Ledbetter found a passion for public service early in his career. While a law student, he served as a Law School representative in the University of Arkansas's Student Senate. After graduating with a juris doctorate in 1954, Ledbetter practiced law at Mehaffy, Smith and Williams in Little Rock from 1954 to 1955. He then served in Germany as a legal officer of the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps from 1955 to 1957. After his Army duty, Ledbetter received a Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern University and began teaching at UA Little Rock in 1960.
I saw some things that needed to be changed..."
Ledbetter’s academic career focused on political science, so it seems a natural progression that he moved from teaching about politics to being a practicing politician. He made his first run for political office in 1964, when he sought the Democratic Party nomination for the Arkansas Senate position 3. The nomination went to incumbent Dan T. Sprick, but Ledbetter was undeterred.
He ran again in 1966 for State Representative position 6 in the 22nd District. Ledbetter took everything he learned from his first run for office in 1964 and actively campaigned around Central Arkansas with more speeches, more interviews, and more political advertising. His campaign posters noted, "Funded by Mrs. Cal Ledbetter," documenting the family's commitment to Arkansas politics. The family's efforts paid off: Ledbetter won the seat with 56.2% of the vote.
During his time in the Arkansas House of Representatives, Ledbetter was a champion of reform. He focused on reforming the state's education system by making kindergarten and textbooks available free for every student. He was also a leader in pushing for constitutional and legislative reform in the state. (See The Reformer section of this exhibit for more about his role as reformer.) When recently asked why he chose to run for office after earning his Ph.D., Ledbetter makes his commitment clear: "You see things that you can accomplish that you can only accomplish through public service...There was also the idea that I saw some things I could do, some things that probably needed to be changed, and I could best do this through public service."
Attempting to Take Reform National
After ten years in the state legislature, Ledbetter had become known for his commitment to educational and constitutional reform, as well as the legislation he had supported, co-sponsored, or authored during the administrations of governors Winthrop Rockefeller and Dale Bumpers. (CAHC holds the lifelong collection of Winthrop Rockefeller, including his governor's papers, and Dale Bumpers' papers from his time as Arkansas governor.)
in 1976, Ledbetter thought it was time to take his platform of reform to the national level by running as a Democratic candidate for the Second Congressional District. During his congressional campaign, Ledbetter's platform focused on three primary areas of reform: tax reform, anti-crime measures, and open government. Though he ran a good campaign on solid issues of reform, Ledbetter lost to Jim Guy Tucker. (Tucker would go on to become Arkansas’s 43rd governor. The Center holds Jim Guy Tucker's papers, currently unprocessed).
Ledbetter served a total of five terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives. With his indelible mark made as a legislator in state government, Ledbetter refocused his attention on his role as an educator.
*The banner photo shows Cal Ledbetter, with Ben Allen, Oscar Alagood, standing next to Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, seated, in governor's office, ca. 1968. This photograph is from the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture's Calvin R. Ledbetter, Jr., Papers, 1964-1988 (UALR.MS.0191).
