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Politics & Government

'Show-Me' No MO? Should Missouri Get a New Slogan?

A measure by a St. Louis County Republican could officially change the state's slogan.

The Associated Press reported Monday that a resolution from St. Louis County Republican state Sen. John Lamping cleared the Senate and won an endorsement from a committee in the house. The bill urges the Division of Tourism to incorporate a new slogan into its marketing: "The Great Rivers State."

Though it’s never been made official, Missouri is widely known as the "Show-Me" state. It's even on our license plates, although you can now get a plate with the proposed new slogan on it.

Why the "Great Rivers" State?

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Lamping’s measure points out that the state boasts more than 110,000 miles of rivers and streams. Plus, the Mississippi and Missouri rivers are significantly tied to the country’s history.

Missouri Stream Team Watershed Coalition executive director Holly Neill told the St. Louis Beacon she hopes the resolution will provide more incentive for people to explore and help conserve the state’s waterways.

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Why the "Show-Me" State?

According to Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s website, Missouri Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1897 to 1903, is most commonly credited with coining the phrase during an 1899 speech at a naval banquet in Philadelphia.

"I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me," Vandiver said during the speech. "I am from Missouri. You have got to show me."

What other nicknames does Missouri have?

Besides the “Show-Me” state, Missouri is already being marked with other slogans, including “The Cave State” and “Where the Rivers Run.”

The state is also known as the "Lead State," the "Bullion State," the "Ozark State," the "Iron Mountain State" and the "Pennsylvania of the West," the Beacon reported.

What do you think? Should Missouri officially become the "Great Rivers" state or just stick with the "Show-Me" state? Or, do you prefer a different name?

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