Orval Faubus

Orval Faubus
source
Name	Orval Eugene Faubus
Birth date	7 January 1910
Birth place	Combs, Madison County, Arkansas
Death date	14 December 1994
Death place	Little Rock, Arkansas
Office	36th Governor of Arkansas
Term start	January 11, 1955
Term end	January 10, 1967
Predecessor	Francis Cherry
Successor	Dale Bumpers
Party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Alta Faubus (m. 1933)
Alma mater	University of Arkansas (attended)
Profession	politician, farmer

Orval Faubus

Orval Faubus was an American politician who served as the 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967. He became a nationally prominent figure during the Civil Rights Movement for his role in the 1957 Little Rock Crisis, when he resisted implementation of Brown v. Board of Education orders to desegregate public schools. His actions and the ensuing federal response highlighted tensions between states' rights advocacy and enforcement of United States federal law in the struggle over civil rights.

Early life and political rise

Orval Eugene Faubus was born in rural Madison County, Arkansas and raised in a farming family; he later worked as a teacher, civil servant, and newspaper publisher before entering elected office. Faubus attended the University of Arkansas briefly and served in the United States Army during World War II, rising to the rank of sergeant. After the war he returned to Arkansas where he became active in local Democratic politics, winning election as Governor in 1954. His appeal rested on a populist image, ties to rural constituencies, and promises of economic stability, education, and infrastructure improvements in the postwar South.

Governorship and the Little Rock Crisis

Faubus's governorship coincided with the Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared state laws establishing segregated public schools unconstitutional. In 1957, Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to the grounds of Little Rock Central High School to block nine African American students, known as the "Little Rock Nine", from entering, citing concerns about maintaining order. His actions directly challenged the enforcement of federal desegregation orders and provoked confrontation with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who federalized the National Guard and deployed elements of the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the students' entry. The incident at Little Rock Central High School became an iconic episode of the Civil Rights era, illustrating the clash between segregationist state officials and federal authority committed to upholding constitutional rights.

Relationship with segregationist politics

Faubus cultivated relationships with Southern segregationist constituencies while maintaining a reputation for pragmatic governance on economic issues. He positioned himself as a defender of local control and public order against what many white voters perceived as federal overreach. Although not a doctrinaire ideologue, Faubus used segregationist rhetoric and policies as political tools, aligning at times with figures in the broader network of Southern opposition to desegregation, including state legislators and white civic organizations. His stance earned support from segregationist voters but also criticism from civil rights advocates and national leaders who emphasized equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Legal and federal confrontations during the Civil Rights Movement

The Little Rock confrontation produced significant legal and political repercussions. Federal courts and the United States Department of Justice pressed for compliance with integration orders, and the Eisenhower administration's intervention affirmed the federal government's willingness to enforce Supreme Court rulings. Faubus's resistance prompted debates in the United States Congress over civil rights enforcement powers and contributed to legal precedents concerning the reach of federal authority over state officials. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Arkansas under Faubus saw further legal challenges relating to school desegregation, voting rights, and public accommodations as the national Civil Rights Movement advanced through organized campaigns by groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and activists in Little Rock and across the South.

Later political career and retirement

Faubus won multiple terms as governor, serving six consecutive two-year terms and later a four-year term after constitutional changes; his long incumbency reflected his durable political base. He sought higher office, including a 1960 presidential primary challenge against John F. Kennedy in the 1960 primaries and later an independent gubernatorial effort, but his national ambitions never culminated in major elective success beyond Arkansas. In the 1960s, as the national political landscape shifted with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Faubus's influence waned; he left office in 1967 and later ran unsuccessfully for governor and the U.S. Senate. In retirement he operated a magazine and remained a figure in Arkansas politics until his death in 1994.

Legacy and impact on civil rights and Southern politics

Orval Faubus's legacy is tied to his central role in the Little Rock Crisis and the broader resistance to school desegregation. Historians evaluate him as a pragmatic politician who exploited segregationist sentiment to maintain political power while promoting state economic development and education programs. The federal intervention against Faubus reinforced the principle that federal law and Supreme Court decisions supersede state measures that violate constitutional rights, a key precedent for later civil rights enforcement. Faubus influenced subsequent Southern politics by exemplifying populist, states-rights appeals that shaped reactions to[civil rights] policies and contributed to the political realignments of the 1960s and 1970s, including changes within the Democratic Party and the emergence of new conservative coalitions in the Southern Strategy era. His career remains a focal point in studies of the interaction between state leadership, popular opinion, and federal authority during the American struggle for civil rights.

Category:1910 births Category:1994 deaths Category:Governors of Arkansas Category:People associated with the Civil Rights Movement Category:Little Rock Central High School crisis