Its name derives from the Osage language , and refers to their relatives, the Quapaw people. Interior Highlands , to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands , to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta. Previously part of French Louisiana and the Louisiana Purchase , the Territory of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state on June 15, On returning to the Union in , Arkansas continued to suffer economically, due to its overreliance on the large-scale plantation economy.
Cotton remained the leading commodity crop, and the cotton market declined. Because farmers and businessmen did not diversify and there was little industrial investment, the state fell behind in economic opportunity. In the late 19th century, the state instituted various Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise and segregate the African-American population. White interests dominated Arkansas's politics, with disenfranchisement of African Americans and refusal to reapportion the legislature; only after the federal legislation passed were more African Americans able to vote.
During the civil rights movement of the s and s, Arkansas and particularly Little Rock were major battlegrounds for efforts to integrate schools. During the s, the state became the base of the Walmart corporation, the world's largest company by revenue , headquartered in Bentonville.
Arkansas is the 29th largest by area and the 34th most populous state, with a population of just over three million at the census. The northwestern corner of the state, namely the Fayetteville—Springdale—Rogers Metropolitan Area , is a population, education, cultural, and economic center. The Fort Smith Metropolitan Area is also an economic center and is known for its historic sites related to western expansion and the persecution of Native Americans.
The largest city in the state's southeastern part is Pine Bluff. In the 21st century, Arkansas's economy is based on service industries, aircraft, poultry, steel, and tourism, along with important commodity crops of cotton, soybeans and rice. The state supports a network of public universities and colleges, including two major university systems: Arkansas State University System and University of Arkansas System.
