State of Arkansas
Flag of Arkansas Seal Nickname(s): The Natural State (current), The Land of Opportunity (former)
Official language(s)	English
Demonym	Arkansan
Capital	Little Rock
Largest city	Little Rock
Largest metro area	Little Rock Metropolitan Area
Area	Ranked 29th in the US
- Total	53,179 sq mi (137,002 km²)
- Width	239 miles (385 km)
- Length	261 miles (420 km)
- % water	2. The Flag of the US state of Arkansas is a red field charged with a large blue-bordered white diamond The Arkansas State Seal was adopted in 1864 and modified to its present form in 1907 This is a list of US state nicknames, including officially adopted Nicknames and other traditional nicknames for individual states of the United States. The United States does not have an Official language; however the majority of the population speaks English as a native language (about 82% English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place Washington DC has been the capital of the United States since 1800 Little Rock is the Capital and the most populous city of the U This is a list of the largest cities of US states by population Little Rock is the Capital and the most populous city of the U Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas|Table of United States Core Based Statistical AreasIn the United States, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB has produced Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. This is a complete list of the states of the United States and its major territories ordered by total area, land area, and water area The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand 09
- Latitude	33° 00′ N to 36° 30′ N
- Longitude	89° 39′ W to 94° 37′ W
Population	Ranked 32nd in the US
- Total	2,673,400
- Density	51. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology This is a list of states of the United States by population (with inhabited non-state jurisdictions included for comparison as of July 1, 2007, according to the This article is a list of the 50 US States ordered by Population density. 34/sq mi  19. 82/km² (34th in the US)
Elevation
- Highest point	Mount Magazine[1] 2,753 ft  (840 m)
- Mean	650 ft  (198 m)
- Lowest point	Ouachita River[1] 55 ft  (17 m)
Admission to Union	June 15, 1836 (25th)
Governor	Mike Beebe (D)
Lieutenant Governor	Bill Halter (D)
U.S. Senators	Blanche Lincoln (D) Mark Pryor (D)
Congressional Delegation	List
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/DST-5
Abbreviations	AR Ark. US-AR
Website	www.arkansas.gov

Arkansas State Symbols
Living Symbols
-Bird	Mockingbird
-Butterfly	Diana Fritillary
-Flower	Apple blossom
-Insect	European honey bee
-Mammal	White-tailed deer
-Tree	Loblolly Pine
Beverage	Milk
Dance	Square Dance
Food	South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato
Gemstone	Diamond
Instrument	Fiddle
Mineral	Quartz
Rock	Bauxite
Soil	Stuttgart
Song(s)	Arkansas, Arkansas (You Run Deep In Me), Oh, Arkansas, The Arkansas Traveler
Tartan	Arkansas Traveler Tartan
Route Marker(s)
Quarter	2003
See Also

Arkansas (pronounced [ˈɑɹkn̩ˌsɑː]) is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below --> Mount Magazine is the tallest mountain in the state of Arkansas and is the site of Arkansas's newest state park The Ouachita River (ˈwɑːʃɪtɑː wash-eh-taw) is a 605-mile-long river that runs south and east through the U Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This is a list of U Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history Year 1836 ( MDCCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government Michael Dale Beebe (born December 28 1946) is the current Governor of Arkansas and a member of the Democratic Party. This is a complete and current List of United States Lieutenant Governors. William A "Bill" Halter (born November 30, 1960) is the lieutenant governor of Arkansas and a member of the Democratic Party The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Blanche Lambert Lincoln (born September 30, 1960) is the Democratic senior United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Mark Lunsford Pryor (born January 10, 1963) is a Democratic Politician in Arkansas. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses The followings tables present the congressional delegations from Arkansas to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives This is a list of United States of America States by time zone The Central Time Zone observes Standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC during standard time ( UTC−6) and five hours during Daylight saving Daylight saving time ( DST The traditional abbreviations for US states and territories were widely used in mailing addresses prior to the introduction of two-letter U ISO 3166-2US is an ISO standard which defines Geocodes it is the subset of ISO 3166-2 which applies to the United States of America. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages The following is a list of the symbols of the US State of Arkansas. This is a list of US state birds as designated by each state's legislature The Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, is the only Mockingbird commonly found in North America. This is a list of official US state butterflies: See also List of U The Diana Fritillary is a Dimorphic butterfly found in several wooded areas in southern and eastern North America (primarily in the Arkansas River valley several This is a list of US state flowers: See also List of US state trees Lists of U The apple is the pomaceous Fruit of the apple tree Species Malus domestica in the Rose family Rosaceae. This is a list of United States state insects note that some states have more than one designated insect or have multiple categories (e A state mammal is the official or representative Animal of a U The White-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) also known as the Virginia deer, or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized Deer found throughout This List of US state trees includes official trees of the following states and U Pinus taeda ( Loblolly Pine) is one of several Pines native to the southeastern United States. This is a list of official state beverages: Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the Mammary glands of female Mammals (including Monotremes. This is a list of official US state dances: See also Lists of U Square dance is a Folk dance with four couples (eight dancers arranged in a square with one couple on each side beginning with Couple 1 facing away from the music and going This is a list of official US state foods: The tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum, syn Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is a herbaceous usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family Not every state has an official state mineral rock stone or gemstone In Mineralogy, diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in This is a list of official state instruments. See also Lists of U Not every state has an official state mineral rock stone or gemstone Quartz (from German) is the most abundant Mineral in the Earth 's Continental crust (although Feldspar is more common in Not every state has an official state mineral rock stone or gemstone Bauxite is the most important Aluminium Ore. It consists largely of the minerals Gibbsite Al(OH3 Boehmite γ-AlO(OH and This is a list of Representative US State Soils. A state soil is a Soil that has special significance to a particular state. Stuttgart soil series is an officially designated state Symbol, the State Soil of Arkansas. Introduction Forty-nine states of the United States (all except New Jersey) have one or more state songs, selected by the state This article is about the original Arkansas state song now the "state anthem" written by Eva Ware Barnett. "Arkansas (You Run Deep In Me" by Wayland Holyfield is one of the official state songs of Arkansas. "Oh Arkansas" by Terry Rose and Gary Klaff is one of the official state songs of Arkansas. This is a list of official US state Tartans: See also Lists of U Highways in the United States are split into at least four different types of systems The 50 State Quarters program ( is the release of a series of commemorative coins by the United States Mint. These are lists of US state insignia as designated by tradition or the respective state legislatures: List of U A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River. The Ouachita Mountains are a mountain range located in west central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. The US Interior Highlands is a mountainous region spanning eastern Oklahoma, western and northern Arkansas, southern Missouri, and the extreme southeast The capital and most populous city is Little Rock, located in the central portion of the state. Little Rock is the Capital and the most populous city of the U

The name Arkansas derives from the same root as the name for the State of Kansas. Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " The Kansas tribe of American Indians are closely associated with the Sioux tribes. Sioux (pronounced SUE are a Native American and First Nations people The word is a French pronunciation of a Quapaw (a related "Kaw" tribe) word meaning "land of downriver people" or "people of the south wind". French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas The pronunciation of Arkansas (ar-kan-saw) was made official by an act of the state legislature in 1881 after a dispute between the two U. S. Senators from Arkansas. One wanted to pronounce the word ar-kan-sas and the other wanted ar-kan-saw. ^[2]

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Climate 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 Religion 4 Economy 4.1 Taxation 5 Transportation 5.1 Highways 5.2 Airports 5.3 Rail 6 Law and government 7 Metropolitan areas 8 Important cities and towns 9 Education 9.1 Public school districts 9.2 Centers of research 9.3 Colleges and universities 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links

Geography

See also: List of Arkansas counties, List of cities in Arkansas, List of Arkansas townships, and List of Arkansas native plants

The Mississippi River forms most of Arkansas's eastern border, except in Clay and Greene counties where the St. Francis River forms the western boundary of the Missouri Bootheel, and in dozens of places where the current channel of the Mississippi has meandered from where it had last been legally specified. List of 75 counties in the US state of Arkansas: List |} Former Counties in ArkansasLovely County (1827-28 Crawford and Disolved by Washington This page is an alphabetical list of cities and towns in Arkansas. This List of Arkansas Townships is based on the U S Census (2000 list of places in Arkansas. Arkansas has many rare and fascinating plant life Geobotanically Arkansas belongs to the North American Atlantic Region. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Clay County is a County located in the US state of Arkansas. As of 2000, the population was 17609 Greene County is a County located in the US state of Arkansas. The Saint Francis River is a Tributary of the Mississippi River, about 470 mi (760 km long in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas The Missouri Bootheel is the southeasternmost part of the state of Missouri and called the "Bootheel" due to the shape of its boundaries ^[3] Arkansas shares its southern border with Louisiana, its northern border with Missouri, its eastern border with Tennessee and Mississippi, and its western border with Texas and Oklahoma. The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America.

Arkansas is a land of mountains and valleys, thick forests and fertile plains. The so-called Lowlands are better known by names of their two regions, the Delta and the Grand Prairie. The Arkansas Delta is a flat landscape of rich alluvial soils formed by repeated flooding of the adjacent Mississippi. The Arkansas Delta is one of the natural regions of the state of Arkansas. A delta is a Landform where the mouth of a River flows into an Ocean, Sea, Estuary, Lake or another river Further away from the river, in the southeast portion of the state, the Grand Prairie consists of a more undulating landscape. Both are fertile agricultural areas.

The Delta region is bisected by an unusual geological formation known as Crowley's Ridge. For the former department store see Crowley's. Crowley's Ridge (also Crowleys Ridge) is an unusual geological formation that rises 250 to 550 feet above A narrow band of rolling hills, Crowley's Ridge rises from 250 to 500 feet (150 m) above the surrounding alluvial plain and underlies many of the major towns of eastern Arkansas.

Northwest Arkansas is part of the Ozark Plateau including the Boston Mountains, to the south are the Ouachita Mountains and these regions are divided by the Arkansas River; the southern and eastern parts of Arkansas are called the Lowlands. The Boston Mountains area is a high and deeply Dissected plateau located in northern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The Ouachita Mountains are a mountain range located in west central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. The Arkansas River is a major Tributary of the Mississippi River. All of these mountains ranges are part of the U.S. Interior Highlands region, the only major mountainous region between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains. The US Interior Highlands is a mountainous region spanning eastern Oklahoma, western and northern Arkansas, southern Missouri, and the extreme southeast Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. The Appalachian Mountains ( often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. ^[4][5] The highest point in the state is Mount Magazine in the Ouachita Mountains; it rises to 2,753 feet (839 m) above sea level. Mount Magazine is the tallest mountain in the state of Arkansas and is the site of Arkansas's newest state park The Ouachita Mountains are a mountain range located in west central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma.

Arkansas is home to many caves, such as Blanchard Springs Caverns. Arkansas with its Karst topography, has several beautiful Show caves This list of caves in Arkansas includes the location and date they opened to the public Blanchard Springs Caverns is a Cave system located in the Ozark National Forest in Stone County in northern Arkansas, 2 miles off Highway 14 It is also the first U. S. state in which diamonds were found^[6] (near Murfreesboro). In Mineralogy, diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in Murfreesboro is a city in Pike County, Arkansas, United States. Arkansas has the only operating diamond mine in the United States.

Arkansas is home to many areas protected by the National Park System. The National Park Service ( NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation These include:

• Arkansas Post National Memorial at Gillett
• Buffalo National River
• Fort Smith National Historic Site
• Hot Springs National Park
• Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
• Pea Ridge National Military Park

The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail also runs through Arkansas. Arkansas Post National Memorial, located about 8 miles (13 km southeast of Gillett Arkansas, commemorates key events that occurred on site and in the vicinity the first semi-permanent Gillett is a city in Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States. BuffaloRiverjpg|250px|thumb|Buffalo River from river trail overlook near Steel Creek in the Boston Mountains Fort Smith National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Fort Smith Arkansas and Oklahoma along the Established from Hot Springs Reservation Hot Springs National Park is a United States National Park in central Arkansas adjacent to the city of Hot Little Rock Central High School is a secondary school Central is located at the intersection of Daisy L Pea Ridge National Military Park is a United States National Military Park located in extreme northwestern Arkansas near the Missouri border The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation of Native Americans from their homelands to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma in the Western United States

Climate

Arkansas generally has a humid subtropical climate, which borders on humid continental in some northern highland areas. Humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa or Cwa) is a climate zone characterized by hot humid summers and chilly to mild winters The humid continental climate is a Climate found over large areas of land masses in the temperate regions of the mid-latitudes where there is a zone of conflict between While not bordering the Gulf of Mexico, Arkansas is still close enough to this warm, large body of water for it to be the main weather influence in the state. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world Generally, Arkansas has very hot, humid summers and mild, slightly drier winters. In Little Rock, the daily high temperatures average around 90 °F (32 °C) in the summer and close to 50 °F (10 °C) in winter. Annual precipitation throughout the state averages between about 40 and 60 inches (1,000 to 1,500 mm); somewhat wetter in the south and drier in the northern part of the state. ^[7] Snowfall is not uncommon, but certainly not excessive in most years as the average snowfall is around 5 inches (13 cm). ^[8]

Despite its subtropical climate, Arkansas is known for occasional extreme weather. Between both the Great Plains and the Gulf States, Arkansas receives around 60 days of thunderstorms. The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada The Arab states of the Persian Gulf are made of the kingdoms of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the States As a part of Tornado Alley, tornadoes are not an uncommon occurrence in Arkansas, and a few of the most destructive tornadoes in U. For the book by William S Burroughs, see Tornado Alley (book. S. history have struck the state. While being sufficiently away from the coast to be safe from a direct hit from a hurricane, Arkansas can often get the remnants of a tropical system which dumps tremendous amounts of rain in a short time and often spawns smaller tornadoes. A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous Thunderstorms that produce strong winds and Flooding

High water pouring down the White River could cause historic flooding in cities along its path in eastern Arkansas, forecasters warned March 23, 2008. The White River is a 722 mile (1162 km long River that flows through the U Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The river could top levels recorded in a devastating flood in 1983. Arkansas emergency management told early estimates for statewide damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure was at $2 million, though that figure was expected to grow. Forecasts show it likely will be the middle of the week of March 24, 2008 before rivers statewide see significant drops. Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[9]

Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Arkansas Cities
City	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Fort Smith	48/28	55/33	64/41	73/49	80/59	88/67	93/71	93/70	85/63	75/50	61/40	51/31
Little Rock	50/31	56/35	64/43	73/50	81/59	89/68	93/72	92/70	85/64	75/52	62/42	52/34
[4]

History

See main article History of Arkansas. See also Arkansas Arkansas was the 25th state admitted to the United States.

The first European to reach Arkansas was the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto at the end of the 16th century. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Arkansas is one of several U.S. states formed from the territory purchased from Napoleon Bonaparte in the Louisiana Purchase. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. For the film see Louisiana Purchase (film. The Louisiana Purchase (French Vente de la Louisiane "Louisiana Sale" The early Spanish or French explorers of the state gave it its name, which is probably a phonetic spelling for the Illinois word for the Quapaw people, who lived downriver from them ^[10]. The Miami-Illinois language is a Native American language formerly spoken in the United States primarily in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas Other Native American nations that lived in Arkansas prior to westward movement were the Quapaw, Caddo, and Osage nations. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Caddo are a nation or group of tribes of Southeastern Native Americans who in the 16th century inhabited much of what is now East Texas, western In their forced move westward (under U. S. Indian removal policies), the Five Civilized Tribes inhabited Arkansas during its territorial period. Indian Removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to ethnically cleanse Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi The Five Civilized Tribes is the term applied to five Native American nations the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and

The Territory of Arkansaw^[2] was organized on July 4, 1819, and on June 15, 1836, the State of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state and the 13th slave state. The Arkansas Territory (initially organized as the Territory of Arkansaw) was a historic Organized territory of the United States from July 4 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government A slave state was a US state in which Slavery of African Americans was legal Planters settled in the Delta to cultivate cotton, and this was the area of the state where most enslaved African Americans were held. Other areas had more subsistence farmers and mixed farming.

Arkansas played a key role in aiding Texas in its war for independence with Mexico, sending troops and materials to Texas to help fight the war. The proximity of the city of Washington to the Texas border involved the town in the Texas Revolution of 1835-36. Washington is a Settlement in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was fought from October 2 1835 to April 21 1836 between Mexico and the Texas (Tejas portion of the Mexican Some evidence suggests Sam Houston and his compatriots planned the revolt in a tavern at Washington in 1834. Samuel Houston ( March 2, 1793 July 26, 1863) was a 19th century American statesman politician and soldier ^[11] When the fighting began a stream of volunteers from Arkansas and the eastern states flowed through the town toward the Texas battle fields.

When the Mexican-American War began in 1846, Washington became a rendezvous for volunteer troops. Governor Thomas S. Drew issued a proclamation calling on the state to furnish one regiment of cavalry and one battalion of infantry to join the United States Army. Ten companies of men assembled here where they were formed into the first Regiment of Arkansas Cavalry.

The state developed a cotton culture in the east in lands of the Mississippi Delta. This was where enslaved labor was used most extensively, as planters brought with them or imported slaves from the Upper South. On the eve of the Civil War in 1860, enslaved African Americans numbered 111,115 people, just over 25% of the state's population. ^[12]

Arkansas refused to join the Confederate States of America until after United States President Abraham Lincoln called for troops to respond to the attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, by Confederate forces. The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal Fort Sumter, a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston harbor South Carolina, was named after General Thomas Sumter South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. The State of Arkansas seceded from the Union on May 6, 1861. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the While not often cited in historical accounts, the state was the scene of numerous small-scale battles during the American Civil War. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Arkansans of note during the Civil War included Confederate Major General Patrick Cleburne. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne ( March 16 or March 17, 1828 &ndash November 30, 1864) was an Anglo- Irish soldier serving in Considered by many to be one of the most brilliant Confederate division commanders of the war, Cleburne was often referred to as "The Stonewall of the West". Also of note was Major General Thomas C. Hindman. Thomas Carmichael Hindman Jr (January 28 1828 &ndash September 27 1868 was a Lawyer, United States Representative from the 1st Congressional District A former United States Representative, Hindman commanded Confederate forces at the Battle of Cane Hill and Battle of Prairie Grove. The Battle of Cane Hill was fought during the American Civil War on November 28, 1862 in Washington County Arkansas. The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on 7 December, 1862, that resulted in a tactical stalemate but essentially

Under the Military Reconstruction Act, Congress readmitted Arkansas in June 1868. Years later, as conservative Democrats began to regain political power, the state passed a new constitution in 1874. In 1874, the Brooks-Baxter War, a political struggle between factions of the Republican Party shook Little Rock and the state governorship. It was settled only when President Ulysses S. Grant ordered Joseph Brooks to disperse his militant supporters. Ulysses S Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant (April 27 1822 &ndash July 23 1885 was an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States ^[13]

In 1881, the Arkansas state legislature enacted a bill that adopted an official pronunciation, to combat a controversy then raging around the proper pronunciation of the state's name. (See Law and Government below).

It was after Reconstruction when the state began to receive more immigrants and migrants. Some were originally recruited to work as farm labor in the developing Delta region. Some immigration continued into the early decades of the 20th century. For the first time the state welcomed numbers of Chinese, Italian, Syrian and immigrants from eastern Europe who made the Delta more diverse than the rest of the state. In addition, some black migrants moved into the area because of opportunities to develop the bottomlands and own their own property. The Chinese and Italians tried to move quickly out of farm labor. Many Chinese became such successful merchants in small towns that they were able to educate their children. ^[14]

Construction of railroads enabled more farmers to get their products to market. It also brought new development into parts of the state, including the Ozarks. In a few years, for instance, Eureka Springs grew to 10,000 people, becoming a tourist destination and the fourth largest city of the state. It featured newly constructed, elegant resort hotels and spas planned around its springs. The town's attractions included horse racing and other entertainment, and it appealed to a variety of classes, becoming almost as popular as Hot Springs.

Struggling to stay in power when the worsening agricultural depression catalyzed Populist and third party movements, in the 1890s the Democrats in Arkansas followed other Southern states in passing legislation and constitutional amendments that acted to disfranchise blacks and poor whites. Democrats wanted to prevent their alliance. In 1891 state legislators passed a requirement for a literacy test, knowing that many blacks and whites would be excluded, at a time when more than 25% of the population could neither read nor write. In 1892 the state constitution was amended to include a poll tax and related residency requirements, which adversely affected poor people and forced them from electoral rolls. A poll tax, head tax, or capitation is a Tax of a uniform fixed amount per individual (as opposed to a percentage of income By 1900 the Democratic Party expanded use of the white primary in county and state elections, further denying blacks a part in the political process, as only in the primary was there any competition. White primaries were Primary elections in the Southern States of the United States of America in which any non-White voter was prohibited from participating The state was one-party for decades. ^[15]

In 1905-1911, Arkansas began to receive a small migration of German, Slovak, and Irish immigrants. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as } The Slovaks or Slovakians are a western Slavic People that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate The German and Slovak peoples settled in the eastern part of the state known as the Prairie, and the Irish founded small communities in the southeast part of the state. Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow" "grassland" "pasture" refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically The German and Slovaks who settled the areas were Roman Catholic families. The Irish were mostly Protestant from Ulster, northern Ireland. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Ulster ( Ulaidh ˈkwɪɟɪ ˈʌlˠu / ˈʌlˠi is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world

After the case of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education in 1954, the Little Rock Nine brought Arkansas to national attention when the Federal government intervened to protect African-American students trying to integrate a high school in the Arkansas capital. Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, 347 US 483 (1954 was a Landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court, which overturned earlier The Little Rock Nine was a group of African-American students who were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957 Governor Orval Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to aid segregationists in preventing nine African-American students from enrolling at Little Rock's Central High School. Orville Eugene Faubus ( January 7 1910 December 14 1994) was a six-term Democratic Governor of Arkansas, having served from The Arkansas National Guard consists of the Arkansas Army National Guard Arkansas Air National Guard After attempting three times to contact Faubus, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, sent 1000 paratroops to escort and protect the African-American students as they entered school on September 25, 1957. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general Events 303 - On a voyage preaching the Gospel, Saint Fermin of Pamplona is beheaded in Amiens, France Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) In defiance of federal court orders to integrate, the governor and city of Little Rock decided to close the high schools for the remainder of the school year. By the fall of 1959, the Little Rock high schools were completely integrated. ^[16]

Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, was born in Hope, Arkansas. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Hope is a small City in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. Before his presidency, Clinton served nearly twelve years as the 40th and 42nd Governor of Arkansas. A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government

Maya Angelou, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Scott Joplin and Douglas MacArthur are all Arkansas natives. Maya Angelou (ˈmaɪə ˈændʒəloʊ (born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928) is an American Poet, Memoirist Glen Travis Campbell (born April 22 1936 in Delight, Arkansas) is a Grammy Award, Dove Award winning and two time nominated Golden Johnny Cash (born J R Cash; February 26 1932 - September 12 2003 was a Grammy Award -winning American country Singer-songwriter. Scott Joplin (between June 1867 and January 1868 &ndash April 1 1917 was an American musician and Composer of Ragtime music General MacArthur redirects here for other meanings see General MacArthur (disambiguation.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	1,062		—
1820	14,273		1244. 0%
1830	30,388		112. 9%
1840	97,574		221. 1%
1850	209,897		115. 1%
1860	435,450		107. 5%
1870	484,471		11. 3%
1880	802,525		65. 6%
1890	1,128,211		40. 6%
1900	1,311,564		16. 3%
1910	1,574,449		20. 0%
1920	1,752,204		11. 3%
1930	1,854,482		5. 8%
1940	1,949,387		5. 1%
1950	1,909,511		-2. 0%
1960	1,786,272		-6. 5%
1970	1,923,295		7. 7%
1980	2,286,435		18. 9%
1990	2,350,725		2. 8%
2000	2,673,400		13. 7%
Est. 2007	2,834,797		6. 0%

As of 2006, Arkansas has an estimated population of 2,810,872,^[17] which is an increase of 29,154, or 1. 1%, from the prior year and an increase of 105,756, or 4. 0%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 52,214 people (that is 198,800 births minus 146,586 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 57,611 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 21,947 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 35,664 people. It is estimated that about 48. 8% is male, and 51. 2% is female. From 2000 through 2006 Arkansas has had a population growth of 5. 1% or 137,472. ^[18]

The center of population of Arkansas is located in the far northeast corner of Perry County. In Demographics, the center of population of a region is the geographical point nearest to all the inhabitants of that region on average Perry County is a US county located in the US state of Arkansas. ^[19]

Demographics of Arkansas (csv)
By race	White	Black	AIAN*	Asian	NHPI*
2000 (total population)	82. 65%	16. 02%	1. 39%	0. 96%	0. 12%
2000 (Hispanic only)	3. 04%	0. 14%	0. 08%	0. 03%	0. 02%
2005 (total population)	82. 43%	16. 09%	1. 40%	1. 18%	0. 13%
2005 (Hispanic only)	4. 43%	0. 19%	0. 10%	0. 04%	0. 02%
Growth 2000–05 (total population)	3. 68%	4. 42%	4. 94%	28. 03%	14. 80%
Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only)	1. 85%	4. 08%	3. 36%	27. 99%	14. 48%
Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only)	51. 65%	43. 64%	30. 22%	28. 97%	16. 86%
* AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

The five largest ancestry groups in the state are: American (15. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 9%), African American (15. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa 7%), Irish (9. The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate 5%), German (9. German Americans ( German: Deutschamerikaner) are citizens of the United States of Ethnic German ancestry 3%), English (7. The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English 9%).

People of European ancestry have a strong presence in the northwestern Ozarks and the central part of the state. African Americans live mainly in the fertile southern and eastern parts of the state. Arkansans of Irish, English and German ancestry are mostly found in the far northwestern Ozarks near the Missouri border. Ancestors of Irish in the Ozarks were chiefly Scots-Irish, Protestants from northern Ireland and the Scottish lowlands, part of the largest group of immigrants from the British Isles before the American Revolution. Scots-Irish settled throughout the backcountry of the South and in the more mountainous areas. ^[20]

As of 2000, 95. 07% of Arkansas residents age 5 and older speak English at home and 3. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States 31% speak Spanish. German is the third most spoken language at 0. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. 299%, followed by French at 0. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people 291% and Vietnamese at 0. Vietnamese ( tiếng Việt, or less commonly Việt ngữ) formerly known under French colonization as Annamese ( see Annam) 13% ^[21].

In 2006, Arkansas has a larger percentage of tobacco smokers than the national average, with 24% of adults smoking. ^[22]

Religion

Arkansas, like most other Southern states, is part of the Bible Belt and is predominantly Protestant. The Bible Belt is an informal term for an area of the United States of America in which socially conservative Evangelical Protestantism is a The religious affiliations of the people are as follows:^[23]

• Christian – 86%
  • Protestant – 78%
    • Baptist – 39%
    • Methodist – 9%
    • Pentecostal – 6%
    • Church of Christ – 6%
    • Assemblies of God – 3%
    • Other Protestant – 15%
  • Roman Catholic – 7%
  • Orthodox Christian – <1%
  • Mormon/LDS – <. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. Methodism is a movement within Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism The World Assemblies of God Fellowship, or Assemblies of God for short is the world's largest Pentecostal denomination with over 283413 churches and outstations Roman Catholicism in the United States has grown dramatically over the country's history from being a tiny minority faith during the time of the Thirteen Colonies The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known 5%
  • Other Christian – <1%
• Other Religions – <1%
• Non-Religious – 14%

Economy

The state's gross domestic product for 2005 was $87 billion. Its per capita household median income (in current dollars) for 2004 was $35,295, according to the U. S. Census Bureau. ^[24] The state's agriculture outputs are poultry and eggs, soybeans, sorghum, cattle, cotton, rice, hogs, and milk. Its industrial outputs are food processing, electric equipment, fabricated metal products, machinery, paper products, bromine, and vanadium.

Several global companies are headquartered in the northwest corner of Arkansas, including Wal-Mart (the world's largest public corporation by revenue in 2007^[25]), J.B. Hunt and Tyson Foods. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores JB Hunt Transport Services Inc ( is a Trucking and transportation company that was founded by Johnnie Bryan Hunt, and based in the Northwest Arkansas Tyson Foods Inc ( is an American Multinational corporation based in Springdale Arkansas, that operates in the Food Industry This area of the state has experienced an economic boom since the 1970s as a result.

In recent years, automobile parts manufacturers have opened factories in eastern Arkansas to support auto plants in other states. Additionally, the city of Conway is the site of a school bus factory. Conway is the County seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States.

Tourism is also very important to the Arkansas economy; the official state nickname "The Natural State" was originally created (as "Arkansas Is A Natural") for state tourism advertising in the 1970s, and is still regularly used to this day.

According to Forbes. com [5] Arkansas currently ranks 21st for The Best States for Business, 9th for Business Cost, 40th for Labor, 22nd for Regulatory Environment, 17th for Economic Climate, 9th for Growth Prospects, 34th in Gross Domestic Product, and positive economic change of 3. 8% or ranked 22nd.

Taxation

Arkansas imposes a state income tax with six brackets, ranging from 1. State income tax is an Income tax in the United States that is levied by each individual state. 0% to 7. 0%. The first $9,000 of military pay of enlisted personnel is exempt from Arkansas tax; officers do not have to pay state income tax on the first $6,000 of their military pay. Retirees pay no tax on Social Security, or on the first $6,000 in gain on their pensions (in addition to recovery of cost basis). Social Security, in the United States currently refers to the federal Old-Age Survivors and Disability Insurance ( OASDI) program Basis (or cost basis) as used in United States tax law, is the original cost of property adjusted for factors such as Depreciation. Residents of Texarkana, Arkansas are exempt from Arkansas income tax; wages and business income earned there by residents of Texarkana, Texas are also exempt. Texarkana is the largest city and County seat of Miller County, Arkansas, United States. Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other Arkansas's gross receipts (sales) tax and compensating (use) tax rate is currently 6%. A sales tax is a Consumption tax charged at the Point of purchase for certain goods and services A use tax is a type of Excise tax levied in the United States. The state has also mandated that various services be subject to sales tax collection. They include wrecker and towing services; dry cleaning and laundry; body piercing, tattooing and electrolysis; pest control; security and alarm monitoring; self-storage facilities; boat storage and docking; and pet grooming and kennel services.

In addition to the state sales tax, there are more than 300 local taxes in Arkansas. Cities and counties have the authority to enact additional local sales and use taxes if they are passed by the voters in their area. These local taxes have a ceiling or cap; they cannot exceed $25 for each 1% of tax assessed. These additional taxes are collected by the state, which distributes the money back to the local jurisdictions monthly. Low-income taxpayers with a total annual household income of less than $12,000 are permitted a sales tax exemption for electricity usage. A tax exemption is an exemption from all or certain Taxes of a state or nation in which part of the taxes that would normally be collected from an individual or an organization

Sales of alcoholic beverages account for added taxes. A 10% supplemental mixed drink tax is imposed on the sale of alcoholic beverages (excluding beer) at restaurants. Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed Alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea A restaurant is a retail establishment that serves prepared Food to Customers. A 4% tax is due on the sale of all mixed drinks (except beer and wine) sold for "on-premises" consumption. A mixed drink is a type of beverage in which two or more different ingredients are mixed together to create a different drink Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice And a 3% tax is due on beer sold for off-premises consumption.

Property taxes are assessed on real and personal property; only 20% of the value is used as the tax base. Property tax, or millage tax, is an Ad valorem tax that an owner pays on the value of the property being taxed

Transportation

Highways

Main article: List of highways in Arkansas

Airports

Little Rock National Airport (Adams Field) and Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill in Benton County are Arkansas's main air terminals. The following is a list of highways in Arkansas. Interstate highways Interstate 30 Interstate 40 Interstate Little Rock National Airport, officially designated Adams Field, is located 2 miles (3 km east of the Central business district of Little Rock, a Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is an Airport located in Highfill Arkansas, near Bentonville, Rogers, Fayetteville, Highfill is a town in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Benton County is a County located in the US state of Arkansas. Limited passenger service is available at smaller airports in Fort Smith, Texarkana, Pine Bluff, Harrison, Ozark Regional Airport Mountain Home, Hot Springs, El Dorado and Jonesboro. NOTE This article discusses the airport in the United States For the article on the airport in Canada see Fort Smith Airport. Texarkana Regional Airport, also known as Webb Field, is a public Airport serving the Texarkana area United States. Pine Bluff is the largest city and County seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Harrison is a city in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates the population of the city was 12764 Ozark Regional Airport, formerly known as Baxter County Regional Airport, is a General aviation airport located four miles (6 km northeast of the Central Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the US state of Arkansas, the County seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot El Dorado (pronounced to rhyme with 'tornado' (IPA doˈreɪdoʊ or dəˈreɪdə is a city in Union County, Arkansas, USA. Jonesboro is a city in and one of the two County seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, United States. Many air travelers in eastern Arkansas use Memphis International Airport. Memphis International Airport is a public Airport located three miles (5 km) south of the Central business district of Memphis, a city

Rail

Amtrak's Texas Eagle makes several stops in Arkansas daily on its run from Chicago to San Antonio and Los Angeles. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Doing business as Amtrak, is a Government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 The Texas Eagle is a 1306-mile (2102 km Passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the central and western United States.

Law and government

The current Governor of Arkansas is Mike Beebe, a Democrat. The Governor of the State of Arkansas is the chief executive of the state and Commander-in-chief of its military forces. Michael Dale Beebe (born December 28 1946) is the current Governor of Arkansas and a member of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. He was elected on November 7, 2006. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Both of Arkansas's U. S. Senators are Democrats: Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor. Blanche Lambert Lincoln (born September 30, 1960) is the Democratic senior United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Mark Lunsford Pryor (born January 10, 1963) is a Democratic Politician in Arkansas. The state has four seats in U.S. House of Representatives. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. Three seats are held by Democrats—Marion Berry (map), Vic Snyder (map), and Mike Ross (map). Victor F (Vic Snyder (born September 27 1947 is a Politician from the U Michael Avery “Mike” Ross (born August 2, 1961) is an American politician The state's lone Republican congressman is John Boozman (map). John Boozman (born December 10, 1950) is an American politician who has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives

Presidential elections results

Year	Republican	Democratic
2004	54. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday November 2, 2004, to elect the President of the United States. 31% 572,898	44. 55% 469,953
2000	51. The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Democratic candidate Al Gore, then Vice President, and Republican 31% 472,940	45. 86% 422,768
1996	36. The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice 80% 325,416	53. 74% 475,171
1992	35. The United States presidential elections of 1992 featured a battle between incumbent President, Republican George H 48% 337,324	53. 21% 505,823
1988	56. -->The United States presidential election of 1988 featured an open primary for both major parties 37% 466,578	42. 19% 349,237
1984	60. The United States presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate and former Vice President 47% 534,774	38. 29% 338,646
1980	48. The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent Ronald Reagan 13% 403,164	47. 52% 398,041
1976	34. The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard M 93% 268,753	64. 94% 499,614
1972	68. The United States presidential election of 1972 was waged on the issues of radicalism and the Vietnam War. 82% 445,751	30. 71% 198,899
1968*	31. Please DO NOT flip the colors -->The United States presidential election of 1968 was a wrenching national experience and included the assassination of Democratic candidate 01% 189,062	30. 33% 184,901
1964	43. Please DO NOT flip the colors -->The United States presidential election of 1964 was one of the most lopsided presidential elections in the history of the United States 41% 243,264	56. 06% 314,197
1960	43. The United States presidential election of 1960 marked the end of Dwight D 06% 184,508	50. 19% 215,049
*State won by George Wallace of the American Independent Party, at 38. George Corley Wallace Jr (August 25 1919 September 13 1998 was a Democratic Governor of Alabama for four terms (1963-1967 1971-1979 and 1983-1987 and ran for The American Independent Party is a California Political party. 65%, or 235,627 votes

The Democratic Party holds super-majority status in the Arkansas General Assembly. A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple Majority in order to have The Arkansas General Assembly is the state legislature of the U A majority of local and statewide offices are also held by Democrats. This is rare in the modern South, where a majority of statewide offices are held by Republicans. The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive Arkansas had the distinction in 1992 of being the only state in the country to give the majority of its vote to a single candidate in the presidential election—native son Bill Clinton—while every other state's electoral votes were won by pluralities of the vote among the three candidates. SON DNA binding protein, also known as SON, is a human Gene. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States In 2004, George W. Bush won the state of Arkansas by 9 points, leading some to speculate that the state was shifting toward the Republicans. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. In 2006, however, Democrats were elected to all statewide offices by the voters in a Democratic sweep that included the Arkansas Democratic Party regaining the governorship.

Most Republican strength lies mainly in northwest Arkansas in the areas around Fort Smith and Bentonville, and especially in North Central Arkansas around the Mountain Home area where voters have often voted 90 percent Republican. The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a four-county area including three Arkansas Fort Smith is the second-largest city in the US state of Arkansas and one of the two County seats of Sebastian County. Bentonville is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Mountain Home is a city in the southern Ozark Mountains and is the County seat of Baxter County, Arkansas, United States. The rest of the state is strongly Democratic, especially Little Rock and the areas along the Mississippi River. Little Rock is the Capital and the most populous city of the U The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Arkansas has only elected one Republican to the U. S. Senate since Reconstruction, Tim Hutchinson, who was defeated after one term by Mark Pryor. Timothy "Tim" Hutchinson (born August 11, 1949) is a Republican Politician and former senator from the state Mark Lunsford Pryor (born January 10, 1963) is a Democratic Politician in Arkansas. The General Assembly has not been controlled by the Republican Party since Reconstruction and is the fourth most heavily Democratic Legislature in the country, after Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Connecticut. The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled The General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Hawaii State Legislature is the state legislature of the U The Connecticut General Assembly (or CGA) is the state legislature of the U Arkansas is also the only state among the states of the former Confederacy that sends two Democrats to the U. The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 S. Senate and the overwhelming majority of registered voters in the state are Democrats.

However, the Democratic Party of Arkansas is more conservative than the national entity. The Democratic Party of Arkansas is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of Arkansas. Two of Arkansas' three Democratic Representatives are members of the Blue Dog Coalition, which tends to be more pro-business, pro-military, and socially conservative than the center-left Democratic mainstream. Blue Dog Democrats are a group of 47 Moderate and conservative Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives. The state is socially conservative – its voters passed a ban on gay marriage with 74% voting yes, the Arkansas Constitution protects right to work, and the state is one of a handful that has legislation on its books banning abortion in the event Roe vs. Wade is ever overturned. Same-sex marriage (also referred to as gay marriage) is a term for a legally or Socially recognized Marriage between two people of the same The Constitution of the State of Arkansas is the governing document of the U The Right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work and may not be prevented from doing so An Roe v Wade, 410 US 113 (1973 is a controversial United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a Landmark decision regarding

In Arkansas, the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor and thus can be from a different political party.

Each officer's term is four years long. Office holders are term-limited to two full terms plus any partial terms prior to the first full term. See also Rotation in office A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office Arkansas gubernatorial terms became four years with the 1986 general election; before this, the terms were two years long.

Some of Arkansas's counties have two county seats, as opposed to the usual one seat. A county of the United States is a local level of government created as a subdivision of a state by the state government or by the federal or territorial government as a subdivision A county seat is a term for an Administrative center for a County, primarily used in the United States. The arrangement dates back to when travel was extremely difficult in the state. The seats are usually on opposite sides of the county. Though travel is no longer the difficulty it once was, there are few efforts to eliminate the two seat arrangement where it exists, since the county seat is a source of pride (and jobs) to the city involved.

Arkansas is the only state to specify the pronunciation of its name by law (AR-kan-saw). ^[2] This is in response to residents of Kansas who used to pronounce the state's name as ar-KANSAS. Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American "

Article 19 (Miscellaneous Provisions), Item 1 in the Arkansas Constitution is entitled "Atheists disqualified from holding office or testifying as witness," and states that "No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court," despite unanimous decision by the United States Supreme Court in Torcaso v. Watkins (1961) that a similar requirement in Maryland violated protections under First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The Constitution of the State of Arkansas is the governing document of the U The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Torcaso v Watkins, was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court reaffirmed that the US Constitution prohibits States and the Federal Government The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress The Fourteenth Amendment ( Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution is one of the post- Civil War Reconstruction Amendments, first

See also: List of Arkansas Governors and United States presidential election, 2004

Metropolitan areas

The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area had 841,326 people in the 2007 census estimates and is the largest in Arkansas. The following is a list of the Governors of the State of Arkansas and Arkansas Territory. The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday November 2, 2004, to elect the President of the United States. The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area is made up of ten counties in central Arkansas.

The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metropolitan area is increasingly important to the state and its economy. The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a four-county area including three Arkansas The US Census estimated the population of the MSA to be 435,714 in 2007, up from 347,045 in 2000, making it one of the fastest growing in the nation.

See also Arkansas Metropolitan Areas. The State of Arkansas has a total of eight Metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs that are fully or partially located in the state

Largest Cities Above 10,000 as of 2007

Rank City 2007 Pop. Region Prev. Rk.

1. Little Rock 184,500 Central 1

2. Fort Smith 83,461 Northwest 2

3. Fayetteville 68,726 Northwest 4

4. Springdale 63,082 Northwest 7

5. Jonesboro 60,489 Northeast 5

6. North Little Rock 58,896 Central 3

7. Pine Bluff 51,758 Southeast 6

8. Conway 55,331 Central 8

9. Rogers 52,181 Northwest 9

10. Hot Springs 38,468 Southwest 10

11. Jacksonville 30,507 Central 11

12. Bentonville 32,049 Northwest 19

13. Texarkana 30,006 Southwest 13

14. West Memphis 28,181 Northeast 12

15. Benton 27,717 Central 16

16. Russellville 26,014 Northwest 14

17. Paragould 24,248 Northeast 15

18. Bella Vista 24,000 Northwest 23

19. Sherwood 23,422 Central 18

20. Cabot 22,186 Central 24

21. Van Buren 21,818 Northwest 23

22. Searcy 20,993 Central 21

23. El Dorado 20,351 Southeast 17

24. Blytheville 16,403 Northeast 22

25. Maumelle 15,115 Central 34

26. Siloam Springs 14,141 Northwest 31

27. Forest City 13,831 Northeast 26

28. Bryant 13,613 Central NR

29. Helena-West Helena 12,997 Southeast NR*

30. Harrison 12,986 Northwest 28

31. Mountain Home 12,215 Northeast 29

32. Camden 11,956 Southeast 27

33. Magnolia 11,766 Southwest 32

34. Arkadelphia 10,485 Southwest 30

35. Hope 10,475 Southwest 33

36. Marion 10,419 Northeast NR

• Bryant and Marion did not have 10,000 people or over in their city limits in 2000

• Helena-West Helena's population is a combined population due to their 2006 recent merger

Population Gainers

1. Springdale

2. Rogers

3. Bentonville

4. Conway

5. Bella Vista

6. Cabot

7. Benton

8. Maumelle

9. Jonesboro

10. Texarkana

11. Bryant

12. Fort Smith

13. Siloam Springs

14. Van Buren

15. Hot Springs

16. Russellville

17. Marion

18. Paragould

19. Searcy

20. Sherwood

21. Little Rock

22. Mountain Home

23. Magnolia

24. Harrison

25. Jacksonville

Top Population Lossers 1. Pine Bluff

2. Helena-West Helena

3. North Little Rock

4. Blytheville

5. Camden

6. El Dorado

7. Forest City

8. Arkadelphia

9. Hope

Important cities and towns

Names in bold have populations greater than 20,000.

Alma Arkadelphia Batesville Bella Vista Benton Bentonville Blytheville Booneville Bryant Cabot Camden Conway El Dorado Eureka Springs Fayetteville Forrest City Fort Smith Harrison Helena-West Helena Hope Hot Springs Jacksonville Jonesboro Lake Village Little Rock Lonoke Magnolia Malvern Marion

Marked Tree Maumelle Monticello Morrilton Mountain Home Mountain View Natural Steps Newport North Little Rock Osceola Paragould Pine Bluff Pleasant Hill Pocahontas Rogers Russellville Searcy Sherwood Siloam Springs Springdale Stuttgart Texarkana Van Buren Walnut Ridge Warren West Memphis Wynne

Education

Public school districts

• List of school districts in Arkansas

Centers of research

• National Center for Toxicological Research

Colleges and universities

• Arkansas Baptist College
• Arkansas State University System
  • Arkansas State University - Jonesboro
  • Arkansas State University - Mountain Home
• Arkansas Tech University
• Central Baptist College
• Harding University
• Henderson State University
• Hendrix College
• John Brown University
• Lyon College
• Ouachita Baptist University
• Ozarka College
• Philander Smith College
• Southern Arkansas University

• University of Arkansas System
  • University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
  • University of Arkansas at Fort Smith
  • University of Arkansas at Little Rock
  • University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  • University of Arkansas at Monticello
  • University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
• University of Central Arkansas
• University of the Ozarks
• Williams Baptist College

See also

• List of Arkansas-related topics

References

Further reading

External links

• Arkansas State Code (the state statutes of Arkansas)
• Arkansas State Databases - Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Arkansas state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association. *Arkansas State Facts
• Official State tourism website
• Official State website
• The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture
• History topics timeline of Arkansas 1786-1886 [6]
• U.S. Census Bureau
• The Arkansas Chapters of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Arkansas

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