Arkansas Territory

The Territory of Arkansas, officially the Territory of Arkansaw, and commonly known as the Arkansas Territory or the Arkansaw Territory (A. T. or Ar. T.), was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas.[1] Arkansas Post was the first territorial capital (1819–1821) and Little Rock was the second (1821–1836).[2]

Territory of Arkansas
Organized incorporated territory of the United States
1819–1836
Flag of the United States
(1822-1836)
Seal

Capital
Area
  Coordinates34°44′10″N 92°19′52″W
Government
  TypeOrganized incorporated territory
President 
 1819–1825
James Monroe
 1825–1829
John Quincy Adams
 1829–1836
Andrew Jackson
Governor 
 1819–1824
James Miller
 1825–1828
George Izard
 1829–1835
John Pope
 1835–1836
William Fulton
LegislatureGeneral Assembly
 Upper house
Legislative Council
 Lower house
House of Representatives
History 
 Affirmed by Congress
March 2, 1819
 Officially Became Territory
July 4, 1819
June 30, 1834
May 6, 1828
 Statehood of Arkansas
June 15, 1836
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Missouri Territory
Unorganized territory
Arkansas
Today part of United States

Etymology

The name Arkansas has been pronounced and spelled in a variety of fashions. The region was organized as the Territory of Arkansaw on March 2, 1819, but the final entent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas on June 15, 1836. The name was historically pronounced /ˈɑːrkənsɔː/, /ɑːrˈkænzəs/, and had several other pronunciation variants. In 1881, the Arkansas General Assembly passed the following concurrent resolution (Arkansas Statutes, Title 1, Chapter 4, Section 105):

Whereas, confusion of practice has arisen in the pronunciation of the name of our state and it is deemed important that the true pronunciation should be determined for use in oral official proceedings.

And, whereas, the matter has been thoroughly investigated by the State Historical Society and the Eclectic Society of Little Rock, which have agreed upon the correct pronunciation as derived from history, and the early usage of the American immigrants.

Be it therefore resolved by both houses of the General Assembly, that the only true pronunciation of the name of the state, in the opinion of this body, is that received by the French from the native Indians and committed to writing in the French word representing the sound. It should be pronounced in three (3) syllables, with the final "s" silent, the "a" in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first and last syllables. The pronunciation with the accent on the second syllable with the sound of "a" in "man" and the sounding of the terminal "s" is an innovation to be discouraged.

Residents of Kansas often pronounce the Arkansas River as /ɑːrˈkænzəs ˈrɪvər/ in a manner similar to the common pronunciation of the name of their state.

Geography

On March 2, 1819, at the penultimate meeting of the 15th United States Congress, Congress passed the Arkansas organic act (3 Stat. L. 493), providing for the creation of the Arkansaw Territory on July 4, 1819, from the portion of the Missouri Territory lying south of a point on the Mississippi River at 36 degrees north latitude running west to the St. Francis River, then followed the river to 36 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, then west to the territorial boundary.[3][4] This included all of the present state of Oklahoma south of the parallel 36°30' north. The westernmost portion of the territory was removed on November 15, 1824, and a second westernmost portion was removed on May 6, 1828, reducing the territory to the extent of the present state of Arkansas.

Originally the western border of Missouri was intended to go due south to the Red River. During negotiations with the Choctaw in 1820, however, Andrew Jackson unknowingly ceded more of Arkansas Territory. Then in 1824, after further negotiations, the Choctaw agreed to move farther west, but only by "100 paces" of the garrison on Belle Point. This resulted in the bend in the common border at Fort Smith.[5]

Government

Historical population
YearPop.±%
182014,273    
183030,388+112.9%
Source: 1820–1830;[6]

Robert Crittenden was the territorial secretary until 1829 and the de facto territorial governor, preparing Arkansas for statehood. Until present-day Oklahoma received statehood, Fort Smith served as the ostensible legal authority overseeing the Indian Territory. The Army oversaw issues dealing with the Indian Nations.

See also

References

  1. "Arkansas". World Statesmen. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. Lewis, Jerry Dale (2005). My Neck of the Woods: The Lewis Families of Southeastern North Carolina and Northeastern South Carolina. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 9780806352664.
  3. "Atlas of Historical County Boundaries Project". Atlas of Historical County Boundaries Project. The Newberry Library. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  4. "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875". American Memory. Library of Congress. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  5. Stein, Mark (2008). How the States got their Shapes. HarperCollins. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-0-06-143138-8.
  6. Forstall, Richard L. (ed.). Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990 (PDF) (Report). United States Census Bureau. p. 4. Retrieved May 18, 2020.

Further reading

  • "Act of March 2, 1819, ch. 49". Statutes at Large. Acts of the Fifteenth Congress of the United States, 2nd Session. pg. 493–496. From Library of Congress, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875. (accessed 2007-06-16). This act of Congress established the territory of "Arkansaw".
  • "Act of April 21, 1820, ch. 48". Statutes at Large. Acts of the Sixteenth Congress of the United States, 1st Session. pg. 565. From Library of Congress, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875. (accessed 2007-06-16). This act of Congress modifies the act of March 2, 1819, and refers to the territory of "Arkansas". Thereafter, federal statutes describe it as the territory of Arkansas, although journals of both the House and Senate both continue to occasionally use "Arkansaw".
Preceded by
Southern part of the Territory of Missouri
1812–1819
Arkansas Territory
1819–1836
Succeeded by
State of Arkansas
1836–present
Unorganized Territory
1824–1907
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