Misplaced Pages

#55944

81-767: The Arkansas State Capitol , often called the Capitol Building , is the home of the Arkansas General Assembly , and the seat of the Arkansas state government that sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the Capitol Mall in Little Rock, Arkansas . In 1899, the St. Louis architect George R. Mann visited the governor of Arkansas Daniel W. Jones , and presented his drawings of his winning competition design from 1896 for

162-616: A humid subtropical climate . While not bordering the Gulf of Mexico , Arkansas, is still close enough to the warm, large body of water for it to influence the weather in the state. Generally, Arkansas, has hot, humid summers and slightly drier, mild to cool winters. In Little Rock , the daily high temperatures average around 93 °F (34 °C) with lows around 73 °F (23 °C) in July. In January highs average around 51 °F (11 °C) and lows around 32 °F (0 °C). In Siloam Springs in

243-667: A southern state, sub-categorized among the West South Central States . The Mississippi River forms most of its eastern border, except in Clay and Greene counties, where the St. Francis River forms the western boundary of the Missouri Bootheel , and in many places where the channel of the Mississippi has meandered (or been straightened by man) from its original 1836 course. Arkansas can generally be split into two halves,

324-746: A controversy then simmering. (See Law and Government below.) After Reconstruction, the state began to receive more immigrants and migrants . Chinese, Italian , and Syrian men were recruited for farm labor in the developing Delta region. None of these nationalities stayed long at farm labor; the Chinese especially, as they quickly became small merchants in towns around the Delta. Many Chinese became such successful merchants in small towns that they were able to educate their children at college. Construction of railroads enabled more farmers to get their products to market. It also brought new development into different parts of

405-849: A filming location to stand in for the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The exterior of the Capitol is made of limestone , which was quarried in Batesville, Arkansas . Though it was initially stipulated a total cost for the envisioned capitol would not to exceed $ 1 million, total construction cost eventually was $ 2.2 million (or $ 320 million in 2014 dollars ). The front entrance doors are made of bronze, which are 10 feet (3 metres) tall, four inches (10 cm) thick and were purchased from Tiffany & Company in New York for $ 10,000. The cupola/dome

486-692: A home base and entrepôt . During the colonial period, Arkansas changed hands between France and Spain following the Seven Years' War , although neither showed interest in the remote settlement of Arkansas Post. In April 1783, Arkansas saw its only battle of the American Revolutionary War , a brief siege of the post by British Captain James Colbert with the assistance of the Choctaw and Chickasaw . Napoleon Bonaparte sold French Louisiana to

567-432: A local deputy, tried to break up a meeting of black sharecroppers who were trying to organize a farmers' union. After a white deputy was killed in a confrontation with guards at the meeting, word spread to town and around the area. Hundreds of whites from Phillips and neighboring areas rushed to suppress the blacks, and started attacking blacks at large. Governor Charles Hillman Brough requested federal troops to stop what

648-405: A national design competition, but the majority of the commission voted for Mann. After Donaghey was elected governor in 1908, he forced Mann off the project and selected Cass Gilbert to finish the Capitol. Construction took 16 years, from 1899 to 1915. The Capitol was built on the site of the state penitentiary and prisoners helped construct the building. They lived in a dormitory that was left on

729-542: A network of public universities and colleges, including two major university systems: Arkansas State University System and University of Arkansas System . Arkansas's culture is observable in museums, theaters, novels, television shows, restaurants, and athletic venues across the state. The name Arkansas initially applied to the Arkansas River . It derives from a French term, Arcansas , their plural term for their transliteration of akansa , an Algonquian term for

810-403: A requirement for a literacy test , knowing it would exclude many blacks and whites. At the time, more than 25% of the population could neither read nor write. In 1892, they amended the state constitution to require a poll tax and more complex residency requirements, both of which adversely affected poor people and sharecroppers, forcing most blacks and many poor whites from voter rolls. By 1900

891-584: A seat in the General Assembly when she was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives . The General Assembly of Arkansas is responsible making and amending the laws of Arkansas . The legislative process is similar to that of other state legislatures in the United States. Bills undergo committee review and three readings on the floor of each house of the legislature. The governor has veto power, but

SECTION 10

#1732852663056

972-565: A short time and often spawns smaller tornadoes. Little Rock has been Arkansas's capital city since 1821 when it replaced Arkansas Post as the capital of the Territory of Arkansas . The state capitol was moved to Hot Springs and later Washington during the American Civil War when the Union armies threatened the city in 1862, and state government did not return to Little Rock until after

1053-861: A simple majority of both houses of the legislature can override that veto. Legislators also select 20 state representatives and 16 state senators to serve on the Arkansas Legislative Council, which oversees the Bureau of Legislative Research and acts as an organizing committee for the legislature. Amendment 73 of the Arkansas Constitution , approved by voters in the 1992 state general elections, set term limits for representatives and senators. representatives were limited to three two-year terms (six years); senators were limited to two four-year terms (eight years). Amendment 73 also set term limits for U.S. senators and representatives, but this part of

1134-655: A small immigration of German , Slovak , and Scots-Irish from Europe. The German and Slovak peoples settled in the eastern part of the state known as the Prairie , and the Irish founded small communities in the southeast part of the state. The Germans were mostly Lutheran and the Slovaks were primarily Catholic. The Irish were mostly Protestant from Ulster , of Scots and Northern Borders descent. Some early 20th-century immigration included people from eastern Europe. Together, these immigrants made

1215-544: A wide variety of classes, becoming almost as popular as Hot Springs . In the late 1880s, the worsening agricultural depression catalyzed Populist and third party movements, leading to interracial coalitions. Struggling to stay in power, in the 1890s the Democrats in Arkansas followed other Southern states in passing legislation and constitutional amendments that disfranchised blacks and poor whites. In 1891 state legislators passed

1296-510: Is Mount Magazine in the Ouachita Mountains , which is 2,753 feet (839 m) above sea level. Arkansas is home to many caves , such as Blanchard Springs Caverns . The State Archeologist has catalogued more than 43,000 Native American living, hunting and tool-making sites, many of them Pre-Columbian burial mounds and rock shelters. Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro is the world's only diamond-bearing site accessible to

1377-637: Is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States . It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma to the west. Its name derives from the Osage language , and refers to their relatives, the Quapaw people. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of

1458-533: Is active throughout the region. In eastern Arkansas, one can find Taxodium (cypress), Quercus nigra (water oaks), and hickories with their roots submerged in the Mississippi Valley bayous indicative of the Deep South. Saw palmetto and needle palm both range into Arkansas. Nearby Crowley's Ridge is the only home of the tulip tree in the state, and generally hosts more northeastern plant life such as

1539-403: Is authorized by the Arkansas Constitution , which is the state's fifth constitution. The first constitution was ratified on January 30, 1836, and the current constitution was adopted in 1874. The constitution has also been amended throughout the state's history since 1874. Originally, legislators met biennially, but today meet annually. In 1922, Frances Hunt became the first woman elected to

1620-553: Is believed to be the vicinity of modern-day McArthur, Arkansas , in May 1542. His body was weighted down with sand and he was consigned to a watery grave in the Mississippi River under cover of darkness by his men. De Soto had attempted to deceive the native population into thinking he was an immortal deity, sun of the sun, in order to forestall attack by outraged Native Americans on his by then weakened and bedraggled army. In order to keep

1701-780: Is covered in 24 karat gold leaf. The government was formerly located in the Old State House . The structure also used Yule marble . The Arkansas State Capitol grounds has multiple monuments and memorials representing various parts of the state's past and present. They include the Arkansas Fallen Firefighters Memorial , Arkansas Medal of Honor Memorial, Bauxite and Granite Boulders, Confederate Soldiers Monument , Confederate War Prisoners Memorial, Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Liberty Bell replica, " Little Rock Nine " Civil Rights Memorial, Memorial Fountain, Monument to Confederate Women , Vietnam Veterans Memorial and

SECTION 20

#1732852663056

1782-811: Is divided into three broad ecoregions: the Ozark, Ouachita-Appalachian Forests , the Mississippi Alluvial and Southeast USA Coastal Plains , and the Southeastern USA Plains . The state is further divided into seven subregions: the Arkansas Valley, Boston Mountains , Mississippi Alluvial Plain , Mississippi Valley Loess Plain , Ozark Highlands, Ouachita Mountains, and the South Central Plains. A 2010 United States Forest Service survey determined 18,720,000 acres (7,580,000 ha) of Arkansas's land

1863-414: Is forestland, or 56% of the state's total area. Dominant species in Arkansas's forests include Quercus (oak), Carya (hickory), Pinus echinata (shortleaf pine) and Pinus taeda (loblolly pine). Arkansas's plant life varies with its climate and elevation. The pine belt stretching from the Arkansas delta to Texas consists of dense oak-hickory-pine growth. Lumbering and paper milling activity

1944-520: Is infrequent but most common in the northern half of the state. The half of the state south of Little Rock is more apt to see ice storms. Arkansas's record high is 120 °F (49 °C) at Ozark on August 10, 1936; the record low is −29 °F (−34 °C) at Gravette , on February 13, 1905. Arkansas is known for extreme weather and frequent storms. A typical year brings thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hail. Occasional cold snaps stand to bring varying amounts of snow, as well as ice storms. Between both

2025-709: Is part of the Ozark Plateau including the Ozark Mountains , to the south are the Ouachita Mountains , and these regions are divided by the Arkansas River ; the southern and eastern parts of Arkansas are called the Lowlands. These mountain ranges are part of the U.S. Interior Highlands region, the only major mountainous region between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains . The state's highest point

2106-475: The Arkansas Constitution after a 25-hour session, admitting Arkansas on June 15, 1836, as the 25th state and the 13th slave state , having a population of about 60,000. Arkansas struggled with taxation to support its new state government, a problem made worse by a state banking scandal and worse yet by the Panic of 1837 . In early antebellum Arkansas, the southeast Arkansas slave-based economy developed rapidly. On

2187-561: The Arkansas National Guard to help segregationists prevent nine African-American students from enrolling at Little Rock's Central High School. After attempting three times to contact Faubus, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent 1,000 troops from the active-duty 101st Airborne Division to escort and protect the African-American students as they entered school on September 25, 1957. In defiance of federal court orders to integrate,

2268-455: The Arkansas River at a slight angle off true east–west. Therefore, the structure is in a north–south manner from end-to-end, which does not fit the grid street pattern of Little Rock's downtown. This also led to a slight S-curve in the formal entrance walkway between the foot of Capitol Avenue and the front steps of the Capitol. Because of its monumental dome, the State Capitol has served as

2349-588: The Great Plains and the Gulf States , Arkansas, receives around 60 days of thunderstorms. Arkansas is located in Dixie alley , and very near tornado alley . As a result, a few of the most destructive tornadoes in U.S. history have struck the state. While sufficiently far from the coast to avoid a direct hit from a hurricane, Arkansas can often get the remnants of a tropical system , which dumps tremendous amounts of rain in

2430-484: The Mississippi River . Additional Native American removals began in earnest during the territorial period, with final Quapaw removal complete by 1833 as they were pushed into Indian Territory. The capital was relocated from Arkansas Post to Little Rock in 1821, during the territorial period. When Arkansas applied for statehood, the slavery issue was again raised in Washington, D.C. Congress eventually approved

2511-550: The Montana State Capitol , which had not yet been built in their state capital of Helena . They were hung on the walls of the old Capitol to generate interest in a new building. The drawings' attractiveness eased the passage of the appropriation bills for the new building, and also drew attention to the architect. In 1899, Mann was selected as architect by a seven-member commission that included future governor George W. Donaghey . Donaghey opposed Mann's selection and advocated

Arkansas State Capitol - Misplaced Pages Continue

2592-590: The Ozark and Ouachita Mountains , which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands , to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands , to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta . Previously part of French Louisiana and the Louisiana Purchase , the Territory of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state on June 15, 1836. Much of

2673-427: The Quapaw people, which is believed to translate to "south wind people." These were a Dhegiha Siouan -speaking people who settled in Arkansas around the 13th century. Kansa is likely also the root term for Kansas , which was named after the related Kaw people . The name has been pronounced and spelled in a variety of ways. In 1881, the state legislature defined the official pronunciation of Arkansas as having

2754-633: The Radical Republicans and Unionists, and led by Governor Powell Clayton , they presided over a time of great upheaval as Confederate sympathizers and the Ku Klux Klan fought the new developments, particularly voting rights for African Americans. In 1874, the Brooks-Baxter War , a political struggle between factions of the Republican Party shook Little Rock and the state governorship. It

2835-662: The Saline , Little Missouri , and Caddo Rivers are all tributaries to the Ouachita River in south Arkansas, which empties into the Mississippi in Louisiana. The Red River briefly forms the state's boundary with Texas. Arkansas has few natural lakes and many reservoirs, such as Bull Shoals Lake , Lake Ouachita , Greers Ferry Lake , Millwood Lake , Beaver Lake , Norfork Lake , DeGray Lake , and Lake Conway . Arkansas's mix of warm temperate moist forest and subtropical bottomland

2916-530: The Supreme Court ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954), some students worked to integrate schools in the state. The Little Rock Nine brought Arkansas to national attention in 1957 when the federal government had to intervene to protect African-American students trying to integrate a high school in the capital. Governor Orval Faubus had ordered

2997-563: The Territory of Arkansas was organized on July 4, 1819. Gradual emancipation in Arkansas was struck down by one vote, the Speaker of the House Henry Clay , allowing Arkansas to organize as a slave territory. Slavery became a wedge issue in Arkansas, forming a geographic divide that remained for decades. Owners and operators of the cotton plantation economy in southeast Arkansas firmly supported slavery, as they perceived slave labor as

3078-526: The Walmart corporation, the world's largest company by revenue , headquartered in Bentonville . Arkansas is the 29th largest by area and the 34th most populous state, with a population of just over three million at the 2020 census . The capital and most populous city is Little Rock , in the central part of the state, a hub for transportation, business, culture, and government. The northwestern corner of

3159-550: The beech tree. The northwestern highlands are covered in an oak-hickory mixture, with Ozark white cedars , cornus (dogwoods), and Cercis canadensis (redbuds) also present. The higher peaks in the Arkansas River Valley play host to scores of ferns, including the Physematium scopulinum and Adiantum (maidenhair fern) on Mount Magazine. The white-tailed deer is the official state mammal. Arkansas generally has

3240-530: The Amendment was found unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton . As Section 4 of the Amendment included a severability clause, the remainder of the amendment remained in force. This was replaced to a large extent by Amendment 94 in 2014, which extended the total years that could be served to 16 in any combination of House and Senate seats. The law

3321-481: The Capitol grounds while construction was taking place. The Capitol foundations were aligned incorrectly by their original builder, future Governor George Donaghey. He centered the building on the centerline of Fifth Street (now Capitol Avenue), but he aligned the building north–south using the still-standing penitentiary walls as a guide without recognizing that Fifth Street was not aligned east–west; like other "east-west" downtown Little Rock streets, it runs parallel to

Arkansas State Capitol - Misplaced Pages Continue

3402-478: The Delta had been developed for cotton plantations, and landowners there largely depended on enslaved African Americans ' labor. In 1861, Arkansas seceded from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War . On returning to the Union in 1868, Arkansas continued to suffer economically, due to its overreliance on the large-scale plantation economy . Cotton remained

3483-514: The Delta more diverse than the rest of the state. In the same years, some black migrants moved into the area because of opportunities to develop the bottomlands and own their own property. Black sharecroppers began to try to organize a farmers' union after World War   I. They were seeking better conditions of payment and accounting from white landowners of the area cotton plantations. Whites resisted any change and often tried to break up their meetings. On September 30, 1919, two white men, including

3564-535: The Democratic Party expanded use of the white primary in county and state elections, further denying blacks a part in the political process. Only in the primary was there any competition among candidates, as Democrats held all the power. The state was a Democratic one-party state for decades, until after passage of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 to enforce constitutional rights. Between 1905 and 1911, Arkansas began to receive

3645-626: The Family , the Southern rights political force in antebellum Arkansas. Residents generally wanted to avoid a civil war. When the Gulf states seceded in early 1861, delegates to a convention called to determine whether Arkansas should secede referred the question back to the voters for a referendum to be held in August. Arkansas did not secede until Abraham Lincoln demanded Arkansas troops be sent to Fort Sumter to quell

3726-526: The General Assembly, that the only true pronunciation of the name of the state, in the opinion of this body, is that received by the French from the native Indians and committed to writing in the French word representing the sound. It should be pronounced in three (3) syllables, with the final "s" silent, the "a" in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first and last syllables. The pronunciation with

3807-503: The Mississippi River include the Arkansas River , the White River , and the St. Francis River . The Arkansas is fed by the Mulberry and Fourche LaFave Rivers in the Arkansas River Valley, which is also home to Lake Dardanelle . The Buffalo , Little Red , Black and Cache Rivers are all tributaries to the White River , which also empties into the Mississippi. Bayou Bartholomew and

3888-590: The Ozark Mountains, Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas River Valley , Gulf Coastal Plain, Crowley's Ridge , and the Arkansas Delta, with Central Arkansas sometimes included as a blend of multiple regions. The southeastern part of Arkansas along the Mississippi Alluvial Plain is sometimes called the Arkansas Delta. This region is a flat landscape of rich alluvial soils formed by repeated flooding of

3969-423: The Union in June 1868, after the Legislature accepted the 14th Amendment. The Republican-controlled reconstruction legislature established universal male suffrage (though temporarily disfranchising former Confederate Army officers, who were all Democrats), a public education system for blacks and whites, and passed general issues to improve the state and help more of the population. The State soon came under control of

4050-420: The United States as the state of Arkansas on June 15, 1836. The name was historically / ˈ ɑːr k ən s ɔː / , / ɑːr ˈ k æ n z ə s / , and several other variants. Historically and modernly, the people of Arkansas call themselves either "Arkansans" or "Arkansawyers". In 1881, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Arkansas Code 1-4-105 (official text): Whereas, confusion of practice has arisen in

4131-402: The United States in 1803, including all of Arkansas, in a transaction known today as the Louisiana Purchase . French soldiers remained as a garrison at Arkansas Post . Following the purchase, the balanced give-and-take relationship between settlers and Native Americans began to change all along the frontier, including in Arkansas. Following a controversy over allowing slavery in the territory ,

SECTION 50

#1732852663056

4212-438: The accent on the second syllable with the sound of "a" in "man" and the sounding of the terminal "s" is an innovation to be discouraged. Citizens of the state of Kansas often pronounce the Arkansas River as / ɑːr ˈ k æ n z ə s / , in a manner similar to the common pronunciation of the name of their state. Settlers, such as fur trappers, moved to Arkansas in the early 18th century. These people used Arkansas Post as

4293-461: The adjacent Mississippi. Farther from the river, in the southeastern part of the state, the Grand Prairie has a more undulating landscape. Both are fertile agricultural areas. The Delta region is bisected by a geological formation known as Crowley's Ridge . A narrow band of rolling hills, Crowley's Ridge rises 250 to 500 feet (76 to 152 m) above the surrounding alluvial plain and underlies many of eastern Arkansas's major towns. Northwest Arkansas

4374-430: The best or "only" economically viable method of harvesting their commodity crops. The "hill country" of northwest Arkansas was unable to grow cotton and relied on a cash-scarce, subsistence farming economy. As European Americans settled throughout the East Coast and into the Midwest, in the 1830s the United States government forced the removal of many Native American tribes to Arkansas and Indian Territory west of

4455-418: The border in Missouri shocked many Arkansans who thought the war would be a quick and decisive Southern victory. Battles early in the war took place in northwest Arkansas, including the Battle of Cane Hill , Battle of Pea Ridge , and Battle of Prairie Grove . Union general Samuel Curtis swept across the state to Helena in the Delta in 1862. Little Rock was captured the following year. The government shifted

4536-487: The controversial Ten Commandments Monument . Arkansas General Assembly The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas . The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 members. All 135 representatives and state senators represent an equal number of constituent districts. The General Assembly convenes on

4617-421: The entire way, he and his men returned to the Mississippi River where de Soto fell ill. From his deathbed he ordered his men to massacre all the men of the nearby village of Anilco, who he feared had been plotting with a powerful polity down the Mississippi River, Quigualtam . His men obeyed and did not stop with the men, but were said to have massacred women and children as well. He died the following day in what

4698-448: The eve of the American Civil War in 1860, enslaved African Americans numbered 111,115 people, just over 25% of the state's population. A plantation system based largely on cotton agriculture developed that, after the war, kept the state and region behind the nation for decades. The wealth developed among planters of southeast Arkansas caused a political rift between the northwest and southeast. Many politicians were elected to office from

4779-410: The final "s" be silent (as it would be in French). A dispute had arisen between the state's two senators over the pronunciation issue. One favored / ˈ ɑːr k ən s ɔː / ( AR -kən-saw ), the other / ɑːr ˈ k æ n z ə s / ( ar- KAN -zəs ). In 2007, the state legislature passed a non-binding resolution declaring that the possessive form of the state's name is Arkansas's , which

4860-424: The first European settlement in the territory. The early Spanish or French explorers of the state gave it its name, which is probably a phonetic spelling of the Illinois tribe's name for the Quapaw people, who lived downriver from them. The name Arkansas has been pronounced and spelled in a variety of fashions. The region was organized as the Territory of Arkansaw on July 4, 1819, with the territory admitted to

4941-411: The governor and city of Little Rock decided to close the high schools for the remainder of the school year. By the fall of 1959, the Little Rock high schools were completely integrated. Arkansas borders Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, Oklahoma to the west, Missouri to the north, and Tennessee and Mississippi to the east. The United States Census Bureau classifies Arkansas as

SECTION 60

#1732852663056

5022-480: The highlands in the northwest and the lowlands of the southeast. The highlands are part of the Southern Interior Highlands, including The Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains . The southern lowlands include the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Arkansas Delta . This split can yield to a regional division into northwest, southwest, northeast, southeast, and central Arkansas. These regions are broad and not defined along county lines. Arkansas has seven distinct natural regions:

5103-457: The leading commodity crop, and the cotton market declined. Because farmers and businessmen did not diversify and there was little industrial investment, the state fell behind in economic opportunity. In the late 19th century, the state instituted various Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise and segregate the African-American population. White interests dominated Arkansas's politics, with disenfranchisement of African Americans and refusal to reapportion

5184-402: The legislature; only after the federal legislation passed were more African Americans able to vote. During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, Arkansas and particularly Little Rock were major battlegrounds for efforts to integrate schools. Following World War II in the 1940s, Arkansas began to diversify its economy and see prosperity. During the 1960s, the state became the base of

5265-406: The locals. The expedition promptly backtracked to Arkansas. After building a small fleet of boats they then headed down the Mississippi River and eventually on to Mexico by water. Later explorers included the French Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet in 1673, and Frenchmen Robert La Salle and Henri de Tonti in 1681. Tonti established Arkansas Post at a Quapaw village in 1686, making it

5346-401: The northwest part of the state, the average high and low temperatures in July are 89 and 67 °F (32 and 19 °C) and in January the average high and low are 44 and 23 °F (7 and −5 °C). Annual precipitation throughout the state averages between about 40 and 60 inches (1,000 and 1,500 mm); it is somewhat wetter in the south and drier in the northern part of the state. Snowfall

5427-526: The order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt given shortly after Imperial Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor , nearly 16,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from the West Coast of the United States and incarcerated in two internment camps in the Arkansas Delta . The Rohwer Camp in Desha County operated from September 1942 to November 1945 and at its peak interned 8,475 prisoners. The Jerome War Relocation Center in Drew County operated from October 1942 to June 1944 and held about 8,000. After

5508-454: The pronunciation of the name of our state and it is deemed important that the true pronunciation should be determined for use in oral official proceedings. And, whereas, the matter has been thoroughly investigated by the State Historical Society and the Eclectic Society of Little Rock, which have agreed upon the correct pronunciation as derived from history, and the early usage of the American immigrants. Be it therefore resolved by both houses of

5589-405: The public for digging. Arkansas is home to a dozen Wilderness Areas totaling 158,444 acres (641.20 km ). These areas are set aside for outdoor recreation and are open to hunting, fishing, hiking, and primitive camping. No mechanized vehicles nor developed campgrounds are allowed in these areas. Arkansas has many rivers, lakes, and reservoirs within or along its borders. Major tributaries to

5670-407: The rebellion there . On May 6, the members of the state convention, having been recalled by the convention president, voted to terminate Arkansas's membership in the Union and join the Confederate States of America . Arkansas held a very important position for the Rebels, maintaining control of the Mississippi River and surrounding Southern states. The bloody Battle of Wilson's Creek just across

5751-553: The ruse up, his men informed the locals that de Soto had ascended into the sky. His will at the time of his death listed "four Indian slaves, three horses and 700 hogs" which were auctioned off. The starving men, who had been living off maize stolen from natives, immediately started butchering the hogs and later, commanded by former aide-de-camp Moscoso, attempted an overland return to Mexico. They made it as far as Texas before running into territory too dry for maize farming and too thinly populated to sustain themselves by stealing food from

5832-522: The second Monday of every year. In odd-numbered years it may consider any bill or resolution; in even-numbered years it may only consider appropriations bills. A session lasts for 60 days unless the legislature votes to extend it. The governor of Arkansas can issue a "call" for a special session during the interims between regular sessions. The General Assembly meets at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock . The General Assembly of Arkansas

5913-542: The state Confederate capital to Hot Springs , and then again to Washington from 1863 to 1865, for the remainder of the war. Throughout the state, guerrilla warfare ravaged the countryside and destroyed cities. Passion for the Confederate cause waned after implementation of programs such as the draft, high taxes, and martial law. Under the Military Reconstruction Act , Congress declared Arkansas restored to

5994-488: The state government has increasingly followed. Before European settlement of North America, Arkansas, was inhabited by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The Caddo , Osage , and Quapaw peoples encountered European explorers. The first of these Europeans was Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1541, who crossed the Mississippi and marched across central Arkansas and the Ozark Mountains. After finding nothing he considered of value and encountering native resistance

6075-581: The state, including the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area and Fort Smith metropolitan area , is a population, education, and economic center. The largest city in the state's eastern part is Jonesboro . The largest city in the state's southeastern part is Pine Bluff . In the 21st century, Arkansas's economy is based on service industries, aircraft, poultry, steel, and tourism, along with important commodity crops of cotton, soybeans and rice . The state supports

6156-607: The state, including the Ozarks, where some areas were developed as resorts. In a few years at the end of the 19th century, for instance, Eureka Springs in Carroll County grew to 10,000 people, rapidly becoming a tourist destination and the fourth-largest city of the state. It featured newly constructed, elegant resort hotels and spas planned around its natural springs, considered to have healthful properties. The town's attractions included horse racing and other entertainment. It appealed to

6237-471: The two largest metropolitan areas. Other cities in Arkansas include Pine Bluff , Crossett , Bryant , Lake Village , Hot Springs , Bentonville , Texarkana , Sherwood , Jacksonville , Russellville , Bella Vista , West Memphis , Paragould , Cabot , Searcy , Van Buren , El Dorado , Blytheville , Harrison , Dumas , Rison , Warren , and Mountain Home . The United States Census Bureau estimated that

6318-803: The war ended. Today, the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway metropolitan area is the largest in the state, with a population of 724,385 in 2013. The Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area is the second-largest metropolitan area in Arkansas, growing at the fastest rate due to the influx of businesses and the growth of the University of Arkansas and Walmart . The state has eight cities with populations above 50,000 (based on 2010 census). In descending order of size, they are Little Rock , Fort Smith , Fayetteville , Springdale , Jonesboro , North Little Rock , Conway , and Rogers . Of these, only Fort Smith and Jonesboro are outside

6399-538: Was called the Elaine massacre . White mobs spread throughout the county, killing an estimated 237 blacks before most of the violence was suppressed after October 1. Five whites also died in the incident. The governor accompanied the troops to the scene; President Woodrow Wilson had approved their use. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 flooded the areas along the Ouachita Rivers along with many other rivers. Based on

6480-408: Was changed again in 2020 by a referendum removing the lifetime limit of 16 years in the legislature and switching to 12 consecutive years, with the option to return after a four-year break. 34°44′48″N 92°17′21″W  /  34.7467387°N 92.2892220°W  / 34.7467387; -92.2892220 Arkansas Arkansas ( / ˈ ɑːr k ən s ɔː / AR -kən-saw )

6561-461: Was settled only when President Ulysses S. Grant ordered Joseph Brooks to disperse his militant supporters. Following the Brooks-Baxter War, a new state constitution was ratified, re-enfranchising former Confederates and effectively bringing an end to Reconstruction. In 1881, the Arkansas state legislature enacted a bill that adopted an official pronunciation of the state's name, to combat

#55944