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History of the Kansas City metropolitan area
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The history of the Kansas City metropolitan area relates to the area around the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers and the modern-day city of Kansas City, Missouri.
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Before the arrival of European explorers, the area was inhabited at various times by peoples of the Hopewell tradition and later the Mississippian culture, as well as the Kansa, Osage, Otoe and Missouri tribes. In the early 18th century, Frenchmen from St. Louis, Missouri moved up the Missouri River to trap for furs and trade with the local Native Americans. The area was acquired by the United States from France in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and Americans began settling there in greater numbers after the organization of the Missouri Territory in 1812. In 1838, Kansas City was founded and eventually surpassed neighboring Westport to become the predominant city west of St. Louis. The area was also a focal point in the westward expansion of the United States, as both the Santa Fe and Oregon trails ran nearby. After formation of the Kansas Territory in 1854, the violence along its border with Missouri was a prelude to the American Civil War.