Arkansas in U.S. History
Timeline:
- 1819: Arkansas Territory created from the Missouri Territory
- 1836: Arkansas admitted to the Union as a slave state
- 1861: Arkansas secedes from the Union and joins the Confederacy
- 1865: Arkansas readmitted to the Union
- 1874: The Brooks-Baxter War, a violent struggle for control of the state government
- 1954: The Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools are unconstitutional
- 1957: Governor Orval Faubus orders the Arkansas National Guard to block the integration of Little Rock Central High School
- 1960: President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalizes the Arkansas National Guard to enforce the Brown v. Board of Education decision
- 1964: Arkansas voters approve a constitutional amendment banning interracial marriage
- 1972: Arkansas Public Defender Commission created
- 1982: Arkansas becomes the first state to require clergy to report child abuse
- 1992: Whitewater controversy involving President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary
- 2007: Arkansas becomes the first state to pass a law requiring the teaching of creationism in public schools
Important Legislation:
- 1983: Arkansas Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, Religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability, or handicap
- 1995: Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act allows for the use of medical marijuana for certain conditions
- 2005: Arkansas Child Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Act reforms the state’s child welfare system
- 2013: Arkansas HB 1228, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, allows businesses to refuse service to individuals based on religious beliefs
Important Court Cases:
- 1924: Moore v. Dempsey involves the murder of a black man by a white mob in Phillips County
- 1954: Brown v. Board of Education declares segregated schools unconstitutional
- 1987: Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier rules that school officials have the right to censor student newspapers
- 1992: Clinton v. Jones involves a sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton
- 2016: Holcombe v. Arkansas Department of Human Services rules that transgender individuals are protected from discrimination under the Arkansas Civil Rights Act
Major Industry:
- Agriculture, particularly cotton, soybeans, and rice
Impact on the Rest of the Country:
- Arkansas’s secession from the Union was a major factor in the outbreak of the Civil War.
- The integration of Central High School in Little Rock was a landmark event in the civil rights movement.
- Arkansas’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act sparked a national debate over religious liberty and LGBTQ rights.