Arkansas

Arkansas,

Native North Americans: see QuapawQuapaw
, Native North Americans, also called the Arkansas, whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages).
..... Click the link for more information. .

Arkansas

(är`kənsô', ärkăn`zŭs), state in the south-central United States. It is bordered by Tennessee and Mississippi, across the Mississippi River (E), Louisiana (S), Texas and Oklahoma (W), and Missouri (N).

Facts and Figures

Area, 53,104 sq mi (137,539 sq km). Pop. (2010) 2,915,918, a 9.1% increase since the 2000 census. Capital and largest city, Little Rock. Statehood, June 15, 1836 (25th state). Highest pt., Magazine Mt., 2,753 ft (840 m); lowest pt., Ouachita River, 55 ft (17 m). Nickname, Land of Opportunity. Motto, Regnat Populus [The People Rule]. State bird, mockingbird. State flower, apple blossom. State tree, pine. Abbr., Ark.; AK

Geography

The ArkansasArkansas
, river, c.1,450 mi (2,330 km) long, rising in the Rocky Mts., central Colo., and flowing generally SE across the plains to the Mississippi River, SE Ark.; drains 160,500 sq mi (415,700 sq km). The Canadian and Cimarron rivers are its main tributaries.
..... Click the link for more information. River flows southeast across the state between the OzarkOzarks, the,
or Ozark Plateau,
upland region, actually a dissected plateau, c.50,000 sq mi (129,500 sq km), chiefly in S Mo. and N Ark., but partly in Oklahoma and Kansas, between the Arkansas and Missouri rivers.
..... Click the link for more information. plateau and the Ouachita MountainsOuachita Mountains,
range of east-west ridges between the Arkansas and Red rivers, extending c.200 mi (320 km) from central Ark. into SE Okla. Magazine Mt. (c.2,800 ft/850 m high) is the tallest peak. The Ouachita Mts. are geologically considered outlier of the Appalachian Mts.
..... Click the link for more information. and runs down to the southern and eastern plains to empty into the MississippiMississippi,
river, principal river of the United States, c.2,350 mi (3,780 km) long, exceeded in length only by the Missouri, the chief of its numerous tributaries. The combined Missouri-Mississippi system (from the Missouri's headwaters in the Rocky Mts.
..... Click the link for more information. River. The other rivers of the state also flow generally SE or S to the Mississippi; these include the Saint FrancisSaint Francis,
river, c.470 mi (760 km) long, rising in the hills of SE Missouri and flowing S through NE Arkansas to join the Mississippi River near Helena, Ark. The river forms part of the Arkansas–Missouri border. Wappapello Dam (completed 1941), near Poplar Bluff, Mo.
..... Click the link for more information. (which forms part of the E Missouri line), the White RiverWhite River.
1 River, c.690 mi (1,110 km) long, rising in the Boston Mts., NW Ark., and flowing first N into SW Missouri, then generally SE through NE Arkansas to the Mississippi River. Its chief tributaries are the Black and Little Red rivers.
..... Click the link for more information. , the OuachitaOuachita
, river, c.600 mi (970 km) long, rising in the Ouachita Mts., W Ark. It flows east, southeast, and south through a cotton-producing region of S Arkansas and NE Louisiana and into the Red River system. It is joined by the Tensas River at Jonesville, La.
..... Click the link for more information. , and the Red RiverRed River.
1 River, 1,222 mi (1,967 km) long, southernmost of the large tributaries of the Mississippi River. It rises in two branches in the Texas Panhandle and flows SE between Texas and Oklahoma and between Texas and Arkansas to Fulton, Ark.
..... Click the link for more information. (which forms part of the Texas line). The state's transportation network is based on rivers as well as roads, railroads, and air travel. The 440 mi (708 km) Arkansas River Navigation System links Oklahoma and Arkansas to the Mississippi River.

The capital and largest city is Little RockLittle Rock,
city (1990 pop. 175,795), state capital and seat of Pulaski co., central Ark., on the Arkansas River; inc. 1831. It is a river port and the administrative, commercial, transportation, and cultural center of the state.
..... Click the link for more information. ; other important cities are Fort SmithFort Smith,
city (1990 pop. 72,798), seat of Sebastian co., NW Ark., at the Okla. line where the Arkansas and Poteau rivers join; inc. 1842. It is the rail, trade, and industrial center of a farm and livestock area.
..... Click the link for more information. , North Little RockNorth Little Rock,
city (1990 pop. 61,741), Pulaski co., central Ark., on the Arkansas River opposite Little Rock; settled c.1856, inc. as a city 1903. North Little Rock lies in a cotton, rice, soybean, dairy-cattle, and truck-farm area.
..... Click the link for more information. , Pine BluffPine Bluff,
city (1990 pop. 57,140), seat of Jefferson co., S central Ark., on the Arkansas River; inc. 1839. It is a port and trade center for an agricultural area and has industries producing metal, wood, and paper products; machinery; electrical equipment; and foods.
..... Click the link for more information. , Hot SpringsHot Springs,
city (1990 pop. 32,462), seat of Garland co., W central Ark.; settled 1807, inc. 1876. The city nearly surrounds Hot Springs National Park, whose hot mineral springs made the city a famous health resort.
..... Click the link for more information. , and West MemphisWest Memphis
, city (1990 pop. 28,259), Crittenden co., NE Ark., next to the Mississippi River (there bridged to Memphis, Tenn.); founded c.1910 as Bragg's Spur, inc. as a city under its present name 1927.
..... Click the link for more information. .

The climate of Arkansas is marked by long, hot summers and mild winters. The state's many lakes and streams and its abundant wildlife provide excellent hunting and fishing. The mineral springs at Hot SpringsHot Springs,
city (1990 pop. 32,462), seat of Garland co., W central Ark.; settled 1807, inc. 1876. The city nearly surrounds Hot Springs National Park, whose hot mineral springs made the city a famous health resort.
..... Click the link for more information. also attract many visitors to Arkansas, where tourism is an important industry.

Economy

A major cotton-producing state in the 19th cent., Arkansas has since diversified its agricultural production and overall economy. Cotton is still an important crop, but ranks below soybeans and rice. Arkansas has become a leading producer of poultry, raising over one billion broiler chickens a year; turkeys, dairy goods, and catfish are also important. The state's most important mineral products are petroleum, bromine and bromine compounds, and natural gas, and it is the nation's leading bauxite producer. Principal manufactures are food products, chemicals, lumber and paper goods, electrical equipment, furniture, automobile and airplane parts, and machinery. The Pine Bluff Arsenal is among military installations contributing to the Arkansas economy.

Government and Higher Education

The state constitution (1874) provides for an elected governor and bicameral legislature, with a 35-member senate and a 100-member house of representatives. Arkansas sends two senators and four representatives to the U.S. Congress and has six electoral votes.

Bill ClintonClinton, Bill
(William Jefferson Clinton), 1946–, 42d President of the United States (1993–2001), b. Hope, Ark. His father died before he was born, and he was originally named William Jefferson Blythe 4th, but after his mother remarried, he assumed the surname of his
..... Click the link for more information. was elected governor five times between 1978 and 1990. Jim Guy Tucker, a Democrat, succeeded Clinton but resigned in 1996 when he was convicted of fraud in a WhitewaterWhitewater,
popular name for a failed 1970s Arkansas real estate venture by the Whitewater Development Corp., in which Gov. (later President) Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, were partners; the name is also used for the political ramifications of this scheme.
..... Click the link for more information. -related scheme; Republican Mike Huckabee, the lieutenant governor, became governor, and was reelected in 1998 and 2002. In 2006, Mike Beebe, a Democrat, was elected to the post; he was reelected in 2010. Republican Asa Hutchinson was elected governor in 2014 and reelected in 2018.

Among the institutions of higher education in the state are the Univ. of ArkansasArkansas, University of,
mainly at Fayetteville; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1871, opened 1872; called Arkansas Industrial Univ. until 1899. The Univ. of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is at Little Rock.
..... Click the link for more information. , at Fayetteville; Arkansas State Univ.Arkansas State University,
at Jonesboro; coeducational; chartered 1909; named State Agricultural and Mechanical College, 1925–33. In 1933 the school became Arkansas State College, and in 1967 it achieved university status and adopted its present name.
..... Click the link for more information. , at Jonesboro; Hendrix College and the Univ. of Central Arkansas, at Conway; Ouachita Baptist Univ. and Henderson State Univ., at Arkadelphia; the Univ. of the Ozarks, at Clarksville; Lyon College, at Batesville; and Harding College, at Searcy.

History

Early History to Statehood

A people known as the Bluff Dwellers, who inhabited caves, probably lived in the Arkansas area before 500. They were followed by the Mound BuildersMound Builders,
in North American archaeology, name given to those people who built mounds in a large area from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mts.
..... Click the link for more information. , who received their name from the mounds they constructed, apparently for ceremonial purposes. The first Europeans to arrive in Arkansas (1541–42) were probably members of the Spanish expedition under Hernando De SotoDe Soto, Hernando
, c.1500–1542, Spanish explorer. After serving under Pedro Arias de Ávila in Central America and under Francisco Pizarro in Peru, the dashing young conquistador was made governor of Cuba by Emperor Charles V, with the right to conquer Florida
..... Click the link for more information. . Later the French explorers Jacques MarquetteMarquette, Jacques
, 1637–75, French missionary and explorer in North America, a Jesuit priest. He was sent to New France in 1666 and studied Native American languages under a missionary at Trois Rivières.
..... Click the link for more information. and Louis JollietJolliet or Joliet, Louis
, 1645–1700, French explorer, joint discoverer with Jacques Marquette of the upper Mississippi River, b. Quebec prov., Canada.
..... Click the link for more information. came S along the Mississippi to the mouth of the Arkansas River. A number of Native American groups, such as the OsageOsage
, indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In prehistoric times they lived with the Kansa, the Ponca, the Omaha, and the Quapaw in the Ohio valley, but by 1673 they
..... Click the link for more information. , QuapawQuapaw
, Native North Americans, also called the Arkansas, whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages).
..... Click the link for more information. , and CaddoCaddo
, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Caddoan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). These people gave their name not only to the linguistic branch but also to the Caddo confederacy, a loose federation of tribes that
..... Click the link for more information. , lived in the vicinity.

In 1682, Robert La Salle's lieutenant, Henri de TontiTonti or Tonty, Henri de
, c.1650–1704, French explorer in North America, b. Italy. Serving in the French army, he lost a hand in battle; his skillful use of the appliance with which the hand was replaced was
..... Click the link for more information. , established Arkansas PostArkansas Post
, community on the Arkansas River, SE Ark. Founded by the French in 1686 as a trading post, it is the oldest white settlement in the state; it became the capital of the Arkansas territory in 1819.
..... Click the link for more information. , the first white settlement in the Arkansas area. La Salle claimed the Mississippi valley for France, and the region became part of the French territory of Louisiana. The French ceded the Louisiana territory to Spain in 1762 but regained it before it passed to the United States under the Louisiana PurchaseLouisiana Purchase,
1803, American acquisition from France of the formerly Spanish region of Louisiana. Reasons for the Purchase

The revelation in 1801 of the secret agreement of 1800, whereby Spain retroceded Louisiana to France, aroused uneasiness in the United
..... Click the link for more information. (1803).

Arkansas became part of the Territory of Missouri in 1812. The cotton boom of 1818 brought the first large wave of settlers, and the Southern plantation system, moving west, fixed itself in the alluvial plains of S and E Arkansas. In 1819 the area was made a separate entity, and the first territorial legislature met at Arkansas Post. The capital was moved to Little Rock in 1821. Arkansas achieved statehood in 1836.

The Civil War

As the Civil War began, poorer farmers were generally indifferent to questions of slavery and states' rights. The slaveholding planters held the most political power, however, and after some hesitation, Arkansas seceded (1861) from the Union. In the Civil War, Confederate defeats at Pea RidgePea Ridge,
chain of hills, NW Ark., where the Civil War battle of Pea Ridge (or Elkhorn Tavern) was fought Mar. 6–8, 1862. Earl Van Dorn, leading a large Confederate command, which included Sterling Price's retreating Missouri forces and Ben McCulloch's army, attacked the
..... Click the link for more information. (Mar., 1862), Prairie Grove (Dec., 1862), and Arkansas Post (Jan., 1863) led to Union occupation of N Arkansas, and General Grant's Vicksburg campaignVicksburg campaign,
in the American Civil War, the fighting (Nov., 1862–July, 1863) for control of the Mississippi River. The Union wanted such control in order to split the Confederacy and to restore free commerce to the politically important Northwest.
..... Click the link for more information. separated states W of the Mississippi from the rest of the Confederacy. In Sept., 1863, federal troops entered Little Rock, where a Unionist convention in Jan., 1864, set up a government that repudiated secession and abolished slavery. Because the state refused at first to enfranchise former slaves, Arkansas was not readmitted to the Union until 1868, when a new constitution gave African Americans the right to vote and hold office.

Reconstruction

Reconstruction in Arkansas reached a turbulent climax in the struggle (1874) of two Republican claimants to the governorship, Elisha Baxter and Joseph Brooks. Baxter's apparent success in the election was not accepted by Brooks, and followers of the two men resorted to violence in what became known as the Brooks-Baxter War. After President Ulysses S. Grant declared Baxter to be governor, Baxter called a constituent assembly dominated by Democrats to frame a new state constitution. The convention adopted (1874) the constitution that, in amended form, still remains in force.

During Reconstruction the so-called carpetbaggerscarpetbaggers,
epithet used in the South after the Civil War to describe Northerners who went to the South during Reconstruction. Although regarded as transients because of the carpetbags in which they carried their possessions (hence the name carpetbaggers
..... Click the link for more information. and scalawagsscalawags
, derogatory term used in the South after the Civil War to describe native white Southerners who joined the Republican party and aided in carrying out the congressional Reconstruction program. A Republican who came from the north was called a carpetbagger.
..... Click the link for more information. were detested by most Arkansas whites, but their administrations brought advances in education and (at exorbitant costs caused by corruption) railroad construction. Because of high cotton prices and the failure to give the freed slaves any economic status, the broken plantation system was replaced by sharecropping and farm tenancy. The lives of the people of the Ozarks remained largely unchanged; they retained the customs, skills, and superstitions that have given the hill folk their distinctive regional characteristics. In the late 19th cent., as railroad construction proceeded, Arkansas's population grew substantially, and bauxite and lumbering industries developed. Oil was discovered in Arkansas, near El DoradoEl Dorado
, city (1990 pop. 23,146), seat of Union co., S central Ark; inc. 1845. The discovery of oil in 1921 made it the oil center of the state. The city has oil refineries, chemical plants, and poultry-packing houses, as well as diverse manufactures.
..... Click the link for more information. , in 1921.

Hard Times

Disaster struck in 1927 when the Mississippi River overflowed, flooding one fifth of the state. With the fortunes of the state pegged to the price of cotton, the depression of the early 1930s (see Great DepressionGreat Depression,
in U.S. history, the severe economic crisis generally considered to have been precipitated by the U.S. stock-market crash of 1929. Although it shared the basic characteristics of other such crises (see depression), the Great Depression was unprecedented in its
..... Click the link for more information. ) struck hard. Dispossessed tenants, black and white, formed (1939) the Southern Tenant Farmers Union; after trouble with the authorities, it moved its headquarters to Memphis, Tenn. A strike called in 1936 spread to other regions before its strength waned. Other impoverished farmers migrated west to California as "Arkies"—like the "Okies" from neighboring Oklahoma. After World War I, African Americans left the state in a steady stream to the industrial North. World War II brought further loss of population as workers left Arkansas for war factories elsewhere. The war, however, created a boom for new industries in the state, notably the processing of bauxite into aluminum.

The Postwar Era

The decline of industrial output after the war was offset by the vigorous efforts of a state development commission formed in 1955 to attract new industry to Arkansas. Gov. Orval FaubusFaubus, Orval
, 1910–94, governor of Arkansas (1955–67), b. Combs, Ark. A schoolteacher, he served in World War II and after the war became Arkansas's state highway commissioner.
..... Click the link for more information. of Arkansas became a center of national and world attention in 1957 when he resisted the desegregation of public schools in Little Rock (see integrationintegration,
in U.S. history, the goal of an organized movement to break down the barriers of discrimination and segregation separating African Americans from the rest of American society.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Arkansas has long been dominated by the Democratic party, but in 1966 Winthrop Rockefeller (see under Rockefeller, John DavisonRockefeller, John Davison,
1839–1937, American industrialist and philanthropist, b. Richford, N.Y. He moved (1853) with his family to a farm near Cleveland and at age 16 went to work as a bookkeeper.
..... Click the link for more information. was elected the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction. Although reelected in 1968, Rockefeller lost the governorship to a Democrat, Dale Bumpers, in 1970.

In 1971, Arkansas and Oklahoma joined in the Arkansas River Navigation System, a project that developed the Arkansas River basin to provide water transportation to the Mississippi. In the early 1990s, the Arkansas-based Wal-Mart merchandise chain, founded by Arkansan Sam Walton in 1962 as a small-town discount store, became the largest retailer in the United States. Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas (1979–81, 1983–92), was elected president of the United States in 1992. In the mid- to late 1990s national attention focused on Arkansas as Clinton associates, including Jim Guy Tucker, his successor as governor, were embroiled in WhitewaterWhitewater,
popular name for a failed 1970s Arkansas real estate venture by the Whitewater Development Corp., in which Gov. (later President) Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, were partners; the name is also used for the political ramifications of this scheme.
..... Click the link for more information. and other scandals.

Bibliography

See L. J. White, Politics on the Southwestern Frontier: Arkansas Territory, 1819–1836 (1964); H. S. Ashmore, Arkansas (1984); I. J. Spitzberg, Racial Politics in Little Rock, 1954–1964 (1987); G. T. Hanson and C. H. Moneyhon, Historical Atlas of Arkansas (1989).

Arkansas

(ärkăn`zəs, är`kənsô'), river, c.1,450 mi (2,330 km) long, rising in the Rocky Mts., central Colo., and flowing generally SE across the plains to the Mississippi River, SE Ark.; drains 160,500 sq mi (415,700 sq km). The Canadian and Cimarron rivers are its main tributaries. It is the chief waterway for the state of Arkansas, where it drains a broad valley. The upper course of the Arkansas River has many rapids and flows through the Browns Canyon National Monument and Royal Gorge, one of the deepest canyons in the United States. More than 25 dams on the river provide flood control, power, and irrigation. During the warm months, because of its extensive use for irrigation, the middle course of the Arkansas is reduced to a trickle. The John Martin dam and reservoir in Colorado is one of the largest water-storage and flood-control units in the river basin. The Arkansas River Navigation System, opened in 1971, makes the river navigable to Tulsa, Okla., 440 mi (708 km) upstream. The Spanish explorers Coronado and De Soto probably traveled along portions of the river in the 1540s. In 1806, Zebulon PikePike, Zebulon Montgomery,
1779–1813, American explorer, an army officer, b. Lamberton (now part of Trenton), N.J. He joined the army (c.1793) and was commissioned second lieutenant in 1799.
..... Click the link for more information. , an American army officer, explored the river's upper reaches in Colorado. The Arkansas River was an important trade and travel route in the 19th cent.

Arkansas State Information

Phone: (501) 682-3000
www.arkansas.gov

Area (sq mi):: 53178.62 (land 52068.17; water 1110.45) Population per square mile: 53.40
Population 2005: 2,779,154 State rank: 0 Population change: 2000-20005 4.00%; 1990-2000 13.70% Population 2000: 2,673,400 (White 78.60%; Black or African American 15.70%; Hispanic or Latino 3.20%; Asian 0.80%; Other 3.60%). Foreign born: 2.80%. Median age: 36.00
Income 2000: per capita $16,904; median household $32,182; Population below poverty level: 15.80% Personal per capita income (2000-2003): $21,925-$24,384
Unemployment (2004): 5.60% Unemployment change (from 2000): 0.70% Median travel time to work: 21.90 minutes Working outside county of residence: 23.40%

List of Arkansas counties:

Arkansas County

Ashley County

Baxter County

Benton County

Boone County

Bradley County

Calhoun County

Carroll County

Chicot County

Clark County

Clay County

Cleburne County

Cleveland County

Columbia County

Conway County

Craighead County

Crawford County

Crittenden County

Cross County

Dallas County

Desha County

Drew County

Faulkner County

Franklin County

Fulton County

Garland County

Grant County

Greene County

Hempstead County

Hot Spring County

Howard County

Independence County

Izard County

Jackson County

Jefferson County

Johnson County

Lafayette County

Lawrence County

Lee County

Lincoln County

Little River County

Logan County

Lonoke County

Madison County

Marion County

Miller County

Mississippi County

Monroe County

Montgomery County

Nevada County

Newton County

Ouachita County

Perry County

Phillips County

Pike County

Poinsett County

Polk County

Pope County

Prairie County

Pulaski County

Randolph County

Saint Francis County

Saline County

Scott County

Searcy County

Sebastian County

Sevier County

Sharp County

Stone County

Union County

Van Buren County

Washington County

White County

Woodruff County

Yell County

Arkansas Parks

US National Parks

Arkansas Post National Memorial
Buffalo National River

Fort Smith National Historic Site
Hot Springs National Park

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
Pea Ridge National Military Park

State Parks

Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources
Arkansas Post Museum
Bull Shoals-White River State Park
Cane Creek State Park
Conway Cemetery State Park
Cossatot River State Park-Natural Area
Crater of Diamonds State Park
Crowley's Ridge State Park
Daisy State Park
DeGray Lake Resort State Park
Delta Heritage Trail State Park
Devil's Den State Park
Hampson Archeological Museum State Park
Herman Davis State Park
Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area
Jacksonport State Park
Jenkins' Ferry State Park

Lake Catherine State Park
Lake Charles State Park
Lake Chicot State Park
Lake Dardanelle State Park
Lake Fort Smith State Park
Lake Frierson State Park
Lake Ouachita State Park
Lake Poinsett State Park
Logoly State Park
Louisiana Purchase State Park
Lower White River Museum State Park
Mammoth Spring State Park
Marks' Mills State Park
Millwood State Park
Moro Bay State Park
Mount Magazine State Park
Mount Nebo State Park

Old Davidsonville State Park
Old Washington Historic State Park
Ozark Folk Center State Park
Parkin Archeological State Park
Petit Jean State Park
Pinnacle Mountain State Park
Plantation Agriculture Museum
Poison Spring State Park
Powhatan Historic State Park
Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park
Queen Wilhelmina State Park
South Arkansas Arboretum
Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park
Village Creek State Park
White Oak Lake State Park
Withrow Springs State Park
Woolly Hollow State Park

Parks and Conservation-Related Organizations - US
Ozark Society

National Wildlife Refuges

Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge
Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Cache River National Wildlife Refuge
Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge

Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge
Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge
Overflow National Wildlife Refuge
Pond Creek National Wildlife Refuge

Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge
White River National Wildlife Refuge

National Trails
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
National Scenic Byways
Crowley's Ridge Parkway - Arkansas
Great River Road - Arkansas
Talimena Scenic Drive - Arkansas
National Forests
Ouachita National Forest
Ozark-Saint Francis National Forests

Arkansas

a state in the south of the USA. Area, 137,500 sq km. Population in 1967, 1,969,000; 43 percent urban (1960). Capital, Little Rock. In the east, Arkansas occupies the lowlands cut out by the Arkansas River on the right bank of the Mississippi; to the northwest are the Ouachita (about 863 m) and Boston (about 823 m) mountains. The climate is subtropical and humid (more than 1,000 mm of rain yearly). Yellow, red, and alluvial soils predominate. Subtropical forests (cypress, gum trees, and so on) grow in the valleys and floodlands; pine and oak, in elevated regions. The area of cultivated forests is 8.6 million hectares (ha). Arkansas has the South’s second largest reserves of hardwood. The value of agricultural commodity production and the relative net production of manufactured goods are approximately equal. Agriculture is highly developed. The main crops are cotton (area 286,000 ha, 118,000 tons in 1967, mainly in the Mississippi Valley), soybeans, and rice; Arkansas is fourth nationally in the production of cotton. Broilers (365 million in 1967) are the principal commodity in animal breeding.

Other industries are petroleum (slightly over 4 million tons in 1965), building materials, and bauxite (1,618,000 tons in 1965, more than nine-tenths of the US output). Among the manufacturing industries (129,000 employees) the food industry (packaging, preserving, and freezing chickens, fruits, berries, and so on), lumbering, and woodworking are most important. There are also radio and electronics and chemical industries (including production related to chemical warfare). There are aluminum factories in Jones Mill and Arkadelphia. Electric power plants provided 2.47 million kilowatts in 1966.

M. E. POLOVITSKAIA

Arkansas

Twenty-fifth state; admitted on June 15, 1836 (seceded from the Union on May 6, 1861, and was readmitted in June 1868)

The state was named for Ohio Valley Indians’ name for the Quapaw Indians who lived in northern Arkansas.

State capital: Little Rock

Nickname: The Natural State

State motto: Regnat populus (Latin “The people rule”)

State beverage: Milk

State bird: Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

State flower: Apple blossom (Malus sylvestris)

State folk dance: Square dance

State fruit and vegetable: South Arkansas vine-ripe pink tomato

State gem: Diamond

State insect: Honeybee (Apis mellifera)

State mammal: White-tail deer

State mineral: Quartz crystal

State musical instrument: Fiddle

State rock: Bauxite

State songs: “Arkansas,” “Arkansas (You Run Deep in Me),” “Oh Arkansas,” and “The Arkansas Traveler”

State tree: Pine (Pinus palustris)

More about state symbols at:

www.soskids.arkansas.gov/k-4-history-state-symbols.html

SOURCES:

AmerBkDays-2000, p. 448 AnnivHol-2000, p. 101

STATE OFFICES:

State web site: www.arkansas.gov

Office of the Governor State Capitol Bldg Little Rock, AR 72201 501-682-2345 fax: 501-682-1382 www.arkansas.gov/governor

Secretary of State State Capitol Bldg Rm 256 Little Rock, AR 72201 501-682-1010 fax: 501-682-3510 www.sosweb.state.ar.us

Arkansas State Library 1 Capitol Mall 5th Fl Little Rock, AR 72201 501-682-1527 fax: 501-682-1529 www.asl.lib.ar.us

Legal Holidays:

Christmas Eve	Dec 24
Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday and Robert E. Lee's Birthday	Jan 17, 2011; Jan 16, 2012; Jan 21, 2013; Jan 20, 2014; Jan 19, 2015; Jan 18, 2016; Jan 16, 2017; Jan 15, 2018; Jan 21, 2019; Jan 20, 2020; Jan 18, 2021; Jan 17, 2022; Jan 16, 2023
Washington's Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day	Feb 21, 2011; Feb 20, 2012; Feb 18, 2013; Feb 17, 2014; Feb 16, 2015; Feb 15, 2016; Feb 20, 2017; Feb 19, 2018; Feb 18, 2019; Feb 17, 2020; Feb 15, 2021; Feb 21, 2022; Feb 20, 2023

Arkansas

1. a state of the southern US: mountainous in the north and west, with the alluvial plain of the Mississippi in the east; has the only diamond mine in the US; the chief US producer of bauxite. Capital: Little Rock. Pop.: 2 725 714 (2003 est.). Area: 134 537 sq. km (51 945 sq. miles) 2. a river in the S central US, rising in central Colorado and flowing east and southeast to join the Mississippi in Arkansas. Length: 2335 km (1450 miles)

Arkansas

Related to Arkansas: Arkansas State Parks, Arkansas State University

ARKANSAS. The name of one of the new states of the United States. It wasadmitted into the Union by the act of congress of June 15th, 1836, 4 Sharsw.cont. of Story's L. U. S. 2444, by which it is declared that the state ofArkansas shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one of the United Statesof America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with theoriginal states in all respects whatever.
2. A convention assembled at Little Rock, on Monday, the 4th day ofJanuary, 1836, for the purpose of forming a constitution, by which it isdeclared that "We, the people of the Territory of Arkansas, by ourrepresentatives in convention assembled, in order to secure to ourselves andour posterity the enjoyments of all the rights of life, liberty andproperty, and the free pursuit of happiness do mutually agree with eachother to form ourselves into a free and independent state, by the name andstyle of `The State of Arkansas.'" The constitution was finally adopted onthe 30th day of January, 1836.
3. The powers of the government are divided into three departments;each of them is confided to a separate body of magistry, to wit; those whichare legislative, to one; those which are executive, to another and thosewhich are judicial, to a third.
4.-1. The legislative authority of the state is vested in a generalassembly, which consists of a senate and house of representatives. Eachhouse shall appoint its own officers, and shall judge of the qualifications,returns and elections of its own members. Two-thirds of each shallconstitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn fromday to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, andunder such penalties, as each house shall provide. Sect. 15. Each house maydetermine the rules of its own proceedings, punish its own members fordisorderly behaviour, and with the concurrence of two-thirds of the memberselected, expel a member; but no member shall be expelled a second time forthe same offence. They shall each from time to time publish a journal oftheir proceedings, except such parts as, in their opinion, require secrecy;and the yeas and nays shall be entered on the journal, at the desire of anyfive members. Sect. 16.
5. The doors of each house while in session, or in a committee of thewhole shall be kept open, except in cases which may require secrecy; andeach house may punish by fine and imprisonment, any person, not a member,who shall be guilty of disrespect to the house, by any disorderly orcontemptuous behaviour in their presence, during, their session; but suchimprisonment shall not extend beyond the final adjournment of that session.Sect. 17.
6. Bills may originate in either house, and be amended or rejected inthe other and every bill shall be read on three different days in eachhouse, unless two-thirds of, the house where the same is pending shalldispense with the rules : and every bill having passed both houses shall besigned by the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house ofrepresentatives. Sect. 81.
7. Whenever an officer, civil or military, shall be appointed by thejoint concurrent vote of both houses, or by the separate vote of eitherhouse of the general assembly, the vote shall be taken viva voce, andentered on the journal. Sect. 19.
8. The senators and representatives shall, in all cases except treason,felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, during thesession of the general assembly, and for fifteen days before thecommencement and after the termination of each session; and for any speechor debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.Sect. 20.
9. The members of the general assembly shall severally receive, fromthe public treasury, compensation for their services, which may be increasedor diminished; but no alteration of such compensation of members shall takeeffect during the session at which it is made. Sect. 21.
10.-1. The senate shall never consist of less than seventeen nor morethan thirty-three members. Art. 4, Sect. 31. The members shall be chosen forfour years, by the qualified electors of the several districts. Art. 4,Sect. 5. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained the age ofthirty years; Who shall not be a free white male citizen of the UnitedStates; who shall not have been an inhabitant of this state for one year;and who shall not, at the time of his election, have an actual residence inthe district he may be chosen to represent. Art. 4, Sect. 6.
11. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and when sitting forthat purpose, the senators shall be on oath or affirmation to do justiceaccording to law and evidence. When the governor shall be tried, the chiefjustice of the supreme court shall preside; and no person shall be convictedwithout the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators elected. Art. 4, Sect.27.
12.-2. The house of representatives shall consist of not less thanfifty-four, nor more than one hundred representatives, to be apportionedamong the several counties in this state, according to the number of freewhite male inhabitants therein, taking five hundred as the ratio, until thenumber of representatives amounts to seventy-five; and when they amount toseventy-five, they shall not be further increased until the population ofthe state amounts to five hundred thousand souls. Provided that each countynow organized shall, although its population may not give the existingratio, always be entitled to one representative. The members are chosenevery second year, by the qualified electors of the several counties. Art.4, Sect. 2.
13. The qualification of an elector is as follows: he must 1, be a free,white male citizen of the United States; 2, have attained the age of twenty-one years; 3, have been a citizen of this state six months; 4, be mustactually reside in the county, or district where he votes for an office madeelective under this state or the United States. But no soldier, seaman, ormarine, in the army of the United States, shall be entitled to vote at anyelection within this state. Art. 4, Sect. 2.
14. No person shall be a member of the house of representatives, whoshall not have attained the age of twenty-five years; who shall not be afree, white male citizen of the United States; who shall not have been aninhabitant of this state one year; and who shall not, at the time of hiselection, have an, actual residence in the county he may be chosen torepresent. Art. 4, Sect. 4.
15. The house of representatives shall have the sole power ofimpeachment. Art. 4, Sect. 27.
16.-2. The supreme executive power of this state is vested in a chiefmagistrate, who is styled "The Governor of the State of Arkansas." Art. 5,Sect. 1.
17.-1. He is elected by the electors of the representatives.
18.-2. He must be thirty years of age a native born citizen ofArkansas, or a native born citizen of the United States, or a resident ofArkansas ten years previous to the adoption of this constitution, if not anative of the United States; and, shall have been a resident of the same atleast four years next before his election. Art. 4, s. 4.
19.-3. The governor holds his office for the term of four years fromthe time of, his installation, and until his successor shall be dulyqualified; but he is not eligible for more than eight years in any term oftwelve years. Art. 5, sect. 4.
20.-4. His principal duties are enumerated in the fifth article of theconstitution, and are as follows: He Shall be commander-in-chief of the armyof this state, and of the militia thereof, except when they shall be calledinto the service of the United States; s. 6: He may require information, inwriting, from the officers of the executive department, on any subjectrelating to the duties of their respective offices; s. 7. He may byproclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene the general assembly, atthe seat of government, or at a different place, if that shall have become,since their last adjournment, dangerous from an enemy, or from contagiousdiseases. In case of disagreement between the two houses, with respect tothe time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall thinkproper, not beyond the day of the next meeting of the general assembly; s,8. He shall, from time to time, give to the general assembly information ofthe state of the government, and recommend to their consideration suchmeasures as he may deem expedient; s. 9. He shall take care that the laws befaithfully executed s. 10. In all criminal and penal cases, except those oftreason and impeachment, he shall have power to grant pardons, afterconviction, and remit fines and forfeitures, under such rules andregulations as shall be prescribed by law in cases of treason, he shall havepower, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, to grant reprievesand pardons; and he may, in the recess of the senate, respite the sentenceuntil the end of the next session of the general assembly s. 11. He is thekeeper of the seal of the' state, which is to be used by him officially; s.12. Every bill which shall have passed both houses, shall be presented tothe governor. If he approve, he shall sign it; but if he shall not approveit, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it Shallhave originated, who shall enter his objections at large upon theirjournals, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, amajority of the whole number elected to that house shall agree to pass thebill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other house, by which,likewise, it shall be reconsidered; and if approved by a majority of thewhole number elected to that house it shall be a law; but in such cases, thevotes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the names ofpersons voting for or against the bill, shall be entered on the journals ofeach house respectively. If the bill shall not be returned by the governorwithin three days, Sundays excepted, after it shall have been presented tohim, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if be had signed it, unlessthe general assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in such caseit shall not be a law; s. 16. 5. In case of the impeachment of the governor,his removal from office, death, refusal to qualify, or absence from thestate, the president of the senate shall exercise all the authorityappertaining to the office of governor, until another governor shall havebeen elected and qualified, or until the governor absent or impeached, shallreturn or be acquitted; s. 18. If, during the vacancy of the office ofgovernor, the president of the senate shall be impeached, removed fromoffice, refuse to qualify, resign, die, or be absent from the state, thespeaker of the house of representatives shall, in like manner, administerthe government; s. 19.
21.-3. The judicial power of this state is vested by the sixth articleof the constitution, as follows
22.-1. The judicial power of this state shall be vested in one supremecourt, in circuit courts, in county courts, and in justices of the peace.The general assembly may also vest such jurisdiction as may be deemednecessary, in corporation courts; and, when they deem it expedient, mayestablish courts of chancery.
23.-2. The supreme court shall be composed of three judges, one ofwhom shall be styled chief justice, any two of whom shall constitute aquorum and the concurrence of any two of the said judges shall, in everycase, be necessary to a decision. The supreme court, except in casesotherwise directed by this constitution, shall have appellate jurisdictiononly, which shall be coextensive with the state, under such rules andregulations as may, from time to time, be prescribed by law; it shall have ageneral superintending control over all inferior and other courts of law andequity it shall have power to issue writs of error and Supersedeas,certiorari and habeas corpus, mandamus, and quo warranto, and other remedialwrits, and to hear and determine the same; said judges shall be conservatorsof the peace throughout the state, and shall severally have power to issueany of the aforesaid writs.
24.-3. The circuit court shall have jurisdiction over all criminalcases which shall not be otherwise provided for by law and exclusiveoriginal jurisdiction of all crimes amounting to felony.at common law; andoriginal jurisdiction of all civil cases which shall not be cognizablebefore justices of the peace, until otherwise directed by the generalassembly; and original jurisdiction in all matters of contract) when the sumin controversy is over one hundred dollars. It shall hold its terms at suchplace in each county, as may be by law directed.
25.-4. The state shall be divided into convenient circuits, each toconsist of not less than five, nor more than seven counties contiguous toeach other, for each of which a judge shall be elected, who, during hiscontinuance in office, shall reside and be a conservator of the peace withinthe circuit for which he shall have been elected.
26.-5. The circuit courts shall exercise a superintending control overthe county courts, and over justices of the peace, in each county in theirrespective circuits; and shall have power to issue all the necessary writsto carry into effect their general and specific powers.
27.-6. Until the general assembly shall deem it expedient to establishcourts of chancery, the circuit courts shall have jurisdiction in matters ofequity, subject to appeal to the supreme court, in such manner as may beprescribed by law.
28.-7. The general assembly shall, by joint vote of both houses, electthe judges of the supreme and circuit courts, a majority of the whole numberin joint vote being necessary to a choice. The judges of the supreme courtshall be at least thirty years of age; they shall hold their offices foreight years from the date of their commissions. The judges of the circuitcourts shall be at least twenty-five years of age, and shall be elected forthe term of four years from the date of their commissions.
29.-8. There shall be established in each county, a court to be holdenby the justices of the peace, and called the county court, which shall havejurisdiction in all matters relating, to county taxes, disbursements ofmoney for county purposes, and in every other case that may be necessary tothe internal improvement and local concerns of the respective counties.
30.-9. There shall be elected by the justices of the peace of therespective counties, a presiding judge of the county court, to becommissioned by the governor, and hold his office for the term of two years,and until his successor is elected or qualified. He shall, in addition tothe duties that may be required of him by law, as presiding judge of thecounty court, be a judge of the court of probate, and have such jurisdictionin matters relative to the estates of deceased persons, executors,administrators, and guardians, as may be prescribed by law, until otherwisedirected by the general assembly.
31.-10. No judge shall preside in the trial of any cause, in the eventof which he may be interested, or where either of the parties shall beconnected with him by affinity or consanguinity, within such degrees as maybe proscribed by law, or in which he shall have been of counsel, or havepresided in any inferior court, except by consent of all the parties.
32.-11. The qualified voters in each township shall elect the justicesof the peace for their respective townships. For every fifty voters theremay be elected one justice of the peace, provided, that each township,however small, shall have two justices of the peace. Justices of the peaceshall be elected for two years, and shall be commissioned by the governor,and reside in the townships for which they shall have been elected, duringtheir continuance in office. They shall have individually, or two or more ofthem jointly, exclusive original jurisdiction in all matters of contract,except in actions of covenant, where the sum in controversy is of onehundred dollars and under. Justices of the peace shall in no case havejurisdiction to try and determine any criminal case or penal offence againstthe state; but may sit as examining courts, and commit, discharge, orrecognize to the court having jurisdiction, for further trial, offendersagainst the peace. For the foregoing purposes they shall have power to issueall necessary process they shall also have power to bind to keep the peace,or for good behaviour.

Arkansas

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noun a state in south central United States

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noun a river that rises in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and flows southeast through Kansas and Oklahoma and through Arkansas to become a tributary of the Mississippi River

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