1957 Showdown
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that school segregation was unconstitutional did not end the practice. Many state and local officials continued to bar black students from all-white schools. In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to Arkansas to enforce a court order to integrate a high school.
Discussion points
- What gave federal courts and Eisenhower the power to overrule state officials?
- Eisenhower mentioned presidents Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln in his speech. How did those presidents deal with conflicts between state and federal governments?
- How important was federal power to the civil rights movement? What state-federal conflicts do we face today?