Missing the Train: Arkansas and the Pacific Railroad, 1848-1862

There were no trains in Tennessee at the beginning of the decade, but by the Civil War the state had 1198 miles of railroads, and Memphis was connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Charleston and Memphis Railroad. [...]southern state governments financed nearly 57 percent of railroad building.5 But...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Arkansas historical quarterly 2021-10, Vol.80 (3), p.309-352
Main Author: Bolton, S. Charles
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Banking
Cotton
Manufacturing
Railroads
State government
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:There were no trains in Tennessee at the beginning of the decade, but by the Civil War the state had 1198 miles of railroads, and Memphis was connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Charleston and Memphis Railroad. [...]southern state governments financed nearly 57 percent of railroad building.5 But public resources in Arkansas were scarce. Fewer than 2200 people lived in Little Rock, the capital and largest city.6 Tax revenue in 1850 was $93,534, which paid for little more than the state government's administrative costs.7 But not just its sparse population but choices made by officials and citizens slowed Arkansas's progress. [...]planters in the delta region adjacent to the Mississippi River and those along the southern border with Louisiana who produced 65,000 bales of cotton in 1850, shipped more than five times that number to market in 1860. [...]about two-thirds of the voters, most of whom were small farmers, followed their lead. Since the 1820s, the party had been led by a small group of men related by blood and marriage, aptly called the Family (or, sometimes, the Dynasty).
ISSN:0004-1823
2327-1213