Harris Flanagin was the seventh Governor of the State of Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

.

Biography

Harris Flanagin was born in Roadstown, New Jersey. Flanagin was educated in Quaker schools in New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. At age 18 he became a professor of mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

. Flanagin moved west and opened his own private school in Paoli, Illinois. He studied law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 and was admitted to the Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 bar

Bar (law)

Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 in 1837.

Flanagin moved to Arkansas and entered politics

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

. He served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1842 to 1844.

During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, he served in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 as a Captain and rose to the rank of Colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

 before the conflict was over. He served with the 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment

Arkansas Civil War Confederate Units

Arkansas Civil War Confederate Units, a list of units formed from that state for service in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Like most states, Arkansas possessed a prewar Militia organization, which consisted of seventy one regiments, organized into eight brigades, and divided into two...

.

In 1862 Flanagin was elected Governor of Arkansas and was recalled from active duty to take office. His administration dealt primarily with war related measures and maintaining order and continuing government while undergoing an invasion. His administration was faced with shortages of critical items, rising prices

Inflation

In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...

, care of fallen soldier's families, and related problems. During the war the government was forced to suspend the collection of tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

es and financed the war with paper "war bonds".

The capitol at Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

 fell to Union troops on September 10, 1863. Flanagin seized as many government documents as he could and fled to Washington, Arkansas

Washington, Arkansas

Washington is a city in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 148 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area.The city is also home to Old Washington Historic State Park....

 where he set up a temporary capitol.

While Flanagin stayed in Confederate controlled territory a new Union government under Isaac Murphy

Isaac Murphy

For the African-American Hall of Fame jockey see: Isaac Burns MurphyIsaac Murphy was the first Reconstruction Governor of Arkansas. He was the first reconstruction governor to come to power under President Abraham Lincoln's conciliatory policy...

 was inaugurated on April 18, 1864. After the war Flanagin returned to his law practice in Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 10,548. The city is the county seat of Clark County. The city is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderson State...

. Flanagin is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery

Rose Hill Cemetery

Rose Hill Cemetery may refer to:in the United States:*Rose Hill Cemetery , listed on the NRHP in Arkansas*Rose Hill Cemetery — Antioch,California* Rose Hills Memorial Park, a cemetery in Whittier, California...

in Arkadelphia.

External links

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: Harris Flanagin