How is economic activity supported by a region’s physical geography?
Subject(s): Arkansas History, Economics, and Geography
Time Period(s): (1850-1877) Civil War and Reconstruction, (1870-1900) Development of The Industrial United States, (1890-1930) Emergence of Modern America, and (1929-1945) Great Depression and World War II
Grade level(s): 6-8
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This primary source set was curated to help students analyze the ways in which physical geography has influenced the types of economic activity in Arkansas in the past and present. See if students can locate additional images or primary sources by doing their own research.
Supporting question(s):
What natural resources are available in the state of Arkansas?
How did Arkansans of the past make use of these natural resources?
What industries developed from the harvesting, transporting, and processing natural resources?
How did these industries affect everyday Arkansans?
How did these industries change over time throughout the state?
Source Set
- Steamboat Des Arc
- Ozark Graysonia Lumber Company, Graysonia
- Drilling crew covered with oil in Smackover oil field
- Group of workers posing with saws
- Downtown Little Rock
- Dorinda Prichard interview with Rep. Bobby Newman
- Map of Arkansas
- Lumps of coal, mine #2, Peerless Coal Company, Paris
- Jim Guy Tucker and Robert S. Bergland and Producers Rice Mill in Lonoke County
Description
The Des Arc steamboat travels on an unidentified river during the Civil War
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Panoramic photograph of the lumber town of Graysonia
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Workers are covered in oil from a well that has blown open in Smackover
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A group of integrated lumber workers pose for a photo with their saws in hand
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Photograph shows a city street in Little Rock, Arkansas, with people walking, shops, cars and buses, and the state capitol in the background, 1958.
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Oral history of Representative Newman about his childhood in El Dorado during the 1920’s oil boom. November 7, 1985.
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1866 Arkansas map showing land grant railroads, seats of land offices, and coal regions
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A man standing behind large lumps of coal mined from Mine #2 of the Paris, Arkansas Peerless Coal Company
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Jim Guy Tucker and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Robert S. Bergland tour the Producers Rice Mill in Lonoke County, 1977.
Additional resource(s):
AETN – Arkansas: A Six Region Journey
“Business, Commerce and Industry,” Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Bureau of Labor Statistics – Arkansas Economy at a Glance
Arkansas Frameworks(s):
G.2.AH.7-8.2 – Analyze relationships between the geography of Arkansas and economic development over time (e.g., tourism, agriculture)
E.3.AH.7-8.1 – Examine the impact of natural resources on the economy of Arkansas (e.g., agriculture, timber, hydroelectricity, mining, tourism)
E.3.AH.7-8.2 – Analyze the economic impact of transportation systems in Arkansas (e.g., rivers, railroad, highways)
E.3.AH.7-8.3 – Analyze how various regions of Arkansas developed and changed economically
E.3.AH.7-8.4 – Examine contributions of Arkansas entrepreneurs on economic development in Arkansas