4301 - 2009 44c Flags of Our Nation: Missouri - Mystic Stamp Company

Description

Buying and Selling U.S. and worldwide postage stamps for stamp collectors.
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clashes%20with%20anti-slavery%20families%20from%20Kansas%20erupted.%20This%20fighting%20between%20individuals%20and%20families%20continued%20well%20into%20the%20Civil%20War.%0AIn%201861%2C%20the%20nation%20focused%20its%20attention%20on%20Missouri%20to%20see%20if%20it%20would%20leave%20the%20Union.%20The%20governor%2C%20Claiborne%20F.%20Jackson%2C%20held%20a%20state%20convention%20to%20determine%20the%20will%20of%20the%20people.%20Despite%20its%20pro-slavery%20leadership%2C%20the%20convention%20voted%20to%20remain%20in%20the%20Union%2C%20but%20remain%20neutral%20in%20any%20fighting.%0A%0AIn%20April%20of%201861%2C%20President%20Abraham%20Lincoln%20asked%20Missouri%20for%20troops%2C%20and%20Missouri%20refused.%20This%20led%20to%20the%20first%20real%20fighting%20of%20the%20Civil%20War%20in%20the%20state.%20The%20Union%20soon%20came%20to%20control%20the%20northern%20portion%20of%20the%20state%2C%20while%20the%20Confederates%20held%20on%20to%20the%20south.%20In%201864%2C%20Union%20forces%20won%20a%20decisive%20victory%20near%20today%26rsquo%3Bs%20Kansas%20City%2C%20which%20ended%20all%20full-scale%20fighting%20in%20the%20state.%20However%2C%20guerrilla%20forces%20on%20both%20sides%20continued%20to%20terrorize%20the%20countryside.%0A%0AAfter%20the%20war%2C%20Missouri%20began%20to%20change%20at%20a%20rapid%20pace.%20St.%20Louis%20and%20Kansas%20City%20became%20important%20travel%20centers.%20The%20fur%20trade%20lost%20its%20profitability.%20Industry%20began%20to%20grow.%20In%201904%2C%20the%20Louisiana%20Purchase%20Exposition%20was%20held%20in%20St.%20Louis.%20It%20attracted%20nearly%2020%20million%20visitors%20from%20all%20over%20the%20U.S.%20and%20around%20the%20world.%20One%20of%20the%20popular%20exhibitions%20at%20the%20exposition%20featured%20automobiles.%0AWith%20the%20start%20of%20World%20War%20I%2C%20Missouri%26rsquo%3Bs%20mining%20and%20manufacturing%20businesses%20flourished.%20Bagnell%20Dam%2C%20an%20important%20hydroelectric%20power%20source%2C%20was%20completed%20in%201931.%20This%20growth%20continued%20through%20World%20War%20II.%20In%20the%201950s%2C%20high-technology%20companies%20began%20to%20spread%20throughout%20the%20state.%20The%20discovery%20of%20large%20iron%20deposits%20during%20the%201960s%20also%20brought%20Missouri%20increased%20revenue.%0A%0AThe%20state%26rsquo%3Bs%20farms%20were%20among%20those%20hit%20by%20the%20farming%20crisis%20of%20the%201980s.%20Urban%20decay%20and%20environmental%20problems%20also%20surfaced%20at%20that%20time.%20However%2C%20the%20state%26rsquo%3Bs%20economy%20remains%20strong.%20It%20remains%20a%20leader%20in%20the%20production%20of%20livestock%2C%20soybeans%2C%20corn%2C%20wheat%2C%20and%20cotton.%20The%20state%26rsquo%3Bs%20aerospace%20industry%20has%20done%20especially%20well%2C%20and%20it%20continues%20to%20expand.%0A%0ATourism%20has%20provided%20a%20huge%20economic%20boost%20for%20Missouri.%20Each%20year%2C%20tourists%20spend%20a%20billion%20dollars%20in%20the%20state.%20St.%20Louis%2C%20Kansas%20City%2C%20and%20Springfield%20have%20outstanding%20facilities%20to%20serve%20as%20convention%20centers%20for%20business%2C%20religious%2C%20and%20political%20organizations.%0A%0A%26nbsp%3B%0AThe%20April%204%2C%202002%20release%20of%20the%20Greetings%20From%20America%20sheet%20marked%20the%20first%20time%20a%20U.S.%20postage%20stamp%20was%20issued%20on%20the%20same%20day%20in%20every%20state.%26nbsp%3B%0A%26nbsp%3B%0AThe%20Greetings%20from%20America%20stamps%20are%20reminiscent%20of%20the%20large-letter%20greetings%20postcards%20that%20vacationing%20tourists%20of%20the%201930s%20and%201940s%20sent%20back%20home.%26nbsp%3BIn%20addition%20to%20the%20state%20name%2C%20each%20stamp%20contains%20images%20identified%20with%20that%20state.%0A%26nbsp%3B%0ASt.%20Louis%2C%20Missouri%2C%20along%20with%20St.%20Joseph%2C%20St.%20Charles%2C%20Independence%2C%20and%20Kansas%20City%2C%20was%20the%20gateway%20to%20the%20West%20for%20thousands%20of%20pioneers.%0A%26nbsp%3B%0AThe%20state%20bird%2C%20flower%2C%20tree%2C%20capital%2C%20and%20date%20of%20statehood%20appear%20on%20the%20back%20of%20the%20liner%20release%20paper.%26nbsp%3B%0A%26nbsp%3B%0AThis%20is%20the%20fifth%20U.S.%20pane%20of%2050%20different%20stamps.%26nbsp%3BThe%20first%20to%20be%20issued%20was%20the%20State%20Flags%20pane%20in%201976%2C%20in%20honor%20of%20the%20nation%26rsquo%3Bs%20bicentennial.%0A%26nbsp%3B%0A%26nbsp%3B%0AMissouri%20was%20once%20the%20%26ldquo%3BGateway%20to%20the%20West%2C%26rdquo%3B%20a%20port%20in%20the%20nation%26rsquo%3Bs%20heartland%2C%20and%20was%20known%20as%20a%20launching%20point%20for%20westward%20expansion.%0ALewis%20and%20Clark%20were%20among%20the%20first%20to%20journey%20west%20from%20Missouri.%26nbsp%3B%20Traveling%20along%20the%20Missouri%20River%2C%20they%20encountered%20numerous%20grizzly%20bears%20%26ndash%3B%20and%20were%20the%20first%20to%20document%20the%20species.%0ATraveling%20on%20the%20Missouri%20River%2C%20mountain%20men%20and%20settlers%20followed%20their%20routes%20to%20the%20Pacific%20Northwest.%26nbsp%3B%20When%20gold%20was%20discovered%20in%20California%2C%20prospectors%20and%20adventurers%20flocked%20to%20Missouri%2C%20where%20steamboats%20took%20them%20to%20the%20Santa%20Fe%20Trail.%20River%20traffic%20increased%20so%20much%20during%20this%20time%20that%20St.%20Louis%20became%20the%20second-largest%20port%20in%20the%20country.%0AIn%201908%2C%20the%20Missouri%20chapter%20of%20the%20Daughters%20of%20the%20American%20Revolution%20realized%20that%20Missouri%20had%20no%20state%20flag.%26nbsp%3B%20They%20formed%20a%20committee%20to%20design%20the%20official%20flag%20of%20Missouri.%20Committee%20chairwoman%20Marie%20Oliver%20eventually%20designed%20the%20flag%20herself%2C%20centering%20the%20state%20seal%20on%20a%20field%20of%20red%2C%20white%2C%20and%20blue.%26nbsp%3B%20On%20either%20side%20of%20the%20Missouri%20seal%2C%20harkening%20back%20to%20the%20days%20of%20Lewis%20and%20Clark%2C%20are%20two%20huge%20grizzly%20bears.%0A%0A%26nbsp%3B