Harris Flanagin

Harris Flanagin (born November 3, 1817 in Roadstown , New Jersey , † September 23, 1874 in Arkadelphia , Arkansas ) was an American politician and between 1862 and 1864 Governor of Arkansas.

Early years

Harris Flanagin attended Quaker schools in his home in New Jersey. He must have been very talented in mathematics, because he made it to be a math teacher at the age of 18. He later ran his own math school in Paoli, Illinois . At the same time he studied law. In 1837 he was admitted to the bar. Two years later, he moved to Arkansas, where he first settled in Greenville before moving to Arkadelphia , which is also in Clark County . There he opened a law firm .

Political rise

Between 1842 and 1844 Flanagin was a member of the Whig Party in the Arkansas House of Representatives . He volunteered for the Mexican-American War , but his unit was not used because of organizational problems. In the 1850s he was on the Arkadelphia city council. At that time he played no political role nationwide. He did not return to the political scene until 1861 and was a member of Congress that advised on the Arkansas secession. There he voted as a supporter of the South for the country to leave the Union. In the following Civil War , he rose in the Army of the South up to Colonel. In the summer of 1862 he was considered in Arkansas as a possible candidate for the upcoming October gubernatorial election. A coalition of former Whigs and the Democrats no longer wanted to support incumbent Governor Henry Rector . For this reason, Flanagin was nominated and then elected to this office by the voters. Flanagin then ended his military service.

Arkansas Governor

Flanagin's tenure began on November 15, 1862 and was overshadowed by the events of the Civil War. The people of Arkansas suffered from the effects of the war. These included rising prices and a shortage of food. Salt in particular became a scarce commodity. Many people in Arkansas were starving, and displeasure with the situation sparked riot. In addition, there were increasingly poor reports about the course of the war and an increasing number of dead and injured soldiers. The governor passed new laws to alleviate the hardship among the people, but these had no effect. On the other hand, he tried, also unsuccessfully, to organize a defense of Arkansas. In August 1863, the Union Army began an offensive in Arkansas and occupied large parts of the country. On September 10th the capital Little Rock was conquered. Governor Flanagin had previously fled and now ruled Washington , the part of the country still ruled by the Confederation. Meanwhile, Isaac Murphy was installed as the new governor of Little Rock by the Union . Arkansas had two governors and two governments. However, Flanagin couldn't last long. Militarily and economically the situation was hopeless and on April 18, 1864 he retired into private life in Akradelphia, where he again worked as a lawyer.

Another résumé

During the reconstruction period he spoke out against violence. In 1872 he was a delegate to the Federal Democratic Party conference . In 1874 he was instrumental in drafting a new constitution for Arkansas and he was already under discussion as a possible candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial elections. But that didn't happen because Flanagin suddenly died of heart failure.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 1, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

• Harris Flanigan in the National Governor Association (English)
• Online biography in Arkansas Encyclopedia (English)
• Online biography of Governors of Arkansas (English)
• Harris Flanagin in the database of Find a Grave (English)