Adsactly Education: Arkansas

Arkansas


The Natural State


Capital: Little Rock


Largest City: Little Rock


53,180 sq. mi. 137,733 sq. Km


29th Largest State


Admitted to US: 1836 (25th)


Population: 3,000,000 (33rd)


Highest Point: 2,753 ft (839 m)


Lowest Point: 55 ft (17 m)


State Bird: Mockingbird


State Flower: Apple Blossom


Motto: The People Rule


Bordered By: Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.

Arkansas

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Arkansas takes it’s name from a local branch of the Osage tribe with the pronunciation being AR-kən-saw . Considered one of the ‘Deep South’ states it was a member of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

People first started settling this area a long time ago. Much of the state is heavily timbered, with low, wet fertile farming areas along the rivers. The Osage were are part of the Mississippian Culture and probably settled into Arkansas in the 13th Century.

Hernando De Soto was the leader of the first European contact in Arkansas. De Soto marched across the state, found nothing he considered useful, and returned to the Mississippi. He fell ill and died the day after his troops carried out a brutal massacre of a local tribe. It is not known where he is buried as his troops were concerned about grave desecration.

Exploration of the area was done primarily by French Explorers and it was a part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Settlement came relatively quickly to the region and Arkansas was admitted to the Union in 1836.

By 1821 all of the tribes that were native to Arkansas were moved west to the ‘Arkansas and Indian Territory’ which is now Oklahoma. Slavery was allowed in Arkansas and it quickly became dominated politically by a relatively small percentage of the population that were the Planter Class. That political domination would continue until the 1960s.

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Civil War and Reconstruction

The planters in the southern part of the state were the ruling class with almost all the money generated in the state coming from the plantations. Farmers north of the cotton belt relied on barter and subsistence farming to get along. There was general support for the Confederate cause in the state at the start of the war, but that would change.

Arkansas and it’s long border on the Mississippi river was of deep importance to the Confederate strategy. There were a few battles fought in Arkansas and the North targeted the Mississippi River as a means to split the south.

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The northern residents soon soured on the war. Most of them didn’t own slaves and the high taxes and the draft turned many of them against the powers that be. That rift is still apparent in the state today.

The result of that split was guerilla war fought by both sides all over the state. ‘Private’ armies fought each other and generally wrecked the infrastructure of the state.

Reconstruction brought a lot of diversity to the state in the form of needed farm workers to replace the slave labor. Many of these immigrants ended up owning businesses and farms of their own.

It all came crashing down in the 1870s and 80s. There were still private armies ‘upholding the peace’ and enforcing their code if not the law. Blacks fled the state like wild to escape the mayhem. The Federal government made the armies disband but a lot of damage was done.

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Jim Crow

The wealthy planters retained and expanded their powers. A new constitution guaranteed that they would run the state for the next 100 years. Extreme Jim Crow laws targeted not only the black survivors but also Asian and poor white citizens.

Arkansas maintained it’s segregation and disparity until the Federal Government passed and enforced laws in the 1960s and 70s. The state is only now starting to recover from some of the damages caused by this failure.

Weather

Arkansas generally has warm and wet weather. There are lots of lakes and rivers and streams and swamps not to mention proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. All of these influences tend toward hot and humid summers and drier coolish winters. Little Rock (center of the state) temps average 93F (34C) and 73F (23C) in July (summer) and 51F (11C) and 32F (0C) in January (winter).

Arkansas is prone to extreme weather including Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Hail, Snow and Ice Storms. A few of the most destructive Tornadoes in US history have hit in Arkansas.

Fauna and Flora

Arkansas has trees of almost every size, shape and description covering 56% of the state’s total area. Cypress, Water Oak and Hickory are common in the low lying swampy and wet areas. Pine, Oak and Hickory are common across much of the state and logging for timber, pulp (paper) and fuel are common statewide. In the extreme north of the state more northeastern US species are found including beech and birch.

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Arkansas’ game mammal population is quite diverse including Black Bear, Whitetail Deer, Elk and Feral Hogs. The elk that are now here are non native and introduced. The elk that historically lived in the central US is now extinct. The Feral Hogs are prolific and destructive with a high nuisance rating in the state.

Arkansas is home to many mid sized mammals including grey and red foxes, coyotes, mink, otter, bobcat and nutria. Small mammals are mice, voles, moles, squirrels and rabbits.

The People

The population of Arkansas is (rounded) 77% white, 16% African American, Asian 1%. All others including Native are less than one percent. Per Capita income is listed at just over $39,000 ranking 45th in the nation. Arkansas is listed as the most affordable state in the Union to live in.

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The historic farming base has changed although it is still important. Walmart is headquartered here as is Tyson Foods. Mining, manufacturing and lumbering are part of the reason that Arkansas has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the nation.

Government

Arkansas follows the standard three part state government structure: Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches.

The elected members of the Executive Branch include Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer and Auditor.

The Legislative branch includes the typical House and Senate. All terms are 4 years with half the legislature up for election every two years.

The Judicial Branch includes the Arkansas Supreme Court, Arkansas Court of Appeals, Circuit Court, District Court and City Courts. The Supreme Court is the court of last resort in Arkansas and it’s decisions can only be reviewed by the Supreme Court of the US. Justices in the top two tiers are elected to 8 year terms.

Education

Education

Arkansas funds and administers Kindergarten through 12th grade education. Corporal punishment is still allowed in Arkansas schools with only Mississippi having a higher rate of paddling in the US.

Colleges and Universities abound in Arkansas. Two state funded University Programs along with a number of state funded College programs and a relatively large number of private Universities and Colleges.

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Transportation

Arkansas is served by 7 interstate highways and also has the 13th largest State Highway system in the Nation. Nearly 3000 miles of railroad track belonging to 25 railroad companies are located in the state.

Four major airports and the traffic on the extensive river (including the Mississippi) system in the state insure good transportation options for people and businesses.

Special Law

As a resident of Arkansas you could be known as an Arkansan, Arkansawyer or a Arkanite.

It’s strictly prohibited to pronounce “Arkansas” incorrectly. Further it is against state law to keep an Alligator in a bathtub.

I hope you enjoyed this synopsis of Arkansas. The words and ideas are mine but I used Wikipedia Arkansas as the source for the information.

All images in this post are properly licensed and used.

This is part of a series on the various states. California is up next, I hope you will return.

Authored by: @bigtom13

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Authored by @bigtom13

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