Missouri is one of the 50 states in the United States . Its capital is Jefferson City . Its largest cities are Kansas City and Saint Louis . Some other cities are Columbia (which is where the University of Missouri is), and Springfield .
Missouri officially became a state on August 10, 1821.
Missouri's edges touch a total of eight states: Iowa lies to the north; to the east, across the Mississippi River , are Illinois , Kentucky , and Tennessee ; Arkansas lies to the south; and on the west are Oklahoma , Kansas , and Nebraska (Kansas and Nebraska are across the Missouri River ).
Native Americans first settled in Missouri before the arrival of Europeans.
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