President Eisenhower’s Annotated Draft of Little Rock Address (1957)

Date: September 24, 1957

Created By: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Original or Replica: Original

Era: Civil Rights, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Papers as President, Speech Series, Box 22, Integration-Little Rock Ark 9/24/1957; NAID #12237735

This document is President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s personal working draft of his nationally televised address delivered on September 24, 1957, during the Little Rock Crisis. Unlike the final published speech, this draft contains the President’s handwritten revisions, insertions, deletions, and margin notes, providing a rare glimpse into how he refined one of the most consequential speeches of his presidency.

The draft reveals how President Eisenhower carefully shaped his explanation for issuing Executive Order 10730 and deploying federal troops to enforce the integration of Little Rock Central High School. His handwritten edits emphasize the constitutional responsibilities of the presidency, the rule of law, the authority of the federal courts, and the limited but necessary role of the federal government in restoring order. The revisions also demonstrate Eisenhower’s deliberate efforts to clarify his language, strengthen key constitutional arguments, and appeal to both the citizens of Arkansas and the nation as a whole.