Chapter 5 Notes - Part 1

Chapter 5 Notes - Part 1

From Arkansas Territory to Statehood (1819-1836)

The first capital of the Arkansas Territory was established at Arkansas Post​

Even though James Miller was the first governor of the territory, his secretary, Robert Crittenden, was the real leader in Arkansas

Crittenden established the General Assembly, the first real government for the territory who set out to make laws.

With his printing press, Robert Woodruff moved to Arkansas and established the Arkansas Gazette

After Governor Miller arrived in the territory, the capital was moved to Little Rock after much debate and disagreement

Once Governor Miller resigned, the new Governor of the territory became George Izard, not Robert Crittenden

Crittenden was angry and continued to make enemies including former friend and politician Henry Conway

This was just one example of political rivalries in the territory, the most famous being the rivalry between the Whigs (who supported Crittenden) and the "Family", (who supported Conway and the President)

This rivalry also extended to Newspapers, with the Arkansas Gazette supporting the “Family” and the Arkansas Advocate supporting Crittenden and his followers.

The “Family” made up of loyal southern Democrats who supported President Jackson would remain in tight control of Arkansas up until the beginning of the Civil War

Two trademarks of Arkansas territory life were crime and outlaws on the run and pushing west to avoid punishment

More than a decade after becoming an official territory, Arkansas officials would begin thinking about becoming a state

One of the original doubters for Arkansas’ statehood was Governor William Fulton, who had doubts about Arkansas’ ability to raise tax money since they would lose federal territory funding.

 On June 15, 1836 Arkansas was admitted as a "slave" state, with its "free" state partner, Michigan

During the antebellum period, the state of Arkansas experienced several financial problems.

One of the financial problems was the banking crisis

The controversy surrounding the Banking Crisis actually carried over to the legislature, where an argument led to an actual knife fight