Fact check: How did the 1957 Little Rock Central High School crisis involve federal National Guard deployment?

1. Summary of the results

The 1957 Little Rock Central High School crisis involved a complex sequence of National Guard deployments. Initially, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard on September 2, 1957, to prevent African American students from entering the school ^[1]. After a court decision forced Faubus to withdraw the Guard on September 20 ^[1], President Eisenhower took decisive federal action by:

• Issuing Executive Order 10730 on September 23, 1957 ^[2]
• Federalizing the entire 10,000-member Arkansas National Guard on September 24 ^[3]
• Deploying 1,000-1,200 U.S. Army paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division ^{[2] [1]}

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial contextual elements were missing from the original question:

• Eisenhower was initially hesitant about federal intervention in local matters ^[4]
• The deployment was legally enabled by the Insurrection Act of 1807, which allowed troops to perform domestic law enforcement ^[3]
• The Department of Justice specifically requested that Black soldiers not be included in the initial deployment ^[3]
• The deployment was specifically aimed at protecting nine Black students (the "Little Rock Nine") who were attempting to integrate the school ^[5]
• The Executive Order explicitly authorized the Secretary of Defense to use armed forces to ensure equal protection under the law ^[2]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question oversimplifies what was actually a two-phase National Guard involvement:

1. First as a tool of segregation under state control

2. Then as a tool of integration under federal control

This distinction is crucial for understanding the power dynamics between:

• State authorities (represented by Governor Faubus) who initially used the National Guard to prevent integration
• Federal authorities (represented by President Eisenhower) who used the same force to enforce integration
• Local opposition to desegregation, which necessitated military intervention to ensure the students' safety ^[5]

The complexity of this situation demonstrates how military forces could be used both to oppose and support civil rights, depending on who controlled them.