Missouri Bicentennial Minutes: Reverend Timothy Flint, Chronicler of Early Missouri Life krcu.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from krcu.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
One of the main reasons for an explosion of settlement in Missouri prior to statehood was available land. However, obtaining title was complicated. First,
Welcome to the Missouri Bicentennial Minute from the State Historical Society of Missouri.
The United States was amid the Panic of 1819 at the time of Missouri Statehood. This downturn, considered the first U. S. economic depression, introduced the U. S. into the “boom and bust” cycles experienced by modern economies and it marked the transition of the country toward an economy independent of its colonial ties to Europe. A post-War of 1812 economic boom that fueled overconfidence preceded the downturn.
Causes of the panic included fluctuations in European markets, obstruction by private banks to federal regulations, and failure by lenders and borrowers to realize what made credit expansion possible. Missouri had suffered as a result of rampant speculation in public land. The federal government owned land after the Louisiana Purchase, and intended to expeditiously sell it to settlers and private interests. Land laws allowed credit sales at this time, and speculation ran rampant.