Ledbetter's academic scholarship demonstrates his fierce commitment to his home state of Arkansas. A selected bibliography is available through this exhibit. He published extensively on different political and educational issues that he felt had not been properly addressed at the time. The range of topics for his research included:
Arkansas Governors: One of the main subjects of Ledbetter’s scholarship deals with past Arkansas governors. In Carpenter from Conway: George Washington Donaghey as Governor of Arkansas, 1909-1913, Ledbetter examined the impact of Donaghey’s time as the 22nd governor of Arkansas, particularly educational reforms that occurred and the construction of the Arkansas State Capitol Building. Ledbetter also focused on other governors who achieved much but had failures along the way as well. For instance, "Carl Bailey: A Pragmatic Reformer" examines Arkansas's 31st governor. Bailey made impressive progress in Arkansas education but failed multiple times in refunding. (CAHC holds Carl Bailey's papers.)
Arkansas Government: Ledbetter wrote about Arkansas legislation in general while sometimes focusing on specific laws. His dissertation from Northwestern University entitled "The Arkansas Supreme Court: 1958-1959" examines the judicial process in Arkansas. In “The Antievolution Law: The Church and State in Arkansas” and “Arkansas Amendment for Voter Registration without Poll Tax Payment,” Ledbetter studied specific legislation and its impact on Arkansas.
State Constitution: Another popular topic was the development of the constitution and the proceedings of Constitutional Conventions in Arkansas. The works that dealt with this topic explored the different constitutions in Arkansas over time including The Constitution of 1836 and 1868. Ledbetter discussed different Arkansas Constitutional Conventions and what they achieved in his works. Ledbetter often presented his works on constitutional topics at the annual meetings of the Arkansas Political Science Association. In 1975, Ledbetter presented “The Constitutional Convention of 1917-1918,” and in 1982 he presented “The Constitution of 1836: A New Perspective.”
*The banner photo shows Cal Ledbetter standing in front of campaign t-shirt that reads, "Cal Ledbetter for Congress." 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).
