Through its history, Arkansas has been governed by five constitutions. Each of the five constitutions symbolizes a shift in the state’s political status: statehood in 1836, joining the Confederate States of America during the Civil War in 1861, military occupation near the end of the Civil War in 1864, Reconstruction in 1868, and reaction to Reconstruction in 1874. Although several attempts have been made to draft a new constitution, the 1874 document remains the basis for state laws in Arkansas. All five of the original state constitutions are housed at the Arkansas State Archives, and have been digitized and transcribed for your use.

• 1836 Arkansas Constitution
• Arkansas Constitutional Convention : The 1836 Arkansas Constitution was the first of Arkansas’s constitutions, created during the push for Arkansas’s statehood. It is written on four pages, front and back. It outlines the basic laws of state government and defines the rights of Arkansas citizens.
• 1861 Arkansas Constitution
• Arkansas Secession Convention: The 1861 Arkansas Constitution was the constitution of the Confederate State of Arkansas, created upon Arkansas’s secession from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War. It was written by hand on nine pages of vellum.
• 1864 Arkansas Constitution
• Arkansas Constitutional Convention: The 1864 Constitution reflects few changes from the 1836 document. The new constitution’s provisions varied from previous laws by calling for the popular election of the secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, and judges. New regulations abolished slavery, but failed to define the rights of former slaves.
• 1868 Arkansas Constitution
• Arkansas Constitutional Convention : The Constitution of the State of Arkansas: framed and adopted by the convention which assembled at Little Rock, January 7th, 1868, and ratified by the people of the state, at the election beginning March 13th, 1868.
• 1874 Arkansas Constitution
• Arkansas Constitutional Convention : The fifth and current Constitution of the State of Arkansas, framed and adopted by the convention which assembled at Little Rock, July 14th, 1874, and ratified by the people of the state, at the election held Oct. 13th, 1874.

Arkansas Constitution

Preamble
Article 1 – Boundaries
Article 2 – Declaration of Rights
Article 3 – Franchise and Elections
Article 4 – Departments
Article 5 – Legislative Department
Article 6 – Executive Department
Article 7 – Judicial Department
Article 8 – Apportionment – Membership in General Assembly
Article 9 – Exemption
Article 10 – Agriculture, Mining and Manufacture
Article 11 – Militia
Article 12 – Municipal and Private Corporations
Article 13 – Counties, County Seats and County Lines
Article 14 – Education
Article 15 – Impeachment and Address
Article 16 – Finance and Taxation
Article 17 – Railroads, Canals and Turnpikes
Article 18 – Judicial Circuits
Article 19 – Miscellaneous Provisions
Article 20 – “Holford” Bonds Not to Be Paid