History

Abstract
When the French first decided  to establish the Arkansas Post in 1686, they chose for it an area near the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers where the land was fertile and rich which gave the settlement an excellent potential for establishing an agricultural economy. Just like all southern areas, Arkansas depended on slaves as a labor force in plantations. From the time it received its first wave of slaves in 1720 until it became a state in 1836, the number of slaves had gown rapidly, resulting in a rapid economic growth in the area. By the time Arkansas became a state, the view of slavery in the United States had already experienced many dramatic changes instead of the domination and spread of slavery, the country had become divided over it. Many conflicts had taken place between the northern states (opposing slavery) and the southern states (advocating slavery). During an era of tension between the North and the South, Arkansas became a state after being a territory for about 17 years. Arkansas admission to the state was the beginning of a new era of tension in the United States. During that period, there had been some political and social issues that caused controversy. The tension between the two sides of conflict had grown continuously until it led to the only civil war in the history of the nation.                        

A Brief History of Chattel Slavery in Arkansas Between the Time of Its Establishment Until Becoming a State     The European presence in Arkansas began with the establishment of the Arkansas Post in 1686. It was a small French settlement established in an area near the juncture of the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers. This choice of location was beneficial for the settlers because the land was fertile and rich. Arkansas, in general, had been free of African slaves until 1720 when the newly established John Law colony received its first wave of new French settlers and African slaves. The colony had suffered from several issues for almost two years before settlers decided to abandon it. All inhabitants abandoned the colony except for a small number of settlers who decided to remain with their slaves in the area (Duval, 2009, p. 1 Moneyhon, 2008, p .1).    

The number of slaves in Arkansas had been unknown during the era of European colonization, but that was changed after the area became a part of the United States. According to the 1810 U.S. census, seven years after Arkansas became a part of the United States, the number of slaves in the area was only 136. Over the following decades, the number of slaves had grown rapidly due to settlers increasing dependence on them as workers in their plantations (especially in cotton plantations). According to the 1830 U.S. census, the last census before Arkansas became a state, the number of African slaves jumped to 4,576 (Moneyhon, 2008, p. 1).                                

Whats the Importance of Arkansas Becoming a State  
The main importance of Arkansas becoming a state was that it resulted in a huge increase in tension between northern states (opposing slavery) and southern states (advocating slavery). The Arkansas Territory (established in 1819) became a state in 1836. At the time, chattel slavery was rapidly spreading and booming across southern states, while northern states were tightening their restrictions on slavery. Arkansas admission to the United States was the beginning of a new era of tension between the North and the South. During the following years, the North had intensified its opposition to slavery which raised questions in the South about the future of slavery. The tension continued growing between the two sides of conflict through the 1840s and 1850s, but it reached its highest level during the secession crisis of 1860 which led to the beginning of the Civil War the following year ( Arkansas,  2010, p. 1  Civil War,  2010, p. 1).          

What Were Some of the Political and Social Issues That Caused Controversy                               During the Period When Arkansas Became a StateA Political Issue The Admission of Arkansas as a State    

The Arkansas Territory had struggled for about three years before becoming a state in 1836. The admission of Arkansas was slightly delayed because the territory had to meet the requirements set by of the Missouri Compromise before applying for statehood (Goss, 2009. p. ).    

The Missouri Compromise was a legislative compromise between the South and the North, suggested and passed by the U.S. Congress in 1820 regarding the issue of slavery. According to this compromise, the admission of any state requires two main conditions Proslavery states that dont lie south of the latitude 3630 are not allowed to join the Union a proslavery state cannot join the Union without being paired with another antislavery one. Arkansas was located south of the latitude, but it hadnt been able to apply for statehood until the antislavery Michigan Territory decided to join the Union too (Bolton, 2009, p. 1  Compromise,  2010, p. 1 Goss, 2009. p. 1 ).    

Arkansas road to statehood had been very controversial due to a number of reasons    
1. Arkansas insisted on a fast admission to the Union. This attitude was faced by  disapproval and rejection from many Congress members because the law didnt permit          admitting a proslavery territory to the Union without pairing it with an antislavery one          (Gross, 2009, p. 1).  

2. As a result of Arkansas rush and impatience with the Congress procedures, the territory          elected delegates to a state constitutional convention before Congress agreed for the territory to do so  (Gross, 2009, p. 1).

A Social Issue The Slaves Rights During the years following the admission of Arkansas to the United States, there had been fierce controversy between the North and the South over the issue of slaves basic rights. In the North, it was a legal obligation to emancipate salves an ensure their freedom and rights, while laws in the South left slavery intact and banned a lot of slaves basic rights causing a huge decline in their populations ( Slavery,  2010, p. 1).