Eisenhower Sends 101st Airborne to Little Rock
Nine Black students tried to enter Little Rock Central High School. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to block them. So Eisenhower — who privately had reservations about the pace of desegregation — federalized the Arkansas Guard and sent 1,200 soldiers from the 101st Airborne, combat veterans, to escort nine teenagers to class. The soldiers remained for the entire school year. Faubus responded by closing all of Little Rock's high schools the following year rather than integrate them. Eisenhower had enforced the law. Defiance just found another form.
September 24, 1957
69 years ago
Key Figures & Places
President of the United States
Wikipedia
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Wikipedia
101st Airborne Division
Wikipedia
Little Rock, Arkansas
Wikipedia
desegregation
Wikipedia
desegregation
Wikipedia
101st Airborne Division
Wikipedia
Little Rock Nine
Wikipedia
segregation
Wikipedia
President
Wikipedia
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Wikipedia
Arkansas
Wikipedia
Little Rock, Arkansas
Wikipedia
What Else Happened on September 24
Prophet Muhammad reached Medina after fleeing persecution in Mecca, successfully establishing the first independent Muslim community. This migration, known as t…
Bishops gathered at the Church of Holy Wisdom to resolve the fierce iconoclastic controversy that had fractured the Byzantine Empire for decades. By formally re…
Manuel I Komnenos died, ending the Komnenian restoration and leaving the Byzantine throne to his young, incompetent son. Without his steady hand to manage the e…
John Hawkins had sailed into the Mexican port of San Juan de Ulúa under a flag of truce, and the Spanish let him anchor while awaiting the annual treasure fleet…
Parliamentarian cavalry defeated a Royalist army personally commanded by King Charles I at Rowton Heath, forcing the king to watch the destruction of his relief…
Peter Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam to an English naval squadron without firing a shot, ending Dutch colonial rule in North America. This transfer consol…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.