# 4278 - 2008 42c Flags of Our Nation: Arkansas
Flags of Our Nation
City: Washington, DE
Arkansas Becomes 25th State
Indians had lived in Arkansas as early as 10,000 B.C. When the first European explorers arrived, they found three main tribes in the area: the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw.
Hernando de Soto of Spain was the first European to reach the Mississippi River. He arrived in 1541, near what is now Memphis, Tennessee. He then crossed Arkansas and reached the Ozark Mountains. In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet traveled down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Arkansas River. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claimed the entire Mississippi River valley, which includes Arkansas, for France in 1682. He called the claim Louisiana, in honor of King Louis XIV.
Spain gained ownership of France’s lands west of the Mississippi in 1763. France took the land back in 1800. Then, in 1803, the area was sold to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.
The issue of statehood was first raised in 1831. Republicans in the state favored statehood, while Democrats worried that the taxes to run a state government would be too high for the potential state’s small population. When they learned Michigan was applying for statehood as a free state, Arkansas politicians saw it as their chance to apply as a slave state. Both applications were rejected, but the people from each territory began drawing up state constitutions. The Arkansas politicians sent their new constitution to Washington, where it was debated over for 25 hours on the slavery issue. Eventually though, President Andrew Jackson signed the bill creating the state of Arkansas on June 15, 1836.
Arkansas had joined the Union just as the national debate over the future of slavery in America was becoming more and more intense. After Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, several slave states began to secede. As a slave state, Arkansas was torn as to what course of action it should take. In March of 1861, an Arkansas convention voted to stay within the Union. However, when President Lincoln called for Union states to provide troops for the war, Arkansas refused. Then, in May of 1861, another state convention voted to secede.
Federal troops occupied Arkansas from 1867 to 1874, and the entire state was under military authority. In 1868, the state passed a law giving blacks the right to vote. That year, Arkansas was readmitted into the Union. Arkansas was among the most fervent states in application of racial segregation laws. To give an idea of the scope of this segregation, many courts in Arkansas supplied different Bibles for swearing in witnesses of different races.
During the late 1800s, Arkansas entered a period of continuing economic expansion. This growth was spurred by the construction of railroads, which allowed industry and agriculture to prosper. Deposits of the mineral bauxite were discovered near Little Rock in 1887, and many mines were opened. By 1900, many large sawmills and other timber-related industries had begun to flourish in Arkansas. Oil was discovered near El Dorado in 1921, and the state’s first hydroelectric dam was built in 1924.
Farming and mining expanded greatly in Arkansas during World War II. However, after the war, the state’s economy began to move away from agriculture toward industrialization. Many farm workers lost their jobs due to greater reliance on machinery. And although new manufacturing jobs helped to employ many of these workers, there simply weren’t enough for all those displaced from the state’s farms. As a result, many workers left the state, despite the fact that the number of manufacturing plants more than doubled during the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s, Arkansas manufacturing became more profitable than its farms for the first time.
Flags of Our Nation
City: Washington, DE
Arkansas Becomes 25th State
Indians had lived in Arkansas as early as 10,000 B.C. When the first European explorers arrived, they found three main tribes in the area: the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw.
Hernando de Soto of Spain was the first European to reach the Mississippi River. He arrived in 1541, near what is now Memphis, Tennessee. He then crossed Arkansas and reached the Ozark Mountains. In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet traveled down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Arkansas River. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claimed the entire Mississippi River valley, which includes Arkansas, for France in 1682. He called the claim Louisiana, in honor of King Louis XIV.
Spain gained ownership of France’s lands west of the Mississippi in 1763. France took the land back in 1800. Then, in 1803, the area was sold to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.
The issue of statehood was first raised in 1831. Republicans in the state favored statehood, while Democrats worried that the taxes to run a state government would be too high for the potential state’s small population. When they learned Michigan was applying for statehood as a free state, Arkansas politicians saw it as their chance to apply as a slave state. Both applications were rejected, but the people from each territory began drawing up state constitutions. The Arkansas politicians sent their new constitution to Washington, where it was debated over for 25 hours on the slavery issue. Eventually though, President Andrew Jackson signed the bill creating the state of Arkansas on June 15, 1836.
Arkansas had joined the Union just as the national debate over the future of slavery in America was becoming more and more intense. After Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, several slave states began to secede. As a slave state, Arkansas was torn as to what course of action it should take. In March of 1861, an Arkansas convention voted to stay within the Union. However, when President Lincoln called for Union states to provide troops for the war, Arkansas refused. Then, in May of 1861, another state convention voted to secede.
Federal troops occupied Arkansas from 1867 to 1874, and the entire state was under military authority. In 1868, the state passed a law giving blacks the right to vote. That year, Arkansas was readmitted into the Union. Arkansas was among the most fervent states in application of racial segregation laws. To give an idea of the scope of this segregation, many courts in Arkansas supplied different Bibles for swearing in witnesses of different races.
During the late 1800s, Arkansas entered a period of continuing economic expansion. This growth was spurred by the construction of railroads, which allowed industry and agriculture to prosper. Deposits of the mineral bauxite were discovered near Little Rock in 1887, and many mines were opened. By 1900, many large sawmills and other timber-related industries had begun to flourish in Arkansas. Oil was discovered near El Dorado in 1921, and the state’s first hydroelectric dam was built in 1924.
Farming and mining expanded greatly in Arkansas during World War II. However, after the war, the state’s economy began to move away from agriculture toward industrialization. Many farm workers lost their jobs due to greater reliance on machinery. And although new manufacturing jobs helped to employ many of these workers, there simply weren’t enough for all those displaced from the state’s farms. As a result, many workers left the state, despite the fact that the number of manufacturing plants more than doubled during the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s, Arkansas manufacturing became more profitable than its farms for the first time.