Executive Order 10730: Enforcing School Integration in Little Rock, Arkansas (1957)

Date: September 24, 1957

Created By: James Hagerty

Original or Replica: Original

Era: Civil Rights, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: Kevin McCann Collection of Press and Radio Conferences and Press Releases, Box 20, September 1957; NAID #17366749

This document is Executive Order 10730, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 24, 1957, during the Little Rock Crisis. Issued one day after Proclamation 3204, the Executive Order authorized the use of federal military forces to enforce the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School after Arkansas officials failed to comply with federal court orders. The White House released the order to the public through Press Secretary James C. Hagerty.

In the Executive Order, President Eisenhower declared that unlawful resistance to the enforcement of federal court rulings had obstructed justice and denied citizens the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Constitution. To restore order and ensure compliance with the court’s desegregation orders, he directed the Secretary of Defense to federalize the Arkansas National Guard and authorized the use of active-duty military forces, including the 101st Airborne Division, as necessary to enforce federal law and protect the constitutional rights of the Little Rock Nine.