Eisenhower Sends Troops to Little Rock

Context

The Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declared that segregated public schools violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause. Southern states responded with varying degrees of resistance, from outright defiance to token compliance plans. Arkansas had begun limited integration in higher education and public facilities, and the Little Rock school board had approved a gradual desegregation schedule that began with Central High School in the fall of 1957.

What Happened

Nine Black students selected to attend Central High, later known as the Little Rock Nine, prepared to enter the previously all-white school under a federal district court order. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had deployed the state National Guard on September 2 to block their entry, citing concerns over potential violence. On September 4 the students were turned away at the school doors by Guard troops while a hostile crowd gathered outside. After further negotiations, including a September 14 meeting between Eisenhower and Faubus in Newport, Rhode Island, the Guard was withdrawn. A large mob then formed on September 23, preventing the students from entering and prompting urgent appeals from Little Rock Mayor Woodrow Wilson Mann. On September 24 Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10730, federalized the Arkansas National Guard, and ordered elements of the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock. The president also addressed the nation by radio and television that evening, stressing the need to uphold court orders and the rule of law.

Aftermath

Federal troops restored order around Central High School and escorted the nine students inside on September 25. The 101st Airborne remained on duty for several weeks while the federalized National Guard continued protective duties into the following school year. The immediate crisis subsided, allowing classes to proceed under armed federal protection, though harassment of the students persisted.

Legacy

The Little Rock intervention demonstrated the federal government’s willingness to use military force to enforce Supreme Court desegregation rulings against state obstruction. It established a precedent later followed in crises at the University of Mississippi and other southern institutions. Historians view the episode as a clear assertion of national authority over states’ rights claims in the realm of civil rights enforcement.