tourists even if it WASN’T in the Ozarks. It is known for its shows and attractions,
and while it’s home to less than 12,000 people it gets more than 9 MILLION VISITORS
each year. By the way, it’s only about a 15 minute
drive from the Arkansas border. Both have a lot of agriculture goin’ on. Here is where most of that happens in both
states as this land is generally more flat. The biggest crop in Arkansas is rice and the
biggest crop in Missouri is soybeans. Arkansas produces around half of the entire
country’s rice. Woahness. Both have a humid subtropical climate, although
northern Missouri is classified as having a humid continental climate. Both also have similar natural disasters,
and occasionally have to deal with flooding, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. Arkansas has more storms that are actually
remnants from tropical storms since it is closer to where hurricanes make landfall. Both have to worry about earthquakes, but
in particular northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri have to worry a bit…uh…more. That’s where the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes
took place, named after the town where its epicenter was: New Madrid, Missouri. They were the worst earthquakes, east of the
Rocky Mountains anyway, in American history, so bad that they caused church bells to ring
in Boston and literally changed the course of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River, I say? Why yes. The mighty Mississippi River marks the eastern
border of both states. The Red River also marks a little bit of the
Arkansas border while the Missouri River marks some of Missouri’s border. But what about this little tail thingy in
the southeastern corner of Missouri. Now that’s interesting, isn’t it? Well apparently folks actually refer to that
area as the Missouri Bootheel. Now, originally all of Missouri’s southern
border with Arkansas was supposed to be located at 36° 30’. Ya know, simply an extension west of the Virginia-North
Carolina and Kentucky-Tennessee border. Well nope, and it’s all because of one well
powerful dude: John Hardeman Walker. He owned a great chunk of land in the area,
and wanted his land to be part of Missouri, not Arkansas, since Missouri supposedly had
more natural resources. In particular, access to the two longest rivers
in the country, the Missouri River and Mississippi River. Due to his connections, he was able to convince
Congress to create the Bootheel so his land could be in Missouri. Both states spend a similar amount each year
per student on education. (A- $10,139, M- $10,810 (2021)) The biggest three industries in both states
are healthcare, retail, and manufacturing. Both have rich music histories, with Missouri
being the birthplace of ragtime, Kansas City jazz, and St. Louis blues, and Arkansas known
for its deep blues, gospel, country, and bluegrass roots. Both have one national park. And in case you're wondering, yes…the Gateway
Arch National Park is actually a national park, and at just over 90 acres, it’s the
smallest one in the country. That said, that magnificent arch is the country’s
tallest monument. So what about their differences? Well now, before I get into it…it’s sponsorship
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The link is also in the description. Ok, so I was saying about differences? Why yes I was. First of all, Missouri is bigger, but probably
not as much bigger as you would think. Just about 1.3 times the size of Arkansas. Missouri borders eight different states. The only other state that borders that many
is Tennessee. Arkansas borders six. The population of Missouri is more than twice
that of Arkansas. (A- 3 million, M- 6.2 million) A big reason why are Missouri’s two major
metropolitan areas- Kansas City and St. Louis, both wonderful cities that I am very, very
familiar with. Both metros have more than 2 million people. 2 out of 3 Missourians live in either Kansas
City or St. Louis. Arkansas’s biggest metropolitan area, Little
Rock, doesn’t even crack 750,000 people. I will say, though, that its second biggest
metro, commonly referred to as simply Northwest Arkansas, is currently one of the fastest
growing metros in the country and, personally, one of my favorite parts of the country I
might add. Much of its growth has been driven by three
HUGE companies located there: Walmart, Tyson Foods, and J.B. Hunt Transport Services. While Walmart started in Arkansas, I oughta
say that the first Walmart Supercenter to ever open opened in Missouri. Anyway, due to that bigger population, Missouri
has more electoral votes. (A- 6, M- 10) Missouri became a state almost 15 years earlier. Oh yeah, let’s get into some history, shall
we? Humans have lived in the area for thousands
of years. At the time of European arrival, the dominant
tribes in modern-day Arkansas were the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw and the dominant tribes
in modern-day Missouri were also the Osage and Quapaw, but additionally the Illini, Chickasaw,
and of course the Otoe-Missouria tribe. Hundreds of years BEFORE European arrival,
both modern-day Arkansas and Missouri were dominated by the Mississippian culture, famously
known for the mounds they built. Many of these mounds still exist. The French were the first Europeans to stumble
upon modern-day Missouri, while the Spanish were the first to stumble upon modern-day
Arkansas. In 1541, an expedition led by Hernando de
Soto came through present day central Arkansas but honestly he wasn’t that impressed by
it much so they left. It wasn’t until 132 years later that the
French Jesuit priest Jacques Marquette, along with the French trader Louis Jolliet, first
came to present day Missouri. They also came to present-day Arkansas, which
was settled by Europeans first. Missionaries and traders led the way. Henri de Tonti was the first European dude
to establish a settlement there in 1686, called the Arkansas Post. It became a thriving trading post where both
the French and Spanish regularly did business with the Quapaw. It wasn’t until 1735 that the French first
settled in present-day Missouri, establishing Ste. Genevieve. Oof, my French is so bad. For the next 27 years, more and more French
settlers moved to the region, which by this time was part of an area the French called
Louisiana. But then there was the French and Indian War,
a major war between Britain and France, and after France lost it, future Arkansas and
Missouri were now secretly under Spanish control. However, the Spanish weren’t that interested
in settling the area, but more and more French were. Flash forward to 1803, and now France has
control of Louisiana Territory once again under Napoleon, but he wants to sell it. So who does he sell it to? Uh, I think you know. The United States. After this, MANY Americans began to move west
to live in the area, promptly pushing the American Indians who already lived there off
their land and further west. After Louisiana became a state, future Arkansas
became part of Missouri Territory which WOW, look at how big Missouri is woah, with St.
Louis as the capital. But seven years later, the United States Congress
created Arkansas territory which, yeah I see you Arkansaw Territory, not bad, going all
the way to modern day New Mexico. Missouri wanting to become a state that same
year caused a bit of an uproar I’d say. You see, it wanted to be a slave state, where
slavery was legal, but this meant that there would be more slave states than free states
in the country. Congress settled the matter with the Missouri
Compromise, which, among other things, created Maine as a free state and let Missouri be
a slave state. Missouri’s constitution not only protected
slavery, but also banned free blacks from entering the state. Geez Missouri. Freaking geez. Meanwhile, slavery was a bit more controversial
of an issue in Arkansas Territory. Many in Arkansas actually didn’t want slavery. Regardless, on June 15, 1836, Arkansas was
admitted to the Union as a slave state, and by that time its economy greatly depended
on slave labor. Meanwhile, new settlers were heading to both
in HUGE numbers. Between 1830 and 1840, Missouri’s population
more than doubled and Arkansas’s population more than tripled. However, while Arkansas remained a mostly
agricultural state, Missouri became a much more industrial state. And while slave labor was big in Missouri,
the Underground Railroard, the secret network of routes and safe houses used to aid runaway
slaves, was also big there. By the 1840s, Missouri had become the “Gateway
to the West.” You could say it all started after Lewis and
Clark left Missouri on THEIR epic journey 40 years prior, but Missouri also became the
starting point for the Santa Fe Trail, the Oregon Trail, and the Pony Express. When hundreds of thousands of Americans traveled
westward over the next couple decades, often Missouri was their starting point. During an era during the 1850s known as Bleeding
Kansas, Missouri got caught up in some violence after Missourians crossed the western border
to attempt to make Kansas a slave state. I have an entire video about that if you want
to watch it later and stuff, eh? Anyway, Bleeding Kansas ended up being a preview
of the American Civil War. During it, Arkansas had broken away from the
United States, joining the newly formed Confederate States of America. Missouri stayed with the Union, but remained
a slave state throughout the war. Slave states that didn’t leave the Union
were called Border States, by the way. After Kansas was admitted to the Union as
a free state, violence continued to happen along the Kansas-Missouri border throughout
most of the war. Still, the war was arguably more devastating
to Arkansans than Missourians. Arkansas struggled to grow its economy during
the Reconstruction era. And who became scapegoats? African Americans, of course. The Jim Crow laws, which treated African Americans
as second class citizens, were pretty horrible in both states, actually for the rest of the
1800s and first half of the 1900s. Thousands of racially motivated lynchings
also took place in both states. In the 1950s, Arkansas became infamous for
resisting school desegregation and the federal government had to step in to protect African
American students in Little Rock, these students known later as the “Little Rock Nine.” From the end of the Civil War until the end
of the 1800s, Missouri, believe it or not, was the fifth most populous state in the country. It also became one of the wealthiest states
in the country. Meanwhile, Arkansas consistently tried to
play catch up, usually lagging behind with industry. However,it did develop a thriving tourism
economy, especially with places like Eureka Springs and Hot Springs. In the 20th century, both states became much
more urban with much diverse economies. That all said, today Arkansas remains one
of the most rural states in the country. Did you know that? Well I don’t know if you knew that because
I can’t hear you. Anyway, according to Forbes magazine, today
Missouri is a much better state for business. Probably a big reason why is that Missouri
residents generally pay less taxes than Arkansas residents. The poverty rate is also higher in Arkansas. (A- 17%, M- 13.7%) As you might assume, the
median household income is higher in Missouri. (A- $48,952, M- $57,409) Arkansas has some
of the worst poverty in the entire country. More Missouri residents have college degrees
(A- 30.8%, M- 38.2%) The violent crime rate is higher in Arkansas. Dang, Arkansas, I’m sorry for all that negative
stuff all in a row like that. Um, how about this…Arkansas can brag that
it has slightly bigger mountains. Eh? The highest point in Arkansas is about 300
meters higher than Missouri’s highest point. (A- Mount Magazine, 2,753 ft, or 839 m, M-
Taum Sauk Mountain, 1,772 ft, or 540 m) Arkansas gets more precipitation overall and
is a bit more humid. Being further north, Missouri gets colder
in the winter and Arkansas gets slightly hotter in the summer. The differences aren’t that big, though,
and there’s probably bigger differences in temperatures between the higher elevations
of the Ozarks and lower elevations of both states. Arkansas has a more ethnically diverse population
overall. More famous people seem to have come from
Missouri. Sure, Arkansas can claim Bill Clinton, Johnny
Cash, and Billy Bob Thornton, but Missouri can claim Harry Truman, Mark Twain, Walt Disney,
Chuck Berry, Brad Pitt, Sheryl Crow, and many more for real. Missouri is home to the longest rail trail,
the Katy Trail, which I’ve been on multiple times and it’s awesome. Arkansas is the only state with an active
diamond mine. In fact, at Arkansas’s Crater of DIamonds
State Park, any diamonds you find there are yours to keep. In conclusion, Missouri is a Midwestern state,
but much of Southern Missouri kind of makes it seem like a Southern state. Arkansas is definitely a Southern state, but
parts of it, like Northwest Arkansas in particular, somehow feel Midwestern. So if you like the South and Midwest, these
two states are for you. A shout out to Emperortigerstar, who is from
Missouri, for reading over my script. And I guess I’m a typical politician, pronouncing
Missouri two different ways throughout this video. So which state is better? What did I forget to mention? As always, I especially enjoy hearing from
folks who are actually from these two states. All I have left to compare is Oklahoma, Iowa,
and Michigan, and I have decided to start doing repeats at this point, so with that
in mind, in 2022 which states would you like me to compare Oklahoma, Iowa, and Michigan
to? I also might just do an Upper Peninsula and
Lower Peninsula compared video instead because why freaking not? Hey, if you are watching right now and you
hear this, you are the person I admire the most. Sorry that was cheesy.
