William Read Miller

William Read Miller was the 12th governor of Arkansas. Born in Batesville, Arkansaw Territory; Miller was Arkansas's first native born governor. Serving two terms in the turbulent period after Reconstruction, Miller's four-year administration marked the beginnings of New Departure Democrats in Arkansas. Running on a platform of economic growth via reconciliation between whites and freedmen, Miller often was opposed by members of his own party during the infancy of the Lost Cause ideology. His plans to pay back a large state debt including the Holford Bonds, valued at $14 million, were often interrupted by racial violence, and his support for public schools and universities was often combated by those in his own party.