Date of Award
Spring 5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in History
Department
History & Political Science
College
College of Arts & Humanities
Committee Chair
Dr. Kelly Jones
Second Committee Member
Dr. Aaron McArthur
Third Committee Member
Dr. Gregory Michna
Program Director
Dr. Kelly Jones
Dean of Graduate College
Dr. Sarah Gordon
Abstract
Little Rock, Arkansas offered unique political opportunities in the late nineteenth century. Unlike the rest of the state, Little Rock housed a prominent middle-class black community that earned political office positions in local and state government. The current historical scholarship on the state’s African American political power in these years lacks detailed treatment of the political power of black Arkansans in Little Rock. Using newspapers, census data, and local and state government documents, this thesis argues for the unique position of the state’s capital for black Arkansans. In the late nineteenth century, the black middle class was especially strong in Little Rock, which helped the city’s black community gain political influence. Black officeholding in Little Rock ad Pulaski County was strong enough not to have to rely on fusion tickets. Using the city’s unique position, African Americans of Little Rock seized political opportunities at the local and state level throughout the latter nineteenth century.
Recommended Citation
Cross, Isaac J., "Little Rock’s Unique Political Opportunities for Black Arkansans, 1865-1905" (2023). ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present. 45.
https://orc.library.atu.edu/etds_2021/45