calsfoundation@cals.org
August 7, 1833
Powell Clayton was born in Bethel Township, Pennsylvania. Clayton was a Union general in the Civil War who settled in Arkansas and eventually became the ninth governor of Arkansas. As governor, Clayton faced strident opposition from the state’s conservative political leaders who labeled him a “Radical Republican.” He also faced a serious outbreak of Ku Klux Klan violence aimed at African Americans and members of the Republican Party.