During the Little Rock Crisis of 1957, what action did President Eisenhower take to ensure nine Black students could attend Central High School?

During the Little Rock Crisis of 1957, what action did President Eisenhower take to ensure nine Black students could attend Central High School?

• A. He sent in U.S. paratroopers
• B. He deployed the National Guard
• C. He issued an executive order
• D. He organized a court ruling

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how the federal government used military force to enforce desegregation and protect individual rights when a state resisted. In this crisis, the action that made the difference was sending in federal troops to Little Rock. President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to escort and protect the nine Black students as they entered Central High, ensuring they could attend despite mobs and local resistance. This display of federal authority overrode the obstruction from local authorities and carried out the court’s desegregation ruling. The other options don’t fit as well. Issuing an executive order isn’t what happened here, since the move was about enforcing a federal court order and protecting civil rights rather than creating a new policy by executive fiat. Organizing a court ruling isn’t something the president does; courts issue rulings. Deploying the National Guard alone would not guarantee access, because Eisenhower eventually federalized that force to take control and then used troops to back the students’ entry. The critical, decisive step was the arrival of federal paratroopers to enforce the integration.

The main idea here is how the federal government used military force to enforce desegregation and protect individual rights when a state resisted. In this crisis, the action that made the difference was sending in federal troops to Little Rock. President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to escort and protect the nine Black students as they entered Central High, ensuring they could attend despite mobs and local resistance. This display of federal authority overrode the obstruction from local authorities and carried out the court’s desegregation ruling.

The other options don’t fit as well. Issuing an executive order isn’t what happened here, since the move was about enforcing a federal court order and protecting civil rights rather than creating a new policy by executive fiat. Organizing a court ruling isn’t something the president does; courts issue rulings. Deploying the National Guard alone would not guarantee access, because Eisenhower eventually federalized that force to take control and then used troops to back the students’ entry. The critical, decisive step was the arrival of federal paratroopers to enforce the integration.