Stages of Indian Civilization
A. Paleo
? to 9,000 BC
B. Archaic
9,000 to 600 BC
C. Woodland 600 BC to 900 AD
D. Mississippean 900 AD to 1541 (contact)
Paleo – up to 9,000 BC
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Arrived in Arkansas – around 11,000 BC
Hunters of big game: mammoth, mastodon
Nomadic
Just a few hundred in Arkansas
Clovis point
Atlatl
Dalton point and culture
Quarrying chert to make stone tools. Image
courtesy of the University of Arkansas Museum.
Clovis point
atlatl
Dalton points and adze
Archaic 9,000 to 600 BC
• More types of tools: bone fish hooks,
grinding tools
• Hunting deer mainly
• Gathering nuts
• More sedentary
• Some artwork
• Poverty Point culture with mounds
• Gathering seeds. Image courtesy
of the University of Arkansas Museum.
Poverty Point figurine
Woodland Era 600 BC to 900 AD
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Fired clay pottery vessels
Bow and arrow invented
Primitive agriculture
Elaborate “grave goods”
Toltec mound (Plum Bayou culture)
Mounds used for ceremonial purpose
Complex social structure
Toltec Mounds. Courtesy
of Arkansas State Parks
Toltec Mound today
Mississippean 900 AD to 1541
(contact)
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Advanced agriculture: corn, beans, squash
Large villages, Chiefdoms
Woodworking tools
Artwork in wood, bone, copper, shell
Specialized economies (saltmaking)
Trade over long distances
Parkin site
Decline prior to European arrival – Why?
• Saltmaking. Courtesy of the University of Arkansas Museum.
• A reconstruction of the Parkin site.
Courtesy of Arkansas State Parks.
Parkin head pots
Arkansas Timeline
1541
• Hernando de Soto was the first European known to have visited the
territory which is now the state of Arkansas.
1673
• Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet explored the territory as
far south as the Arkansas River.
1682
• Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle visited the country of the
Arkansea. While on the Arkansas River one of la Salle’s lieutenants,
Henri de Tonti, asked for and was granted a seigneury of land.
1686
• De Tonti established a trading post, staffed with six on the north side
of the Arkansas River. A cabin and a large cross were erected. It
was named “Poste de Arkansea”.
Hernando de Soto. (Arkansas History Commission)
William H. Powell
Oil on canvas, 12' x 18'
Commissioned 1847; purchased 1855; in the US capitol rotundaHernando DeSoto, riding a white horse,
the first European to view the Mississippi River, in 1541. As De Soto and his troops approach, the Native
Americans in front of their tepees watch, and a chief holds out a peace pipe. In the foreground is a
jumble of weapons and soldiers, suggesting the attack they had suffered shortly before. To the right, a
monk prays as a crucifix is set in the ground.
Hernando de Soto
•
De Soto, engraving from Historia
general de las Indias Occidentales
by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas
Library of Congress
"Father Marquette and His Pipe of Peace"
by A. Bobbett. Courtesy of UCA Archives.
• Detail from "La Salle Erecting a Cross and
Taking Possession of the Land, March 25, 1682"
by George Catlin. ©1997 Board of Trustees,
National Gallery of Art, Washington (Paul Mellon
Collection).
La Salle’s
Route
Henri De Tonti
(Courtesy of the
Arkansas History Commission)
• Indians hunting buffalo,
from a painting by George
Catlin
• Osage traders
• Detail from "Osage Dreams" by Charles
Banks Wilson.
Arkansea 1700.
By Charles Banks Wilson.
• The 17th century Quapaw village of
Osotouy. Courtesy of Kugee
Supernaw.
• "Caddo Creation
Legend" by Acee
Blue Eagle.
"The Chief Placed a Beautiful Robe on His
Shoulders" by Acee Blue Eagle.
Artist's depiction of a
dispersed Caddo
settlement in what is
today southeastern
Arkansas.
The house on the rectangular
earthen mound in the foreground is
that of a chief or shaman; the mound
caps the remains of earlier houses
of important people. Scattered in the
background are family compounds,
some with both winter (rectangular)
and summer (round) houses as well
as raised storage bins where surplus
corn was stored. All of the details
are based on archeological and
historical evidence. Courtesy
Arkansas Archeological Survey.
Caddo village scene about 900 years ago (A.D.
1100) as envisioned by artist George S. Nelson.
• Famous photograph of Chief Long Hat's
family compound near Binger, Oklahoma
taken around 1870 by William Soule.
• Artist's depiction of an elaborate tomb
dating to before 1000 years ago
• Caddo pottery (texasbeyondhistory.net)
1717
• The French government grants Scottish financier
John Law's “Company of the East” complete
commercial and political control of the province
of Louisiana.
1719
• Law had also gained control of France's finance
ministry; in effect, Law was now at the head of
Europe's most successful conglomerate.
1720
• "The Mississippi Bubble" - The value of stock
in Law's company rose so rapidly that massive
inflation was seen throughout Europe.
1721
• Share prices deflate to original value. This fall
brought an end to Law's ambitious plans to
develop the Louisiana Colony, including the
settlement of German colonists at Arkansas
Post.
• Law's company begin construction of a colony
near Ark. Post. This colonial effort ultimately
failed, but formed the basis for later permanent
settlements.
• Construction for the Law Colony site is done by
indentured servants and slaves.
1722
• French explorer Bernard de La Harpe
visits Arkansas Post at the beginning of
his expedition up the Arkansas River.
1748
• Census shows the population of Arkansas
Post as 31 Frenchmen and 14 slaves.
1744
1763
• February End of the French and Indian
War (Seven Years War). French holdings
east of the Mississippi River were given to
England; the Louisiana Territory and New
Orleans were ceded to Spain.
Arkansas in the American Revolution
1779
• Spain joins the Revolutionary War on the American
Patriots and France against England.
1783
• A band of English trappers and Chickasaws led by
James Colbert, an Englishman living with the Chickasaw
Indians, attacked Fort Carlos III because Spain had
allied herself to the rebels in the American Revolution.
This is Arkansas’ only Revolutionary War engagement.
• The Revolutionary War comes to an end with the Treaty
of Paris.
Arkansas Post in 1779. Courtesy of
Archivo General de Indias, Seville
DRAWING OF ARKANSAS POST SETTLEMENT
1798
• A Spanish census records that 393 people reside in the
District of Arkansas, including 56 slaves.
1800
• Arkansas Post and all of colonial Louisiana became a
possession of Napoleon’s France through a provision of
the secret treaty of San Il Defonso
1803
• “Louisiana Purchase” - United States buys Louisiana
Territory. Spanish authorities remain in control of
Arkansas Post until the spring of 1804.
1804 - 1805
• William Dunbar and George Hunter explore the Ouachita
River to Hot Springs.
1810
• The Arkansas Post area had a population of
874.
• Competition from private traders caused the
government factory to close.
1811 & 1812
• The New Madrid Earthquakes strike Southern
Missouri and Northern Arkansas.
1812
• The Territory of Orleans becomes the State of
Louisiana, to avoid confusion, the Louisiana
Territory was renamed the Missouri Territory.
Arkansas earthquake of December 16,1811
The Largest Earthquakes in the Contiguous United States
Location
Date Time UTC
Magnitude
1. New Madrid, Missouri
1811 12 16 08:15 UTC
8.1
2. New Madrid, Missouri
1812 02 07 09:45 UTC
˜8
3. Fort Tejon, California
1857 01 09 16:24 UTC
7.9
4. New Madrid, Missouri
1812 01 23 15:00 UTC
7.8
5. Imperial Valley, California
1892 02 24 07:20 UTC
7.8
6. San Francisco, California
1906 04 18 13:12 UTC
7.8
• Earthquakes
recorded in
the New
Madrid
seismic zone
since 1974.
Areas likely to be affected by next earthquake
Although earthquakes in the central and
eastern United States are less frequent
than in the western United States, they
affect much larger areas.
This monument marks the spot from which all the land in
Arkansas and most of the northern part of the Louisiana
Purchase was measured.
1819
• By act of Congress, Arkansas was made a
territory and Arkansas Post designated the
capital.
• Arkansas Territory in 1819
1819
• July 4 Arkansas began its existence as
territory and Arkansas Post as the capital.
James Miller was the first territorial
governor and Robert Crittenden was the
first territorial secretary.
• Arkansas
Territory’s first
Governor:
James Miller
Served: 18191825
Territorial Secretary
Robert Crittenden
Sketch of William Woodruff sailing up the Mississippi
with his printing presses in 1819
October 30, 1819
W. E. Woodruff, the founder of the
Arkansas Gazette, arrived at
Arkansas Post.
First issue of The
Arkansas Gazette
SATURDAY,
NOVEMBER 20, 1819.
We deem it unnecessary at this time to make
any ostentatious promises, or to hold forth
inducements to the public for its patronage,
which we do not feel ourselves capable of
realizing. It is sufficient that we declare our
principles to be REPUBLICAN; and that we
are strongly attached to the free and liberal
Constitutions of our happy country. The
Gazette is now before the public; we leave it to
them to decide on its merits, while we return,
with pleasure, to our labors.
• The Arkansas Gazette was “the oldest
continuous newspaper west of the
Mississippi” until it was bought by the
Arkansas Democrat in 1991. The merged
paper became the Arkansas DemocratGazette.
1820
• January 15-19 British botanist Thomas
Nuttall observes native Arkansas.
• February 7 The first regular session of the
general assembly of the new territory met
with delegates elected by the people.
• March 31 “The Comet” landed at
Arkansas Post. This was the first
steamboat to enter the Arkansas River.
1821
• June 1 The Capitol of Arkansas Territory was moved from Arkansas
Post to Little Rock.
• November 24 The last issue of the Arkansas Gazette to be printed
at Arkansas Post was printed. The proprietor, William E. Woodruff,
moved his outfit to Little Rock.
1822
• John James Audubon, the famous naturalist-artist, visits Arkansas.
1824
• All Quapaw lands were ceded to the Territory and the Tribe was
relocated to northeastern Oklahoma.
1830
• The population of Arkansas Post had dwindled to 114.
• John Pope
– Kentucky senator
– Arkansas’s 3rd
territorial gov.
1829-1835
– Tried to reform
– Opposed by
Crittenden
– Brought family
Latta House, 1832
Ridge House, Fayetteville, 1836
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Mrs. Sarah B. Ridge, who had sought refuge in Fayetteville after the assassination of
her Indian husband, John Ridge, by Cherokee dissidents, purchased the house in
1839. In later years, it underwent a series of renovations and served as a
boardinghouse before falling into disrepair. Private contributions generated by the
Washington County Historical Society saved the home from demolition in 1971.
Hinderliter Grog Shop
Woodruff House
Brownlee House, 1846-48, first brick house in Little Rock
Outhouse
1833
Arkansas 1836
• “Old State House,” built 1833-1842, oldest surviving
state capitol building west of the Mississippi
• Arkansas’s first
Governor
• James Sevier
Conway
Born: December 4
1796, in Tennessee
Served: 1836-1840
The Family aka The Dynasty
Henry Wharton Conway (1793-1827)
• Delegate to U.S. Congress from Arkansas Territory, 1823.
• Mortally wounded in a duel with Robert Crittenden on October 29, 1827
• Conway County is named for him.
James Sevier Conway (1798-1855) brother of Henry Wharton Conway
• Governor of Arkansas, 1836-40.
Ambrose Hundley Sevier (1801-1848) first cousin of Henry Wharton Conway,
• Delegate to U.S. Congress from Arkansas Territory, 1828-36;
• U.S. Senator from Arkansas, 1836-48
Elias Nelson Conway (1812-1892) brother of Henry Wharton Conway
• Governor of Arkansas, 1852-60.
Robert Ward Johnson (1814-1879) brother-in-law of Ambrose Hundley Sevier.
• U.S. Representative from Arkansas at-large, 1847-53;
• U.S. Senator from Arkansas, 1853-61;
• Senator from Arkansas in the Confederate Congress, 1862-65.
Henry Massey Rector (1816-1899) First cousin of Henry Wharton Conway.
• Governor of Arkansas, 1860-62
Thomas James Churchill (1824-1905) Son-in-law of Ambrose Hundley Sevier.
• General in the Confederate Army during the Civil War
• Governor of Arkansas, 1881-83.
• Archibald Yell
• Governor, 1840-1844
Bowie Knife and the “Arkansas toothpick”
Death of Colonel Yell
Creator: Croome and Devereaux
Solon Borland
*served under Yell in Mexican War;
captured, escaped
*U.S. Senator 1848-1853
*U. S. Minister to Nicaragua
*brigadier general in Confederate
Army
Thomas Stevenson Drew
governor, 1844-1849
• John Selden Roane
governor, 1849-1852
• Elias Nelson Conway
governor, 1852-1860
Slavery in Arkansas
Slaves
Total
Percent
1836
5,000
45,000
11%
1860
111,000
435,000
25%
The U.S. in 1860
North
Blacks
500,000
Total Population
22 million
South
3.5 million
12 million
Total
4 million
34 million
Household servant with white
child, about 1860.
• Family floating goods to market, about 1860. In the
Delta, people conducted commerce by boats since
roads were primitive and usually impassable
during high water.
• Baton Rouge, La., 2
April, 1863: "Overseer
Artayou Carrier
whipped me. I was two
months in bed sore
from the whipping. My
master come after I
was whipped; he
discharged the
overseer.
• Millie Evans, exslave interviewed in
Arkansas in the
1930s
• Slave sale in Easton Maryland
Caricature of abolitionists
• Cotton was king in Arkansas during the
1850’s.
Arkansas Cotton production
• 1850
20 million pounds of cotton
• 1860
150 million pounds of cotton
Albert Pike
Edward Payson Washbourne’s painting
“Arkansas Traveler”; ca. 1859
1860
• August: Henry Rector elected governor of Arkansas
• November 6: Lincoln elected president of the U.S.
• December 20: South Carolina secedes from the Union.
1861
• February 4: Confederate States of America founded.
• March 4: Arkansas convention meets, rejects secession.
Lincoln inaugurated as president of U.S.
• April 14: Fort Sumter in South Carolina surrenders after
Confederate bombardment
• May 6: Arkansas convention reassembles, votes for
secession
• July 21: First battle of Bull Run, Virginia
Confederate Arkansas Volunteer Infantry
• 3rd Regiment Arkansas Volunteer Infantry
An editorial from the Washington, Arkansas, Telegraph
of January 13, 1865.
We fight for independence. But this independence is itself valuable
only as a means to a higher ends. The institutions which we cherish
. . . are the true objects of the struggle. . .
The great conservative institution of slavery, so excellent in itself,
and so necessary to civil liberty and the dignity of the white race, is
one of the grand objects of our struggle. It should never be lost sight
of, nor under any pressure should we ever take any step
incompatible with the relation of master and slave. No entering
wedge to emancipation should ever be allowed. It should not be
held forth to the slave as a boon for his services.
Our theory is, that he is better off as a slave; and even if he were
not, we could not safely have an emancipated class of them
amongst us.
Much less can we put arms in his hands. That would ruin him
forever. Slavery afterwards would became impossible.
• Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce
and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the
Federal Union (Adopted December 24, 1860)
• But an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States
to the institution of slavery, has led to a disregard of their
obligations, and the laws of the General Government have ceased
to effect the objects of the Constitution.
• A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the
States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the
high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and
purposes are hostile to slavery. He is to be entrusted with the
administration of the common Government, because he has
declared that that "Government cannot endure permanently half
slave, half free," and that the public mind must rest in the belief that
slavery is in the course of ultimate extinction.
•
• On the 4th day of March next, this party will take
possession of the Government. It has announced that
the South shall be excluded from the common territory,
that the judicial tribunals shall be made sectional, and
that a war must be waged against slavery until it shall
cease throughout the United States.
• The guaranties of the Constitution will then no longer
exist; the equal rights of the States will be lost. The
slaveholding States will no longer have the power of selfgovernment, or self-protection, and the Federal
Government will have become their enemy.
Arkansas Civil War Numbers
• About 60,000 Arkansans served in the
Confederate Army. That represents about 75%
of the white able-bodied men of the state.
• About 10,000 white Arkansans served in the
Union Army.
• About 5,500 black Arkansans served in the
Union Army
• Perhaps 5,000 Arkansans died in the Civil War,
many thousands more were wounded.
Civil War Battles in Arkansas
Battle of Pea Ridge, Ark., by Kurz and Allison
Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park
The Battle of Prairie Grove
by Andy Thomas
• "Mound City," the best known Union
vessel to operate in Arkansas.
(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Naval
Historical Center)
•
Bombardment and capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas
Post, Ark. Jan. 11th 1863; Currier & Ives
Black Troops returning to their families in Little Rock
• Union color guard stationed at Des Arc in
1866. More than 5,500 former Arkansas
slaves served in the federal army.
Casualties in the Civil War
• About 620,000 Americans died in the Civil War.
These casualties exceed the nation's loss in all
its other wars, from the Revolution through
Vietnam.
• About 2.5 million served in the Union Army
– Battle deaths: 110,070
– Disease, etc.: 250,152
– Total
360,222
• Confederate strength was about 1 million.
– Battle deaths: 94,000
– Disease, etc.: 164,000
– Total
258,000