Which U.S. president sent federal troops to protect the Little Rock Nine at Central High School in 1957?

President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to protect the Little Rock Nine during the 1957 Central High School desegregation crisis.

Arkansas governor Orval Faubus initially used the state National Guard to prevent the nine Black students from entering Little Rock Central High School. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent the 101st Airborne Division to enforce a federal court order. The troops escorted the students and remained in the city during the early stages of integration.

The episode is often remembered as a direct conflict between federal authority and a state government resisting school desegregation. Eisenhower was not known as a leading civil-rights reformer, but he acted to uphold the Constitution and the authority of the federal courts. The Little Rock Nine eventually entered the school, although they faced sustained harassment throughout the academic year.