March 29, 2009

In June 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt embarked upon a 4,000-mile tour of the Southwest to deliver speeches at three historical celebrations, one of which was the Arkansas statehood centennial. He is shown here on June 10 delivering that speech at the unfinished Centennial Stadium, located near Fair Park in Little Rock (Pulaski County). The president, while addressing the crowd of 25,000, was joined on stage by senators Joseph T. Robinson and Hattie Caraway.