Arkansas Governor Powell Clayton Was Investigated For Corruption But Acquitted

Powell Clayton

Powell Clayton was an engineer, a Union Army general in theAmerican Civil War and the first ReconstructionRepublican governor of Arkansas. He was appointed as United States Ambassador to Mexico.
In 1868 Clayton was elected as the first Republican governor of Arkansas. His tenure was marked by soaring state debt (despite a state surplus when he took office), corruption, and violence. He was forced to declare martial law at the beginning of his term because of racial tensions. Many members of his administration, and colleagues in his party were charged with corruption while he was governor. Clayton was impeached by the legislature but was never formally convicted of a crime. He was reportedly involved with the tampering of a US senate election betweenThomas Boles and John Edwards; at the time the office was filled by election by the state legislature. Clayton was not convicted of any charges. His administration is mainly blamed for the Brooks–Baxter War.