About Us
Center for Arkansas History and Culture
The Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock strives to be a unique and reliable resource that explores and promotes Arkansas’s rich history through identifying, collecting, and preserving Arkansas records that are of enduring value to the state.
Mission
The UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture collects, keeps safe, and makes available Arkansas history that connects people to each other and their shared experience.
About the Exhibit
“Arkansas Constitutional Convention, 1979-1980: Citizen Participation in the Political Process” was made possible with funding by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council. The project is a partnership between the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture and the Arkansas State Archives.
The exhibit sections describe previous passed and failed Arkansas Constitutions, the 1979-1980 Constitutional Convention, conservation of audio recordings made at the 1979-1980 Convention, and curriculum guides for educators to use with students.
Project Contributors
Dr. Deborah Baldwin - Associate Provost and Director, Center for Arkansas History and Culture
Cody Besett - Student Success Archivist, Center for Arkansas History and Culture
Dr. John C. Davis - Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Arkansas at Monticello
Dr. Art English - Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Ethan Fercho - Student Digitization Technician, Center for Arkansas History and Culture
Andrew McClaine - Student Digitization Technician, Center for Arkansas History and Culture
Laura McClellan - Assistant Director, Center for Arkansas History and Culture
Marci Pasierb - History Instructor, England High School
Emily Summers - Processing Archivist, Center for Arkansas History and Culture
Elise Tanner - Director of Digital Projects and Initiatives, Center for Arkansas History and Culture
Learn More
UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture
Arkansas Constitutional Convention Records (UALR.MS.0137)
Calvin R. Ledbetter, Jr., Papers (UALR.MS.0191)
Dailey, D. James Jr. Interview by Ethan Fercho. April 7, 2021. UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Little Rock, AR.
Ledbetter, Calvin R. Interview by Monica Mylonas. January 18, 2013. UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Little Rock, AR.
Thrasher, William Jr. Interview by Ethan Fercho. February 5, 2021. UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Little Rock, AR.
Books
Goss, Kay. The Arkansas State Constitution: A Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993.
Journal Articles
Carroll, John J., and Arthur English. "Traditions of State Constitution Making." State & Local Government Review 23, no. 3 (1991): 103-09.
English, Arthur, and John J. Carroll. "Constitutional Reform in Arkansas: The 1979-1980 Convention." National Civic Review 71, no. 5 (May 1982): 240-267.
English, Arthur, and John J. Carroll. "Perspectives on Continuing Constitutional Activism: The Case of the 1969-70 Arkansas Convention Delegates." Arkansas Political Science Journal, vol. 1 (Winter 1980): 3-24.
Ledbetter, Calvin R. "The Constitutional Convention of 1917-1918." The Arkansas Historical Quarterly 34, no. 1 (1975): 3-40.
Ledbetter, Calvin R. "The Proposed Arkansas Constitution of 1980." The Arkansas Historical Quarterly 60, no. 1 (2001): 53-74.