In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

INTRODUCTION This collection of biographical sketches got its start in  when Griffin Smith, executive editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, asked me to write a weekly column on Arkansas history for his newspaper . I began the column with the firm belief that Arkansas history has relevance beyond narrow antiquarian appeal. A savvy politician once said “all politics is local,” which meant, simply put, that voters react more to local political issues than to hot-button national or international causes. The same is true of history. While exceptions are apparent,one could argue that all history is local.In a democracy,decisions are often made based on local impact. Besides, state history is fun because it is local and specific to us. Through the years I have kept a list of Arkansas characters, men and women who should be better known. Some of the folks in this collection are already fairly well known among Arkansans, men such as the “Hanging Judge,” Isaac C. Parker of Fort Smith, or Hattie Caraway, the first elected female U.S. senator. But I want to share my fascination with little-known Arkansas characters such as Isaac T. Gillam, a slave who became a prominent politician in post–Civil War Little Rock, and Norman McLeod, an eccentric Hot Springs photographer and owner of the spa city’s first large tourist trap. Essays such as these cannot possibly tell a complete story,so I have included a reading list with each sketch. Most of the public libraries in Arkansas maintain collections about Arkansas,so the titles can usually be found without too much leg work; and modern interlibrary loan agreements allow libraries to share materials quickly. While I hope this book can help educate new residents about Arkansas, a surprising number of native-born Arkansans know little about the state and its history. Citizens of our state, when fully aware of their heritage, can take pride in being Arkansans. That is not to say that our traditional backward image does not have some basis in fact, it is merely to affirm that our heritage is like that of any state—full of xv achievement and failure, with a great deal in between. Regardless of the prevailing image,Arkansans should define themselves rather than letting others. Not all the people discussed in this book are admirable, and some might ask why I would include sketches on such charlatans as Dr.John Brinkley.While I am sensitive not to stereotype our state or its people, I do not see myself as an Arkansas booster. Our state has plenty of boosters.Our heritage is wonderfully complex,full of rhythm and discord , peopled by generations of hardworking men and women who have contributed much to our region and nation. Over the nearly two centuries since Arkansas became a territory separate from Missouri, we have had just enough scoundrels and villains to make the mix interesting.Arkansas voters are sometimes bipolar in our selection of leaders. In a single election in , Arkansans gave their vote to a liberal Republican governor,Winthrop Rockefeller; George Wallace, the rabidly segregationist third-party candidate for president; and an intellectual internationalist U.S. senator, J. W. Fulbright.When it comes to political leadership, we Arkansans do not always make the right decisions,but at least in the twenty-first century Arkansas compares favorably with most of its sister states. Rather than boosting Arkansas, I want to serve up our history as if it were the offering at a barbeque joint on the White River: you might not want to eat the pig knuckles, but you have to admit they are interesting . If you come away from this book with nothing else, take time to celebrate the incredible variety of people who made up our wonderful little state during the three centuries since an Italian by the name of Henri de Tonty planted a small outpost on the lower reaches of a river they called the Arkansa. xvi Introduction ...

Share