The world has seen its fair share of conflict. As the decades have passed by, a clash of ideas and values between different groups of people has always existed. Single acts of hostility based on misguided principles have caused immense world wars; conflict from opposing religious ideals has created much bloodshed and cruel, inhumane acts; and values with their own underhanded agendas or justice driven goals, have brought out the worst and best of humanity. In the late 1800’s, when African Americans were working up hill to find their rightful place in American society, another such conflict was causing commotion within the states. This fight of values between the Southern defiance of the south and the radical republicans of the north would continue for many decades. It was a sort of tug-a-war that would finally end, resolving the oppression of African Americans.
In 1892 Homer Plessey, an African American, boarded a train on the white section of one of the cars. During this time, Jim Crow laws made it impossible for black people to enjoy the luxury of white-run institutions. African Americans were, instead, separated from the white southerners. The environment they were consequently placed in proved less extravagant and, most of the time, below human standards.
Instead of hiding his identity, Plessey proudly proclaimed his ethnicity, drawing attention to the authorities in the train. After much arguing, the white powers threw him out because he would not comply with their segregation rules. This greatly angered Plessey and, by a monumental move, he attempted to fight the injustice he had experienced that day.
Plessey plead before the Federal Court that he had been treated unconstitutionally. This case became known as Plessey v. Fergusson. After a long hard fight Plessey’s plea was regretfully turned down.
Though Plessey did not win the case, he did gain the “equal but separate” clause. Black people would still be segregated from white people, but America had to ensure that black institutions were just as good as white institutions. Though the “equal but separate” clause promised equal treatment to black people, it became just another form of racial discrimination. The black were ultimately treated just as unfairly as they had before.
This discrimination lasted for fifty years until another landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education. In this 1956 court ruling, the “Equal but Separate” clause was deemed unconstitutional and racist. As a result, segregation within schools was demolished and black children were allowed to attend white institutions for the first time.
As great as this breakthrough seemed, it stirred up a hornets nest in the south resulting in the “Southern Manifesto” document written to the president. In this letter, the southerners accused the supreme court of abusing its judicial powers. The American government had its checks and balances. Not one of the three powers within the United States had supreme rule. The president answered to congress and the courts, congress answered to the president and to laws passed by the courts, and the courts answered to legislature and to the executive power.
According to southerners; by overruling segregation in American schools, the judicial branch had directly contradicted previous segregation laws passed by congress. The south also believed that the courts ruling undermined the constitution and encroached on the rights of the states and the people. The constitution had never mentioned anything about education and the 14th amendment did not seem to limit a states preferred educational method whether it segregated black people or not.
In general, the south was not happy with “Brown v. Board of Education” and it was willing to fight the court ruling. In one such case, the actions of a certain school called for the intervention of the President.
The Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, fought adamantly against desegregation in America forming mobs to stop black people from going to their school. They held the core beliefs of the south and would not willingly allow black children to mingle with white children.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was very angry with the schools retaliation to desegregation. He believed that laws, not men, were supreme within the United States. By ignoring the court order, this High school was directly contradicting that belief. In response, the president addressed the nation, countering the south’s actions by appealing to order and unity within America.
At the heart of their actions, the south was promoting chaos within the American nation. Through their mobs, they were trashing the ideals of government and were essentially saying that their pride as white Americans was more important than values and principles created by government.
Eisenhower saw these actions as not only a detriment to inner-national peace and unity, but also as a detriment to the United State’s international goals. Other nations would look at these racist acts against government rule and see a nation that was violating moral and ethical values. The president wanted to rule a nation that upheld human rights and that exemplified, to other nations, the core beliefs every government should have. He did not want to be apart of a hypocritical country that spoke for peace and equality among nations when it could not uphold peace or equality within its own boundaries.
Following his address to America, Eisenhower intervened in Arkansas by sending troops. These men would stop the mobs that had gathered against the courts ruling and would make sure that the school upheld the desegregation of black and white alike.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, by his very actions, demonstrated what it meant to be a great leader for the American nation. In a time of conflict, he took immediate action to uphold the values and beliefs of the nation he ruled. He promoted peace and equality within the United States and exemplified this same philosophy to the surrounding peoples. As I read Eisenhower’s address to the American people I was struck by how important our government is. If it were not for the ideals that our nation rests upon and for the great leaders like Dwight Eisenhower who upheld these ideals, we would cease to be a great nation. Instead we would sink into the depths of corruption and chaos.
No comments:
Post a Comment