The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC), with financial assistance from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, has preserved and made available the Jim Guy Tucker Papers.
The processed collection spans 542.8 linear feet and contains letters, legislative documents, legal papers, campaign materials, memorabilia, audiovisual materials, and 3,500 photographs concerning the life and political career of former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker. Governor Tucker's career includes covering the Vietnam War and serving as Arkansas Attorney General, U.S. Congressman, and Governor of Arkansas (1992-1996). The papers concern a wide range of political, social, and economic issues that are of national and international scope, including the environment, criminal justice, and education. They provide great detail concerning political campaign strategy, media relations, and administrative management. Additionally, the collection highlights issues such as abortion, health care, economic policy, education, the environment, and crime, that were not just important to the people at the time, but continue to be. Thus, the papers provide researchers with a view from the “top-down” as well as the “bottom-up.”
This virtual exhibit explores the collection and Tucker's career. Readers can learn of Tucker's family history, including his time in Florida during the "Lost Year" (the year following the 1957 Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis when all Little Rock high schools were closed). The bulk of the collection and the exhibit involves Tucker's political career and achievements, as well as an entertaining look at the jingle used in lieutenant governor campaign. An extensive media gallery with over 200 digitized photographs ranges from his childhood to his governorship. An interactive timeline will take readers on a journey through his life through his papers, and teachers and students will enjoy the educational materials provided.