Arkansas Politics

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Arkansas Politics

Arkansas Politics General Information

The politics of the state of Arkansas has its own characteristic features, and it makes an interesting study. We shall trace the history of Arkansan politics to the present day and establish the relevance of the politics of this state with the rest of the U.S. Some famous politicians like William Jefferson, Bill Clinton and Winthrop Rockefeller hail from Arkansas.

Arkansas Politics Early History

Since its very inception in 1819, the people of Arkansas have always been very politically-oriented. Arkansans have always taken their politics very seriously. The early years brought in a rough, yet democratic political process. The politics of Arkansas were of a highly personal matter. On approaching statehood, focus turned to regional issues.

The Effect of the Civil War

The American Civil War created a major upheaval in the state and the only beneficial result was that of the freeing of slaves and giving the African-Americans their rights. But it was not until the 1960s that the African-Americans actually got a fairer deal, to some extent.

We will now delve into some of the aspects of the history of Arkansas politics, tracking it from the early years, then right into the dawn of the 21st century.

• Arkansas, 1819 to 1833: This is usually considered as the first political period of any significance. The reason of this is that the State of Arkansas was formed in 1819 and the term of the first secretary of Arkansas, Robert Crittenden, who ruled from 1819 to 1833. Robert Crittenden played a major role in the creation of the legislature and judiciary of the Government of Arkansas. He also set a date for the election of the members of the legislature and judiciary. It was only when he lost the election for Governor in 1833 that his reign came to an end.

• 1860-1877:  In 1861, Arkansas seceded from the union and joined the confederation. It was a period of upheaval which only subsided with the Arkansas again joining the union. All however was not well during this period as it is during this time that Jim Crow passed obnoxious laws which discriminated African-Americans. This period also saw the rise of the “Klu Klux Klan”, an organization dedicated to the promotion of white power.

• This period is also known as “reconstruction”, which refers to the attempt of Arkansans to restore the pre-civil war conditions which were ultimately thwarted, but not before causing bad blood on both sides of the movement. There were three phases to the Reconstruction.

• Presidential Reconstruction: (1863-1866): It was monitored by the two presidents – Andrew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln. Their aim was to reunite the country but it gave rise to an opposition group called the Radical Republicans.

• Radical Reconstruction (1866-1873): This group came into existence after the elections of 1866 and was opposed to the policies of the Presidential Reconstruction.

• Redemption (1873-1877): The Reconstruction movement was ended by the Redemption which was a movement started by Southerners (Scalawags) and Northerners who allied themselves with the Freedmen (freed slaves) to participate in politics of the land and hold public office.

• The Gilded Age (1877-1890): By then the political process had come of age. There was typical polarization of ethno-cultural groups, the main two classic groups being the Republicans and the Democrats. The ruling party was the”Grand Old Party” or GOP with republican orientations. The spoils system emerged and of course, the groups that opposed this system.

• Political groups were now very clearly based on religious demarcations. Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Methodists and Scandinavian Lutherans from the north were aligned with the GOP whereas German Lutherans Episcopalians and Catholics had leanings to the Democratic Party which was pro-prohibition. Prohibition emerged as a major bone of contention between these two groups, especially later, during the prohibition years from 1918 to 1932.

• Progressive Era (1896-1932): During this period, the republicans came to the fore. This period also brought in the “fourth party system”, characterized by Republican dominance. Two major events during this era were women’s suffrage and prohibition. Arkansas was a supporter of the 19th amendment which revolves around the right to vote and from which the women’s suffrage movement drew its momentum from.

• 1932 to 1980 and the New Deal: In 1933, Roosevelt took over as the 32nd U.S. president. He ushered in the New Deal which was a response to the Great Depression of 1930. The New Deal brought about consolidation of the Democratic Party. The politics under Roosevelt were indeed very reformist. He was a champion of the agricultural sector, thereby giving a boost to the state of Arkansas.

Government and Politics of Arkansasa Today

Today Little Rock is the capital city in the county of Pulaski. The ruling party is the Democratic Party. This is an exception to the other southern states which are under Republican rule. Arkansas had some exceptional glory in the year 1992 when Arkansan Bill Clinton won the presidential election.

Conclusion

Today the politics of Arkansas is as mature as it gets in terms of stability, refinement and popular participation. Arkansas is indeed today a major force in the meld of the American political process.

List of Governors in Arkansas

Other High Offices Held

Living Former Governors

List of United States Senators from Arkansas

Class 2

Class 3

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