Senator Richard B. Russell’s Telegram to President Eisenhower on the Little Rock Crisis (1957)

Date: September 26, 1957

Created By: Richard B. Russell

Original or Replica: Original

Era: Civil Rights, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Papers as President, Administration Series, Box 23, Little Rock Arkansas (2); NAID #17366867

This document is a telegram sent by Senator Richard B. Russell of Georgia to President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 25, 1957, one day after the President ordered federal troops to enforce the integration of Little Rock Central High School. As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and one of the South’s leading opponents of federal desegregation efforts, Russell strongly protested the use of the U.S. Army in Arkansas and challenged the legality of the President’s actions.

In the telegram, Senator Russell alleges that federal troops used excessive force against civilians in Little Rock and argues that military personnel had violated the constitutional rights of American citizens. He contends that the presence of federal troops was unnecessary, compares their actions to those of a police state, and maintains that local authorities could have enforced the law without military intervention. Russell further urges President Eisenhower to investigate reports of misconduct by federal troops and to prohibit what he viewed as unnecessary displays of military force.