The Arkansas Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It was first adopted in 1874, shortly after the Brooks-Baxter War; these two events together marked the end of Reconstruction in Arkansas, two years before the disputed 1876 presidential election ended it completely.
The struggle began with a coup d'état - the physical removal of the sitting governor - and escalated to armed conflict. The ensuing events were complex political affairs with shifting allegiances. Eventually the intervention of President Ulysses S. Grant was necessary to settle the conflict.
The war's conclusion marked an early end to Reconstruction in Arkansas. It was also responsible to some degree for the dominance of the Democratic Party in Arkansas for the next 96 years, although the same trend occurred throughout the South in the same period.
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