Social Reform In Arkansas During The 1960s And Early 1970

Arkansas experienced a period of Reconstruction after the Civil War that was unsuccessful in making serious social changes throughout the state. The idea of intervention had a tremendous impact on Arkansas and delayed any progress, even though the federal government had approved the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments in an attempt to reform the social justice system. Liberalism experienced an increase in support throughout the state of Arkansas during the 1960s and early 1970s. The philosophy of liberalism emphasized that to make social changes in the state the federal government was necessary. As the number of liberals increased, a period known as the “Second Reconstruction” allowed Arkansas another chance to reform. Attempts such as the Civil

Hostility between whites and African Americans in Arkansas was persistent even with the efforts to ensure equal rights for every citizen throughout the state in early 20th century. One source of this hostility was segregation. This existed especially in the school system. However, state laws stated that separate public schools were unconstitutional as a result of Brown v. Board of Education. Little Rock Central High was the first Arkansas school to integrate. The protest of this even among white citizens was expected. White supremacy was an idea that Arkansas conservatives struggled to release even with the political system changes that were happening. Brown v. Board of Education did not only allow blacks and whites to attend the same institution and acquire the same education, but it also caused a series of equal rights activism. This lead to developments in the voting system. Black voters in Arkansas were limited due to the poll tax that was established in the 1920s. Whites were able to control the votes, resulting in them gaining control of the states politics. However, the twenty-fourth amendment to the constitution was

A detailed state police report was released by Rockefeller accounting the conditions and events occurring behind prison walls. Through an investigation, Former Governor Orval Faubus was informed out these events. He did not display any findings of the investigation to the public. However, Whinthrop revealed the findings to the citizens of Arkansas. The social injustices taking place in Arkansas prisons continued for such a lengthy amount of time because a lot of Arkansans dismissed the idea of concerning themselves with the prisoners’ rights. This happened because they did not want to have to put money into improving the prison system. Despite many Arkansans being against improvements to the prison system, Rockefeller created a plan for prison reform. The 1968 Arkansas General Assembly aided Rockefeller in creating his plan making it have potential to make considerable progress. However, an investigation of the prison scandal after Rockefeller’s release of the police report conducted by Thomas Murton leaked the discovery of three buried skeletons on the Cummins penitentiary property. This eliminated the financial support of the prison reform. Arkansas’ national image was tarnished due to Murton’s findings. This also resulted in the Arkansas General Assembly retracting their funding for the reform and the prison system continued to be social unjust through