Timeline
1855 Victory over the Bank
The 10th regular session of the General Assembly finally dealt with federal railroad grants in January. Since the Memphis and Little Rock line had already begun construction, Governor Conway proposed that the eastern terminus of the railroad crossing Arkansas be Hopefield, opposite Memphis and that the route designated by the Cairo and Fulton be implemented for the rest of the state. The legislature accepted his recommendations and thus guaranteed that a railroad would indeed be operational in Arkansas before the end of the decade.
Elias Conway's greatest triumph as governor took place in his successful battle against what remained of the Real Estate Bank. The General Assembly, in a strategy outlined by Conway, finally provided the means to place the bank in receivership. Thus Conway succeeded where three other governors failed.
The final determination of the true condition of the bank confirmed what everyone feared regarding poor management. Conway's solution to the Real Estate Bank problem consisted in accounting for and collecting its assets and then applying that money to the payment of its debts. The funds would only go so far and Conway, unwilling to use tax monies to relieve the state of these obligations, left the state still burdened by these debts. Arkansas's credit problems would not be resolved for decades.
Within the political flux caused nationwide by sectional differences, increased immigration, and the decline of the Whigs as a viable second party, two new political parties arose. The Republican Party, believing Congress had the authority to control slavery in the new territories, got no support in the South. The American (Know-Nothing) Party, suspicious of Roman Catholics and recent foreign immigrants, received some support in Arkansas.
The concept of "popular sovereignty" on the slavery issue in Kansas led to the establishment of two legislatures, one pro-slavery and one against slavery. Tension mounted as the two sides moved towards violence.
