Early Arkansas Statehood

Population Boom During early statehood years the population of AR doubled every ten years. People came from other states such as Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. Many of these people were African American slaves brought by masters to build plantations in the river bottoms.

Transportation in Arkansas The major overland route was from Memphis to Little Rock. This road took ten years to complete. There was also the Old Southwest Trail that went from Northeast to Southwest AR. Rivers took much of the traffic. Steamboats began running regular schedules..

The Railroad Like everyone else in the United States, Arkansans were eager to have railroads. By 1860 limited tracks had been built.

The Newcomers Most were young, single men. This caused an increase in violence in AR. A lot of the settlers were young married couples with small children. In 1840 women in Arkansas had more children on average than in any other state.

Yeoman Farmers Yeomanry-farmers who owned small plots of land. Most Arkansans at this time were yeomanry. They owned about 150 acres, with one third of it crops and the rest pastures and woodlands. They built dogtrot style cabins.

The Planters Marked by large amounts of land, the ownership of many slaves, and the production of large amounts of cotton. Frontier plantations were crude places. The house had usually started as a log cabin and grew as the owners wealth grew. About 10% of the population owned 70% of the wealth, 78% of the slaves, and 63% of the land.

Slavery in Arkansas By 1860, there were 111,115 slaves in Arkansas. This was ¼ of the population. Only 11,481 Arkansans owned slaves, about 3.5%. More than half of these slave owners had only 1-4 slaves. Only 1,363 owned 20 or more slaves. On these large plantations the slaves were usually run by an overseer.

Life in Arkansas Towns Arkansas towns grew as trade centers. Little Rock was the biggest town with 3,727 people by Every good sized town had a hotel and boarding houses. Merchants offered food, cloth, dyes, kitchen goods, and liquor. Doctors, lawyers, and dentists set up businesses in towns. Other shops included dress, gun, furniture, and shoe shops.

Entertainment in Town Reading groups, debate clubs, and history groups formed in towns. Speakers traveled to towns and charged entrance fees for lectures. People organized singing clubs, concerts, and dramas. Civic groups such as Masons were formed. Gambling and horse racing were most common. Circuses and holidays were also extremely popular.

The War with Mexico When war with Mexico broke out many Arkansans volunteered to fight for the U.S. Reporters referred to the troops from Arkansas as, “The Mounted Devils of Arkansas”. Former governor Archibald Yell volunteered and became a colonel. Only battle Arkansans fought in was Buena Vista

Governors Thomas Stevenson Drew-replaced Archibald Yell as governor of Arkansas in He was governor during the Mexican War. John Selden Roane was a war hero from the Mexican war. He took command of Arkansas’s troops after Yell was killed. Because of his status as a war hero he was elected governor in 1849.

Boom Times The 1850s were boom years in Arkansas. The state was growing swiftly in population and wealth. Cotton was becoming king. The railroad construction had begun. Elias Nelson Conway-governor from , put the state on sound financial ground. Economic growth increased the state’s taxes by $100 million.

Trouble Coming There was a growing quarrel between the North and the South. Arkansas would soon have to decide which side to join. Northwestern Arkansans owned few slaves and were faithful to the Union. Southern planters of Arkansas began a boycott on Northern goods. The decision to stay or leave was coming quickly