Following the Supreme Court decision of 1954 of Brown vs. the Board of Education, the Federal Court of Appeals approved, in 1957, an integration plan prepared by the Little Rock school board. The school board announced that integration would begin in September at Central High School.
On September 2nd, Arkansas Governor Orval Fabus sent the National Guard to surround the school to keep out the black students. The school board turned to a local federal judge, claiming that the local guard troops prevented their compliance with the federal desegregation plan. The federal government then petitioned the courts to have the governor desist. The court so ordered, and the governor withdrew the troops.
On September 23rd, the first black students arrived, but were barred from the school by an angry mob. The next day, President Eisenhower ordered federal troops to Little Rock to ensure the integration of Central High School.
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