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Dwight D. Eisenhower's Response to the Little Rock Crisis
Can you imagine armed soldiers blocking you from going to school? That is just what
happened in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. The Supreme Court decision Brown v. the Board of
Education of Topeka Kansas made segregated public schools illegal. All American schools
would soon need to desegregate and allow black and white students to attend. The
governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, hated this decision and ordered the Arkansas National
Guard to prevent 9 African-American students from enrolling at Little Rock Central High
School.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower demanded
that Governor Faubus allow the students to
attend school and keep the National Guard
on hand to protect them. A few days later,
when the 9 African American students
attempted to go to school a riot erupted and
Faubus did nothing to stop the violence. A
furious Eisenhower placed the Arkansas
National Guard under federal control and sent
1,000 U.S. Army paratroopers from the 101st
Airborne Division to assist them in restoring order in Little Rock and escort the students to
school safely.
The following is an excerpt from his radio and TV address from September 24, 1957:
“Good Evening, My Fellow Citizens. For a few minutes
this evening I want to speak to you about the serious
situation that has arisen in Little Rock…..
In the South, as elsewhere, citizens are keenly aware of
the tremendous disservice that has been done to the
people of Arkansas in the eyes of the nation, and that
has been done to the nation in the eyes of the world.
At a time when we face grave situations abroad
because of the hatred that Communism bears toward
a system of government based on human rights, it
would be difficult to exaggerate the harm that is being done to the prestige and influence,
and indeed to the safety, of our nation and the world.
Our enemies are gloating over this incident and using it everywhere to misrepresent our
whole nation. We are portrayed as a violator of those standards of conduct which the
peoples of the world united to proclaim in the Charter of the United Nations. There they
affirmed “faith in fundamental human rights” and “in dignity and worth of the human
person” and they did so “without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.”
And so, with deep confidence, I call upon the citizens of the State of Arkansas to assist in
bringing to an immediate end all interference with the law and its processes. If resistance to
the Federal Court orders ceases at once, the further presence of Federal troops will be
unnecessary and the City of Little Rock will return to its normal habits of peace and order and
a blot upon the fair name and high honour of our nation in the world will be removed.
Thus will be restored the image of America and of all its parts as one nation, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all. Good night, and thank you very much.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower's Response to the Little Rock Crisis
1. How did the Little Rock Crisis begin?
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2. How do you think the 9 students felt? If you were one of them, what would you be
feeling & thinking?
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3. How does President Eisenhower characterize the situation in Little Rock Arkansas?
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4. Why do you think Eisenhower states that “our enemies are gloating over this incident”?
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5. After the crisis, some Americans criticized Eisenhower for not doing enough to ensure
civil rights for African Americans. Others felt he had gone too far in asserting federal
power over the states. Evaluate President Eisenhower’s actions and response. What
do you think of what he did? Did he do enough or too much? Be sure to thoroughly
explain your answer.
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