Arkansas
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State flag
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ARKANSAS,
one of the West South Central states of the U.S., bounded
on the N and NE by Missouri, on the E by Tennessee and Mississippi,
on the S by Louisiana, on the SW by Texas, and on the W by Oklahoma.
The Mississippi R. forms virtually the entire E boundary.
Arkansas entered the Union as the 25th state on June 15, 1836.
A slaveholding state, it was part of the Confederacy during the
American Civil War. Long known as an agricultural state with diverse
mineral resources, Arkansas in the early 21st century had an economy that was
dominated by the manufacturing and service sectors. The name of
the state is taken from the Arkansas R., which was named for the
Arkansa, or Quapaw, Indians; the s was added as a plural,
and the French pronunciation was retained. Arkansas is called the
Natural State. Bill Clinton was born in Arkansas and served as
governor of the state before becoming U.S. president.
| ARKANSAS STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
June 15, 1836; 25th state |
| CAPITAL: |
Little Rock |
| MOTTO: |
Regnat populus (The people rule) |
| NICKNAME: |
The Natural State |
| STATE SONG: |
“Arkansas (You Run Deep in Me)” (words and music by Wayland Holyfield);
“Oh, Arkansas” (words and music by Terry Rose and Gary Klaff) |
| STATE TREE: |
Pine |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Apple blossom |
| STATE BIRD: |
Mockingbird |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
2,673,400; 33d among the states |
| AREA: |
137,732 sq km (53, 179 sq mi); 29th largest state; includes 2875 sq km (1110 sq mi) of inland water |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
Magazine Mt., 839 m (2753 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
17 m (55 ft), along the Ouachita River |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
6 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 4 representatives |
| GOVERNOR: |
Mike Beebe (Dem.); took office Jan. 2007 |
Arkansas, with an area of 137,732 sq km (53,179 sq mi),
is the 29th largest state in the U.S; 10.2% of the land is
owned by the federal government. Arkansas is roughly square in shape,
although narrower in the S, and its extreme dimensions are about
355 km (about 220 mi) from both N to S and E to W. Elevations range
from 17 m (55 ft) along the Ouachita R., near the Louisiana border,
to a maximum of 839 m (2753 ft) at Magazine Mt., in NW Arkansas.
The mean elevation is about 198 m (650 ft).
The physical landscape of Arkansas consists of heavily wooded mountains
in much of the N and W and plateaus and low-lying plains in the
E and S. The Ozark Plateau covers much of N Arkansas, from the Oklahoma
border to the Ozark escarpment on the E. It is a land of rugged
hills and valleys and of upland forests interspersed with rich farmland.
Above the S section of the plateau rise the Boston Mts. The Arkansas
Valley separates the Ozark Plateau from the Ouachita Mts. Although
the valley is primarily a lowland, some mountains rise from its
floor. It is a prosperous farming and mining area. The Ouachita
Mts. to the S are composed of E–W-trending ridges that
are separated by narrow valleys. The region is a major source of
timber and is also known for its hot springs.
The West Gulf Coastal Plain cuts a wide swath through SW Arkansas.
It is part of the great coastal plain that extends N from the Gulf
of Mexico. Soils of clay loams mixed with gravel make the area relatively
fertile for farming and for the commercial growth of pine trees.
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain occupies approximately the E one-third
of the state. Rich alluvial soils have been deposited here over
thousands of years by the Mississippi R. during flood stages. Levees
have been constructed to protect the farmland of the area from flooding.
The Mississippi R. and its major tributary, the Arkansas R.,
drain most of the state. The majority of rivers flow W or SW to
either of these and include the Little Missouri, Ouachita, Saline,
and Red rivers in the S and the Saint Francis, Black, and White
rivers in the N. A number of oxbow lakes (abandoned river meanders)
have been formed along the Mississippi R.; Lake Chicot is the largest
of these. Most of the large lakes of Arkansas, however, are artificial.
They include Dardanelle Reservoir on the Arkansas R. and Lakes Ouachita,
Catherine, and Hamilton in the Ouachita Mts. Bull Shoals Lake and Lakes
Beaver and Table Rock are located in the Ozark Plateau.
Arkansas has a humid subtropical climate; winters are mild
and summers hot, particularly in the lowland areas. The average
annual temperatures range from about 14.4° C (about 58° F)
in the NW to 18.9° C (66° F) in the lowlands.
The highest recorded temperature in the state was 48.9° C (120° F),
at Ozark in 1936; the lowest, –33.9° C (–29° F),
at the Pond weather station in NW Arkansas in 1905. Precipitation
is well distributed through the year, with a slight concentration
in the spring months. Average annual precipitation ranges from about
1000 mm (about 40 in) in the Ozark Plateau to nearly 1400 mm (about 55 in)
in the S plains. Occasional droughts may occur in the N and W.
| ARKANSAS AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Little Rock |
Fort Smith |
| Average January temperature range |
–1.7° to 10° C |
29° to 50° F |
–2.2° to 10° C |
28° to 50° F |
| Average July temperature range |
21.1° to 33.9° C |
70° to 93° F |
21.7° to 34.4° C |
71° to 94° F |
| Average annual temperature |
16.1° C |
61° F |
16.1° C |
61° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
1245 mm |
49 in |
1067 mm |
42 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
127 mm |
5 in |
127 mm |
5 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
103 |
95 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
71% |
69% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
120 |
124 |
Forests cover more than one-half of the total land area of Arkansas.
Pine forests are found mainly in the SW part of the state; E areas are
covered by a great variety of hardwoods, including ash, buckeye,
hackberry, hawthorn, hickory, maple, oak, and cherry. Arkansas is
also known for its flowering trees and shrubs such as dogwood, azalea,
and redbud and for its wild flowers and ferns.
The mountains of the state are the habitat of a variety of
small mammals, including mink, raccoon, skunk, weasel, and woodchuck.
The plains are the home of deer, rabbit, fox, and bobcat. Birdlife
thrives throughout the state and includes pheasant, duck, goose,
turkey, and such songbirds as cardinal, robin, mockingbird, phoebe,
and whippoorwill. Among the freshwater fish here are bass, catfish,
perch, and sturgeon.
Mineral resources of Arkansas include petroleum and
natural gas in the SW, coal in the Arkansas Valley, and bauxite near
Little Rock. The state also contains commercial quantities of granite,
gypsum, marble, mercury, soapstone, titanium, zinc, and vanadium. Arkansas
also ranks first in production of bromine and in silica stone, a natural
abrasive. Murfreesboro in the SW has become famous as a source of diamonds.
According to the 2000 census, Arkansas had 2,673,400
inhabitants, an increase of 13.7% over 1990. The average population
density was 19.8 people per sq km (51.3 per sq mi) of land area. Whites
made up 80% of the population and blacks 15.7%; additional population
groups included 17,808 American Indians and Alaska Natives, 20,220
Asians, and 1668 Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders. (These
figures do not include the 1.3% of the population who reported more
than one race.) A total of 86,866 Arkansas residents were of Hispanic
origin, representing 3.2% of the total population; most of these
Latinos were of Mexican ancestry. The state’s largest cities were
Little Rock, the capital; Fort Smith; North Little Rock; Fayetteville;
and Jonesboro.
A 2000 survey of religious adherents in Arkansas found
that Southern Baptists represented 24.9% of the state population;
other Protestant groups included adherents of the American Baptist
Association (4.3%) and Baptist Missionary Association of America (3.3%),
along with United Methodists (6.7%). Roman Catholics made up an
estimated 4.3%.
According to the 2000 census, about 53% of the people of
Arkansas lived in areas defined as urban, and the rest lived in rural
areas.
| POPULATION OF ARKANSAS SINCE 1810 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1810 |
1,000 |
0% |
| 1830 |
30,000 |
0% |
| 1860 |
435,000 |
1% |
| 1880 |
803,000 |
4% |
| 1900 |
1,312,000 |
9% |
| 1920 |
1,752,000 |
17% |
| 1940 |
1,949,000 |
22% |
| 1960 |
1,786,000 |
43% |
| 1980 |
2,286,000 |
52% |
| 1990 |
2,350,725 |
54% |
| 2000 |
2,673,400 |
53% |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST CITIES IN ARKANSAS |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Little Rock |
183,133 |
175,795 |
| Fort Smith |
80,268 |
72,798 |
| North Little Rock |
60,433 |
61,741 |
| Fayetteville |
58,047 |
42,099 |
| Jonesboro |
55,515 |
46,535 |
| Pine Bluff |
55,085 |
57,140 |
| Springdale |
45,798 |
29,941 |
| Conway |
43,167 |
26,481 |
| Rogers |
38,829 |
24,692 |
| Hot Springs |
35,750 |
32,462 |
Arkansas has a diversity of educational and cultural institutions;
the foremost of these, however, are located in the major cities.
Although the state legislature passed an act in 1843
enabling a system of common schools to be established, free schools for
all children were not provided until 1868. As of 2002 Arkansas public schools
had 319,000 pupils enrolled in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and
132,000 students in grades 9-12. More than 26,000 students attended private
schools. In the same period Arkansas had 47 degree-granting institutions of
higher education with a total yearly enrollment of more than 127,000 students,
of which 114,000 were attending public institutions. Among the most notable
of these schools were the University of Arkansas (1871), with branches in
Fayetteville, Little Rock, Monticello, and Pine Bluff; Arkansas State
University (1909), in State University, near Jonesboro; Arkansas Tech
University (1909), in Russellville; Southern Arkansas University
(1909), in Magnolia; University of the Ozarks (1834), in Clarksville;
Harding University (1924), in Searcy; Henderson State University
(1890), in Arkadelphia; and Hendrix College (1876) and the University
of Central Arkansas (1907), in Conway.
Arkansas contains a variety of museums, including the Arkansas Arts
Center, in Little Rock; the Southeast Arkansas Arts and Science
Center, in Pine Bluff; the University of Arkansas Museum, in Fayetteville;
the Fort Smith Art Center, in Fort Smith; and at the galleries and museum
of the Arkansas State University, in State University. Of special interest
are the Saunders Memorial Museum, exhibiting an outstanding collection
of pistols and rifles, in Berryville; and the Miles Musical Museum,
which displays old musical instruments and Indian relics, in Eureka
Springs. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is based in Little Rock.
Many of Arkansas’s historical sites commemorate the
early pioneer days, such as Mountain Village 1890, a restoration of an
early Ozark town, in Bull Shoals; Fort Smith National Historic Site,
including a U.S. military installation built in 1817, in Fort Smith;
and Arkansas Post National Memorial, marking the first permanent French
settlement in the Lower Mississippi Valley, near Gillett. Also of note
are the Old State House, in Little Rock, and Pea Ridge National
Military Park, the site of a Union victory in the American Civil War,
near Rogers. Groundbreaking for the William J. Clinton Presidential
Library took place in Little Rock in December 2001; it opened in
November 2004 as part of the Clinton Presidential Center, which also
includes the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service
and the Clinton Foundation.
Arkansas’s parks, forests, and lakes provide ample opportunities
for fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, swimming, boating, and horseback
riding. Among the state’s most popular recreational areas
are Hot Springs National Park, with numerous mineral thermal springs; Ouachita
National Forest; Ozark National Forest; Saint Francis National Forest;
and Bull Shoals State Park.
In the early 2000s Arkansas had more than 80 AM and 200 FM
radio stations, and 40 television stations. The state’s first radio station,
WOK, in Pine Bluff, was licensed in 1920. KATV, in Little Rock, Arkansas’s
first commercial television station, began operation in 1953. The Arkansas Gazette,
the state’s first newspaper, was initially published in Arkansas Post in
1819. As of 2004 Arkansas had 28 daily newspapers with a total daily circulation
of about 467,000. The state’s leading daily is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,
in Little Rock.
In 2003, 50.0% of Arkansas’ households had computers, and 42.4% had Internet access.
Arkansas is governed under a constitution adopted in 1874,
as amended. Four earlier constitutions had been adopted, in 1836,
1861, 1864, and 1868. An amendment to the constitution may be proposed
by the state legislature or by voter initiative. To become effective
an amendment must be approved by a majority of the persons voting on
the issue in an election.
The chief executive of Arkansas is a governor, who is
popularly elected to a 4-year term; since 1992, the governor has been
limited to no more than two full terms. The same is true of the lieutenant governor,
who succeeds the governor should the latter resign, die, or be removed
from office. Other elected state officers include the secretary
of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor, and land commissioner.
The bicameral Arkansas General Assembly is composed of a senate
and a house of representatives. The 35 members of the senate serve
4-year terms, and the 100 members of the house serve 2-year terms.
Arkansas’s highest court, the state supreme court, is
composed of 7 justices elected to serve 8-year terms. The intermediate
court of appeals has 12 judges, also elected to 8-year terms. Under a
constitutional amendment effective in 2001-02, the trial courts of
general jurisdiction are the circuit courts, comprising five divisions:
criminal, civil, probate, domestic relations, and juvenile. The 115 circuit
court judges are elected to 6-year terms. District courts and city
courts have limited jurisdiction.
Arkansas has 75 counties, each of which is administered
by a county judge. Other elected county officials include the
treasurer, assessor, sheriff, clerk, coroner, surveyor, and collector.
In the the early 2000s the state had 499 municipalities, 310 school districts,
and 704 special districts.
Arkansas elects two senators and four representatives to the U.S.
Congress. The state has six electoral votes in presidential elections.
From the Reconstruction period through the mid-1960s Arkansas
was, in both state and national elections, a Democratic party stronghold.
In 1966, however, a Republican, Winthrop Rockefeller, won the state
governorship. In 1968 George C. Wallace (American Independent) became
the first non-Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state
in almost 100 years. Since then, the Republican and Democratic parties
have each experienced success in presidential, congressional, and
gubernatorial races, but the Democrats have consistently controlled
both houses of the state legislature. As governor (1979–81, 1983–92),
Bill Clinton dominated state politics; he served from 1993 to 2001 as the
42d president of the U.S. Another Democrat, David Pryor (1934-), served as
governor of Arkansas (1975-79) and then as a U.S. senator (1979-97); his son,
Mark Pryor (1963-), was elected to the Senate in 2002.
By most standards, Arkansas is one of the poorest
states in the U.S. As of 2000, Arkansas ranked 47th among the 50 states
in personal income per capita, at $21,945--more than 25% below the
national average.
Arkansas has been described historically as part of the
Cotton Belt. In recent years, however, this designation has become
somewhat misleading. Although cotton remains an important crop, broiler
chickens, cattle, rice, and natural gas are far more important to the
economy. Manufacturing, construction, and private service-producing
industries together account for more than 80% of the annual gross state
product.
| ARKANSAS STATE ECONOMY |
| STATE BUDGET |
| General revenue |
$14,2 billion |
| General expenditure |
$12.7 billion |
| Accumulated debt |
$3.8 billion |
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| STATE TAXES PER CAPITA |
$2,029 |
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| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$26,874 |
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| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
16.0% |
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| EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION |
| Management, business, finance |
160,000 |
| Professional and related |
198,000 |
| Services |
170,000 |
| Sales and related |
135,000 |
| Office and administrative support |
161,000 |
| Farming, fishing, forestry |
17,923 |
| Construction and extraction |
61,000 |
| Installation, maintenance, repair |
53,000 |
| Production |
128,000 |
| Transportation and moving |
101,000 |
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| GROSS STATE PRODUCT |
$86.8 billion |
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| NET FARM INCOME |
$2 million |
| Principal products |
broilers, soybeans, rice |
In the early 2000s Arkansas had about 48,000 farms averaging some 300
acres) in size. Farming accounts for about 3% of the annual gross state
product. The combination of a long growing season, plentiful rainfall,
and rich alluvial soils has helped to make the state the dominant U.S.
rice producer and a national leader in the production of cotton and
soybeans; these crops are grown mainly in the Mississippi Valley and
the lowlands of tributary rivers. Significant quantities of wheat,
corn, greenhouse and nursery products, hay, and sorghum as well as tomatoes,
grapes, apples, and peaches are also grown. Arkansas is an important
producer of cattle, hogs, chickens, and turkeys and ranks among the
leading states in the production of commercial broilers (1.2 billion in 2005);
livestock and livestock products account for close to two-thirds of the state’s
farm income. Catfish and other aquaculture products were valued at nearly
$100 million in 2000.
TThe state’s timber resources are considerable. The
principal types of lumber are oak, hickory, cypress, and especially
pine, which is harvested increasingly from tree farms maintained by
large corporations.
The mining industry accounts for about 1% of the
gross state product. Arkansas usually ranks first in the nation
in the production of bromine. Bauxite deposits, which are concentrated
in central Arkansas, are no longer mined commercially. Significant
quantities of natural gas, petroleum, and construction materials are
produced, along with smaller amounts of coal, clays, and industrial diamonds.
From 1960 through 2000 manufacturing employment grew steadily,
reaching a total in 2000 of about 240,000 jobs, but the number then dropped off
sharply; at the end of 2006 there were only about 190,000 manufacturing jobs.
Manufacturing enterprises accounted for 19% of the gross state product in 2005.
Resource industries predominate, including food processing, paper and wood products,
fabricated metals; electrical equipment and appliances, plastics and rubber,
machinery, and motor vehicles and parts are also important. The trade value of
Arkansas' manufactured goods in 2005 totaled about $3.7 billion, with over a
third of it going to NAFTA countries. The metropolitan area comprising Little Rock
and North Little Rock is the state’s industrial heart. Other important manufacturing
centers are Fort Smith, Pine Bluff, El Dorado, and Fayetteville.
Travelers spent about $4 billion annually in Arkansas
in the early 2000s. Visitors are attracted to the areas in the
state administered by the National Park Service, such as Hot Springs
National Park and Fort Smith National Historic Site. Some 30 state
parks and recreation areas provide opportunities for fishing, boating,
camping, and other outdoor activities.
Arkansas has a network of about 158,500 km (about 98,500 mi)
of highways, of which some 1,050 km (650 mi) are federal interstate highways.
The state is served by more than 4000 km (over 2500 mi) of operated railroad track.
Railroads handle freight almost exclusively. An extensive inland waterway network
comprises four rivers: the Mississippi, Arkansas, White, and Ouachita.
Year-round barge service is available on all four rivers. The
McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System provides a navigable
channel between the Mississippi R. and Tulsa, Okla. Little Rock, on the
Arkansas R., is a port of entry, and Fort Smith and Pine Bluff are also
river ports. In 2002 Arkansas had 212 airports and 79 heliports; the major
commercial airports are at Little Rock and Fayetteville.
The electric-generating plants of Arkansas produced about
50.4 billion kwh of electricity in 2003. As of 2003, coal-fired plants generated
some 47% of the state's electricity, and nuclear facilities accounted for
almost 30%; most remaining electricity came from natural gas (15%) or hydropower (5%).
The Arkansa Indians were one of the most numerous of the tribes
that occupied the region before the coming of white settlers. Other
Indian groups in the area included the Caddo, Cherokee, Choctaw,
and Osage Indians. Arkansas was explored by a Spanish expedition
under Hernando de Soto in 1541. The French followed in the 17th
century, and in 1686 the Italian explorer Henri de Tonty founded
a trading station at Arkansas Post, the first permanent white settlement
in the area, near the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi
rivers. The region formed part of the area named Louisiana by the
French explorer Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, in 1682. Americans
began to settle Arkansas during the late 18th century; the U.S.
acquired it from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
In 1812 Arkansas was made a county of the newly established
Missouri Territory. Many veterans of the War of 1812 settled in
the region during the next decade. In 1819 the U.S. Congress granted
Arkansas territorial status. The next year, when Little Rock was founded,
the population of the territory numbered 14,273; the city became
the capital in 1821. Increasing numbers of cotton farmers migrated
to the territory, bringing slaves with them, and by 1830 the population totaled
30,388. Exploitation of forest resources and the introduction of
steamboat transportation further added to the growth, and by 1860,
24 years after Arkansas became a state, the population was 435,450,
including 111,307 slaves.
Despite the numerical strength and political influence of
the slave owners, considerable antisecessionist sentiment developed
in Arkansas during the critical period preceding the outbreak of
the American Civil War. After the rebellion began, however, the advocates
of Arkansas secession prevailed, and the state was part of the Confederacy
from 1861 to 1865.
The period of Reconstruction in Arkansas was marked by acute
economic distress and fierce political rivalries, graft, corruption,
and mounting indebtedness. From 1868 to 1874, however, beginnings
were made in railroad building, public schools were founded, and
the University of Arkansas was established.
After Reconstruction, Arkansas became a stronghold of the
Democratic party in both state and national politics, despite the
development during the 1880s and ’90s of a strong third-party
movement based on general agrarian discontent.
Noteworthy economic events included the discovery of bauxite
near Little Rock in 1887, the development of oil fields in southern
Arkansas beginning with a well near El Dorado in 1921, and the establishment
of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission in 1955.
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Library of Congress, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection. Rep# LC-U9-1525N-4
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African American students arriving without incident at Van Buren High School, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1958.
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In 1957 Gov. Orval Faubus (1910–94) called out the
Arkansas National Guard to prevent court-ordered integration at
Little Rock Central High School. President Dwight Eisenhower sent
federal troops to enforce the law, and the black students were admitted
to Central. The state’s solidarity with the Democratic
party was broken with the election of Winthrop Rockefeller, a Republican,
as governor in 1966. Voters in 1980 rejected a proposed new state constitution,
but in 1984 they extended the terms of the governor and other state officials
from two years to four.
Entrepreneur Sam Walton (1918-92) founded the first Wal-Mart store
in 1962 at Rogers, in NW Arkansas; in subsequent decades, Wal-Mart grew to become
the world's largest retail chain, with headquarters at Bentonville and worldwide sales
exceeding $300 billion annually. The Arkansas River Navigation System, completed
in 1970, opened up a water route between the Mississippi River and Oklahoma,
promoting industrial expansion in several ports along the waterway.
In the 1970s and ’80s the state promoted development of the
cattle and poultry industries, bringing prosperity to some areas but
also controversy over increased pollution.
Arkansas received increased national scrutiny in the 1990s
with the elevation to the U.S. presidency of Bill Clinton, who had
won election to five terms as state governor (1979–81,
1983–92). A federal investigation into Bill and Hillary
Rodham Clinton’s involvement with the Whitewater Development
Corp., a failed Arkansas real estate venture, led to the indictment
of Clinton’s Democratic successor as governor, Jim Guy
Tucker (1943– ).
Convicted in May 1996 for his role in a fraudulent bank loan to
the Clintons’ former business partners, Tucker resigned
in July and was succeeded by Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee (1955– ),
a Republican. Reelected in 1998 and 2002, Huckabee left the governor’s
office in January 2007 and launched a campaign for the Republican presidential
nomination. His successor in the statehouse was a Democrat, former state
attorney general Mike Beebe (1946– ).