Text of an address by President Dwight D. Eisenhower given on September 24, 1957 following the issue of Executive Order 10730 authorizing the Department of Defense to send federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas. In the four-page document, Eisenhower reviews the situation in Little Rock and calls upon citizens in Little Rock to "assist in bringing to an immediate end all interference with the law and its processes." He promises to remove federal troops if order is restored. In 1957, the Little Rock school district voted to integrate its schools. Governor Faubus, opposed to integration, sent members of the Arkansas National Guard to prevent African American students--the "Little Rock Nine"--from entering Little Rock Central High School on September 4. Federal courts ordered Governor Faubus to remove the troops and permit the nine students to enter the school on September 23, 1957. However, because of the rioting that continued outside, the students were removed from the school after three hours. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered troops from the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to restore order and to protect the students. After a single year of integration, Governor Faubus closed the Little Rock public high schools to avoid further integration. The United States Supreme Court declared Faubus' action illegal and the public schools reopened August 1959.

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Collection: Papers of James C. Hagerty, Press Secretary to the President, 1953-1961, Series: Subject Files Series, Box Number: 6, Folder Title: Integration--Little Rock, 1957 (1).

Rights Status: Unrestricted

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Forms part of: Presidential Timeline of the Twentieth Century.