Arkansas, Forgotten Land of Plenty: Settlement and Economic Development, 1540-1900

by Ronald R. Switzer

Overview

In the first decades of the 1800s, white Americans entered the rugged lands of Arkansas, which they had little explored before. They established new towns and developed commercial enterprises alongside Native Americans indigenous to Arkansas and other tribes and nations that had relocated there from the East.

This history is also the story of Arkansas's people, and is told through numerous biographies, highlighting early life in frontier Arkansas over a period of 200 years. The book provides a categorical look at commerce and portrays the social diversity represented by both prominent and common Arkansans--all grappling for success against extraordinary circumstances.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476636139
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	10/14/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	218
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Ronald R. Switzer is a retired National Park Service executive and National Park superintendent. He has written numerous articles, reports, and books on Southwest archaeology and western history. He lives in Enid, Oklahoma.
Ronald R. Switzer is a retired National Park Service executive and National Park superintendent. He has written numerous articles, reports, and books on Southwest archaeology and western history. He lives in Enid, Oklahoma.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
 1. The Geophysical and Ecological Nature of Arkansas
 2. Early Exploration, Trade and Colonization
 3. The Beginnings of United States Commerce with the Indians: The Office of Indian Affairs and the Office of Indian Trade
 4. The Factory System of Trade
 5. The Chouteaus and Other Traders in the Three Forks Tributaries of the Arkansas River and the Territory of Arkansas
 6. Early Roads and River Ferry Crossings
 7. The Steamboat Trade and Ferry Landings
 8. Merchants, Cotton Barons and Tradesmen
 9. The Salt Trade
10. The Illegal Liquor Trade
11. Black Slavery and White Bondage
12. Competition: Moving from a Frontier Exchange Economy to a Competitive Cash Economy
13. Supplying the Military
14. Land as a Commodity
15. Farming, Ranching and Droving
16. Lumber, Mining and Mills
17. Railroads
18. Banking
19. Latecomers and Town Builders
20. Manufactures: Notes on Impacts of the Civil War
Epilogue
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

valuable...Switzer’s informative style draws you into the subject at hand”—Roundup Magazine

From the Publisher