Assess the value of these three sources to a historian studying the issue of civil rights under the Eisenhower presidency. Speeches by Senator Eastland, MLK and Governor Faubus.

Source B is a speech from Martin Luther King (MLK) to a captive audience of 5000 black people in Montgomery in his church as a pastor. This was a monumental speech that saw King emerge as the leader of the civil rights movement, brought prominence to his name and set off a catalyst of civil rights campaigns (starting with the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-56). The tone in the Source is inspiring and provides an emphasis on ‘right and wrong’ and the law of the country. King heavily believed that the rights of black Americans were already embedded in the Constitution and therefore did not need radical change, but instead recognition. This is seen in “If we are wrong, the Constitution [...] is wrong”, “If we are wrong, justice is a lie”. King also uses religious imagery heavily as he was giving this speech in the Montgomery Church to his audience, “to work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream” he is also aware that America was still widely religious and this would resonate with many churchgoers. This Source shows how King had these beliefs long before he was a prominent member of the movement and provides an insight into his faith in the system of government and the campaign. 

The Source also shows how the civil rights movement would then function under the Eisenhower presidency with peaceful protests and respect for the law being at the forefront as seen in the Source “Nobody [...] will stand up and defy the Constitution”. The Source shows that King was a pacifist who wanted to take the moral high ground through peaceful protest, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott with Rosa Parks and then utilising members of the black community to work with the NAACP, this effect was greatly seen in Browder v. Gayle (1956) which outlawed segregation on public busing putting an end to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Overall, the Source is greatly useful to a historian as it shows King had held the beliefs he preached before he came into the public eye, believed in a pacifist approach to the campaign for civil rights and provides a first hand view on the attitudes at the forefront of the civil rights movement.

Source C is a speech by Arkansas Governor Faubus, a well known segregationist at the time which is explained by him being a Governor of a deep south state and being in favour of state rights and state autonomy. His approach to the Little Rock Nine incident led to his reelection 6 more times. Faubus starts by quoting experts to seem to validate his claims that segregation is not only favourable but necessary in “our own educational people”. The tone throughout his speech is reluctant and stubborn as he continues to debate the constitutionality of the decision decided by the highest Court in the land and is therefore useful to a historian as it provides a clear insight into segregationist politicians minds. Throughout the Source he preaches between legality and illegality while being against change “the school board has a right and authority under a law that’s been on our books for 83 years, and the duty of his responsibility to the State.

The Source is also very useful as it portrays the mindset in which Faubus would use to later close public schools in order to circumvent the Brown ruling in 1958 rather than allowing integration to take place. This speech gives a first hand account into his mindset of which he used to justify school closures with him firmly believing in his beliefs being right even though the Supreme Court disagrees “I will not shirk away from my responsibility”, making it useful to a historian. In conclusion, the Source is very useful to a historian as it portrays the general southern view that opposed integration and that it shows the stubborn tone of him and many other southern legislators while also showing that his rhetoric was not only acceptable but electable. Overall, the Source is very useful as it shows why and how integration was evaded for so long in the south and later leading factors in public school closures in Arkansas (1958).