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800-NATURAL
 # Entered Union  Year Settled 25th      June 15, 1836    1686  Nickname Natural State  Rank     Population 33rd      2,855,390  Rank     Square Miles 29th      53,179  State Bird Mockingbird aka Northern Mockingbird  State Flower  State Tree  State Motto Regnat populus                 The people rule  Nicknamed the "Land of Opportunity," Arkansas, which joined the Union in 1836, was the 25th state. The early French explorers of the state gave it its name, which is probably a phonetic spelling for the French word for "downriver" people, a reference to the Quapaw Indians and the river along which they settled. Arkansas is the only state in which diamonds have been mined, although today the mine operates only as a tourist attraction.  Native Americans, known as bluff dwellers, first lived in Arkansas. They had a thriving culture along the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers as far back as 500 A.D. In the 16th and 17th centuries, both the Spanish and the French explored the region. The United States acquired the land from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Its history since then is rich in achievement and controversy.  Arkansas, rich in cotton, was a slave-holding state. During the Civil War, it became a Confederate state. Many battles took place within its borders, such as the siege of Fayetteville. Years of racial segregation ended in Arkansas in 1957, when federal troops entered the capital city of Little Rock to maintain order after the state militia tried to stop the desegregation of a public high school there.  Today Arkansas has many thriving industries. Almost half the state is forest, with lovely lakes that are popular tourist destinations. Do you know which president comes from Arkansas?  The Ozark Mountains of Arkansas are the largest mountain range between the Appalachian Mountains in the East and the Rocky Mountains in the West.  The Ozark Mountains of Arkansas may have been named for Aux Arc, a French trading post located there in the 1700s. In French, Aux Arc means "at the bow." The limestone that is found there wears away easily and is responsible for many unusual geographic features, such as caves, sinkholes and underground streams. The Ozarks region is also known for its folk crafts and outdoor recreation.  President Eisenhower and the Little Rock Crisis Can you imagine armed troops blocking you from going to school? That's what happened in Little Rock, Arkansas in the fall of 1957. Governor Orval Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent African American students from enrolling at Central High School. Central High was an all white school.  The 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Topeka made segregation in public schools illegal. Governor Faubus defied this decision. He also defied a 1955 ruling ("Brown II"). The 1955 decision ordered that public schools be desegregated "with all deliberate speed."  President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, was presented with a difficult problem. He wanted to uphold the Constitution and the laws, but also avoid a possible bloody confrontation in Arkansas, where emotions ran high. What do you think Eisenhower did?  President Eisenhower, who was vacationing in Newport, Rhode Island, arranged to meet Governor Faubus there to discuss the tense situation in Little Rock. In their brief meeting, Eisenhower thought Faubus had agreed to enroll African American students, so he told Faubus that his National Guard troops could stay at Central High and enforce order.  Once back in Little Rock, Governor Faubus withdrew the National Guard. A few days later, 9 African American students slipped into the school to enroll and a full scale riot erupted. The situation quickly ran out of control, as Governor Faubus did nothing to stop the violence. Finally, the mayor of Little Rock appealed directly to President Eisenhower for help.  Eisenhower knew he had to act boldly. He placed the Arkansas National Guard under federal control and sent 1,000 U.S. Army paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division to assist them in restoring order in Little Rock.  The daring tactic worked and the African American students were enrolled without further violent disturbances. The law had been upheld, but Eisenhower was criticized both by those who felt he had not done enough to ensure civil rights for African Americans and those who believed he had gone too far in asserting federal power over the states.  The Ozark Mountains used to be an isolated place to live. Situated in northern Arkansas and parts of Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas, the Ozarks were covered by forests. The first people to live there were the Indians who were nicknamed "bluff dwellers" because they lived in the shelter of the mountains. The settlers who arrived in the 1800s were self-supporting, which means they grew their own food, hunted and raised free-range animals. Because it was isolated, a unique culture developed.  The Arkansas Folk Festival is an annual celebration of traditional Ozark culture, held the third weekend in April in Mountain View, Arkansas. Highlights are a parade, folk music concerts and workshops, a blacksmith shop, and demonstrations of such crafts as making soap, brooms, candles, pottery, dolls and toys.  The Ozark region is characterized by many underground streams and springs. Tourism is one of the region's chief industries and was given a boost by Harold Bell Wright's novel The Shepherd of the Hills (1907), which romanticized the Ozarks.  |
