Dwight D. Eisenhower's comments on the Supreme Court's decision, and desegregation 1956-08-19
Dwight D. Eisenhower Papers
Ann Whitman, Dwight D. Eisenhower's secretary describes a telephone conversation between Eisenhower and the Attorney General, Herbert Brownell, regarding the Supreme Court's decision (Brown v. Board of Education) and segregation.
According to Whitman, Eisenhower explicitly tells Brownell to not say "the Eisenhower Administration" have supported the Supreme Court in the desegregation business, before Brownell's brief before the Supreme Court. Eisenhower wanted Brownell to appear as a lawyer, not apart of the Eisenhower Administration.
This demonstrates Eisenhower's "middle of the road" approach to civil rights issues, and this becomes a predecessor to how Eisenhower would deal with the "Mansfield Crisis" a few weeks later.
Dwight D. Eisenhower’s comments on segregation, August 19, 1956, Eisenhower Dwight D.: Papers as President of the United States, 1953-61 (Ann Whitman File), Ann Whitman Diary Series, Box 8, Aug. '56 (1), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Abilene, Kansas.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
1956-08-19
Herbert Brownell to Robyn Ladino 1992-11-23
letter
The Attorney General of the Eisenhower Administration shares his recollection to Robyn Ladino on the "Mansfield Crisis" almost 40 years later.
Letter from Herbert Brownell to Robyn Ladino, November 23, 1992, Brownell, Herbert Jr.: Additional Papers, 1897-1996, Box 7, La (4), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Abilene, Kansas.
1992-11-23
Robyn Ladino to Herbert Brownell 1992-11-21
letter
Robyn Ladino, author of "Desegregating Texas Schools: Eisenhower, Shivers, and the Crisis at Mansfield High" asks the Attorney General, Herbert Brownell some questions about the events that led to the crisis, and the crisis itself.
Letter from Robyn Ladino to Herbert Brownell on "Mansfield Crisis", November 21, 1992, Brownell, Herbert Jr.: Additional Papers, 1897-1996, Box 7, La (4), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Abilene, Kansas.
1992-11-21
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Attorney General authored the act to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate incidents in which citizens were deprived of their right to vote. However the act allowed states to continue literary tests and other prerequisites. It also did not address the desegregation of public schools. The act was so weak that Congress later passed the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
Eisenhower.archives.gov
Eisenhower archives
1957
Letter by Attorney General Brownell in 1956.
Civil Right Program
Letter from Brownell to Vice President Nixon calling an expansion of civil rights.
Eisenhower Archives
The White House
1956-04-10